Talk of the North: John Andersen reveals best of the best in North Queensland

From pubs to morning strolls, hard yakka hikes, barra lures, lubricating oil, animals of all shapes and sizes, dangerous plants, monster crocs and yes, even to mud flats, NQ has it over the rest of the state by a country mile when it comes to things, big, beautiful and outrageous.

There are many swimming spots on Ando’s list. Picture: Contributed

From pubs to morning strolls, hard yakka hikes, barra lures, lubricating oil, animals of all shapes and sizes, dangerous plants, monster crocs and yes, even to mud flats, North Queensland has it over the rest of the state by a country mile when it comes to things, big, beautiful and outrageous. Here’s a list of just some of them. You can probably add plenty more and you never know, you may just get to experience some of them in this year of 2025.

BEST lazy person’s barra spots without having to drive for miles. Bohle River, Townsville harbour rock walls.

Most colourful pub. Purple Pub, Normanton

Best whitewater rafting. Tully River.

Best pub grub. Malanda pub

The Blue Heeler Hotel at Kynuna. Pic Mark Cranitch.

Best steak joint. Commonwealth Hotel, South Townsville. IMC Palmer Street

Best seaside pub. Sunset Tavern, Karumba Point.

Best sunset pub. Sunset Tavern, Karumba Point where the sun sets over the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Pub where the brolgas dance. Blue Heeler Hotel, Kynuna

Best wild rivers. Mitchell River, Herbert River, Gregory River, McIvor River.

Magnetic Island is surely Qld's most under-rated island destination.

Best bush walks. Magnetic Island, Herbert River Gorge and Hinchinbrook Island.

Best train trips. Savannahlander train, Cairns to Forsayth, Gulflander train, Normanton to Croydon

Best morning walks. Castle Hill, The Strand, the Cardwell promenade

Townsville made Barra Snax lures.

Best barra lure. The Barra Snax made by Old Dog Lures, Rangewood, Townsville.

Best highway coffee and meal stop. The Pocket at Friday Pocket, 16k north of Tully

Gold Logie for best mud flats. Cairns

Best rainforest. Paluma, Kirrama Range, Wooroonooran National Park, Broadwater National Park.

Best beach. Alma Bay, Magnetic Island closely followed by Etty Bay

Best bush rodeo. Laura

Best bush race meeting. Oak Park

Best mountain. Mt Bartle Frere (Qld’s highest), Mirriwinni

Best dinosaur exhibit. Richmond’s Kronosaurus Korner

Best caves. Chillagoe

Best waterpark. The Strand, Townsville

On the menu at The Garage. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Best burgers. The Garage, Thuringowa Central

Best uninhabited island camping. Dunk Island off Mission Beach and Garden Island, Cardwell

Best island holidays (if you’re cashed-up) Bedarra, Orpheous, Lizard, (if you’re not cashed up) Magnetic Island.

Best wetland’s birdlife viewing. Townsville Common, Eubenangee swamp near Mirriwinni (Caution: big crocodiles)

Best 4WD trip. Laura to Maytown to Maitland Downs, Cape York Peninsula

Best dams. The Burdekin Dam, Tinaroo Dam

Best rockmelons. Gumlu

Best capsicums. Gumlu

Best tomatoes. Bowen

Best mangoes. Burdekin-Bowen

Best roadhouse tucker. Julia Creek roadhouse and for toasted sangers, The Servo, Pentland.

Best meat pies. Mal’s Pies, Wulguru, Malanda Bakery, Wangan servo near Innisfail

Best waterfalls. Take your pick. Atherton Tableland waterfall circuit, Wallaman Falls near Ingham, Blencoe Falls in the Kirrama Range, Barron River Falls Kuranda, Murray Falls at Murray Upper near Cardwell.

Opalton just outside of Winton still has opal mining today.

Town that most resembles life on the wild frontier. Opalton 90 minutes south of Winton

Pub that feels like it’s out on the edge of the universe. Urandangie

Place where cassowary encounters are a given. Etty Bay

Best places to see a min-min light. Middleton, Boulia, Winton

Pig dog capital of the world. Collinsville

Cardwell Spa Pool is a naturally-fed, seasonal creek that shot to stardom on social media in 2016. Picture: Supplied

Prettiest swimming holes. Cardwell’s Spa pool and Dead Horse Creek

Most dangerous swimming holes. 1. Josephine Creek Falls, Mirriwinni: Dangerous because of rapid rises in water height after heavy rain in the creek’s headwaters on Mt Bartle Frere and 2. The Boulders, Babinda: Getting sucked into the underground caves by the fierce currents is certain death. More than 21 people have drowned here, making it the nation’s deadliest swimming hole.

The plant you don’t want to tangle with: The gympie-gympie tree. It’s needle like hairs will drive you mad and require hospitalisation. Found in tropical rainforests of Queensland

Prettiest pigeon in the world. The wompoo fruit dove found in the North Queensland rainforests

Largest python in Australia: The North Queensland scrub python which can grow to nine metres in length

Largest crocodile in the world. Indigenous people believe a 12 metre specimen lives in a long, deep waterhole with heavily vegetated banks on the upper Norman River

Best anti-corrosion, lubricating oil: Mako Oil made at Mission Beach

Best chutney. Isabel’s Chutney made at Millaa Millaa

North Queensland animals that can deliver the most painful death known to mankind: The box jellyfish, Chironex fleckeri and the smaller Irukandji jellyfish. If you get stung and you’re not dead, you’ll probably wish you were.

North Queensland. It’s the best place to live. Get out there and enjoy it. Just don’t get stung, bitten, eaten or sucked into a dead-end, underground grotto by a raging torrent.

Originally published as Talk of the North: John Andersen reveals best of the best in North Queensland