• Brisbane
• Gold Coast
• Sunshine Coast
• Northstrandbroke Island
• Noosa Heads National Park
• Lamington National Park
• Springbrook National Park
• Glass House Mountains NP
• Great Barrier Reef

BRISBANE

Brisbane is Australia's third largest city and the state capital of Queensland. For years, Brisbane was considered to be a bit backward by the residents of the larger Australian cities to the south. But over the last 15 years, it has been revamped and has developed into a modern and cosmopolitan city - hosting the Commonwealth Games in 1982 and the World Expo in 1988. It's a scenic place, built on the shores of the Brisbane River, and surrounded by hills and fine lookouts. Architecturally, it's dominated by the sprawling, verandahed, timber houses on stilts, known as `Queenslanders'.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's World Heritage Areas and one of the natural wonders of the world.

It stretches 2300km from just south of the Tropic of Capricorn between Gladstone and Bundaberg to the Torres Strait near the coast of Papua New Guinea.

It is the most extensive reef system in the world and was built entirely by living organisms. It is possibly the only structure built by living organisms (other than humans) that is visible from the moon.

At its southern end, the reef is about 300km from the mainland and rather fragmented, while at the northern end it is continuous for long stretches and up to 80km wide.

Coral reefs are warm, clear, shallow ocean habitats that are rich in life. The reef's massive structure is formed from coral polyps, tiny animals that live in colonies; when coral polyps die, they leave behind a hard, stony, branching structure made of limestone.

The coral provides shelter for many animals in this complex habitat, including sponges, fish (clown fish, parrotfish), jellyfish, anemones, sea stars (including the destructive Crown of Thorns), crustaceans (like crabs, shrimp, and lobsters), turtles, sea snakes, snails, and mollusks (like octopuses, nautilus, and clams). Birds also feast on coral reef animals.