Summer Fun in Queensland

Queensland starts 2014 with a bang, with brand new barbeque boats, beef burgers and bats. We’ve also got a host of new spots to grab a nibble and have a tipple - certainly worth breaking your new year’s resolution over.

Holy smokes, Batman! Delve into Capricorn’s very own bat cave

Forget Gotham City and say hello to Capricorn’s resident bat cave, located 26 kilometres north of Rockhampton.

One of only five recorded little bent-wing bat maternity sites in Australia, Bat Cleft is home to 80 percent of the country’s known population of breeding females. Between December and February, visitors have the rare chance to see up to 180,000 insect-eating bats swarm out from Mount Etna Caves at sunset to feed.

The 2.4 kilometre torchlight tour requires medium to high fitness levels and takes three hours to complete. Tours are held four nights a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Numbers are limited.

Further Information:
Rates: Tour price is $10 for adults or $4.95 for children, $30.45 for families.
W: www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/mount-etna-caves/about.html

Beaches, BBQs and Boats

Get a taste of the Fraser Coast on board Whalesong Cruise’s Fraser Beach and Barbeque Cruise, a day-long boat tour that takes in the best of Fraser Island.

Stretch your sea legs with 1.5 hours on Fraser Island and discover why the world’s largest sand island has earned its place as a World Heritage Listed site. Back on board, the crew will fire up the BBQ for an Aussie lunch stacked with steak, snags, fresh Hervey Bay Prawns, garden salads and freshly baked bread.

Further Information:
Rates: $80 for adults, $40 for children and $220 for families.
W: www.whalesong.com.au/tours/fraser-beach-bbq-cruise

Beef up on the Sunshine Coast

Meet the meat at The Bull Shop, a working stud farm and breeding operation nestled in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

Every Saturday morning, the Bekker family open their stud-farm doors to teach visitors the A-Beef of the cattle industry. Guests will take the bull by the horns and get hands on by feeding cattle, holding a branding iron and nose ring before striking a pose with a bull 15 times their own weight. In a fitting finish, there’s a juicy steak cooking class and gourmet steak burger on the tour menu.

Further Information:
Rates: Adults $25, Kids $15
W: www.thebullshop.com.au

Boutique living in the heart of Hastings St

Rest, relax and repeat at 10 Hastings St, the newest dining and accommodation development in Noosa’s bustling Hastings St.

Bursting with retro, Californian and surf culture design, 10 Hastings Street Motel offers seven studios and two two-bedroom apartments, free Wifi, private parking and the perfect launch pad to explore Noosa and surrounds. The 10 Boutique café downstairs serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week with its Thai-inspired menu.

Further Information:
Rates: Midweek Stay 4 nights Mon-Thurs: Studio Suite (sleeps 2 adults) $650, large suite (sleeps 2 adults and up to 2 children) $750, 2 bedroom apartment (sleeps 2 adults and 2 children); Weekend stay 3 nights Fri-Sun: Studio Suite (sleeps 2 adults) $650, large suite (sleeps 2 adults and up to 2 children) $750, 2 bedroom apartment (sleeps 2 adults and 2 children).
W: www.10hastingsstreet.com.au/en/10-cafe

Jurassic Park on the Sunshine Coast

Palmer Coolum Resort’s latest attraction, Palmersaurus, turns the clock back 65 million years, with one of the world’s largest collection of dinosaurs.


Featuring 160 semi-moving, roaring monsters of the past, guests can get face to face with favourites like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor’s, Triceratops, and Brachiosaurus’s as well as some lesser known prehistoric creatures including Demetrodon’s, Gastornis and an Ankylosaur.

Further Information:
Rates: Admission prices for one attraction for one adult cost $37.50, children (aged 5-14) $19.00 or a family pass (two adults and three children) for $100.
W: www.palmercoolumresort.com.au/dinosaurs

A luxurious haven on the Sunshine Coast

Noosa’s largest beach-front resort, Seahaven Noosa, has revealed its new look following a nine-month $16 million top-to-toe makeover.

The 68 penthouse apartments, one and two bedroom beachfront apartments, studio rooms and Hasting Street suites have been completely remodelled with modern finishes to cater to families, couples and corporate travellers. The resort’s amenities were also treated to a nip and tuck and now guests can enjoy four heated pools and spas, a covered beachfront barbeque area, grassed courtyards and an onsite gymnasium.

Further Information:
Rates: Studio room priced from $175 per night.
W: www.seahavennoosa.com.au

Get ready for this jelly

Underwater World Mooloolaba SEALIFE has a new accolade to its name - now holding the title to Australia’s largest collection of jellyfish.

Packed with blue blubber jellies, moon jellies, upside down jellies, comb jellies and sea nettles Underwater World guests will learn about each species as they move through the interactive zone called Jellyfish Kingdom.

Watch these majestic creatures bob along on a self-guided tour or join a daily ocean walk to learn about the ecological significance of jellyfish and the need for their protection.

Further Information:
Rates: Adults from $34.20, Children $20.70, Family $93.60.
W: www.underwaterworld.com.au

Dining under the bridge

Two new dining destinations at the Story Bridge Hotel are set to sizzle this summer, as the venue gears up for its annual Australia Day festivities and the infamous cockroach races.

Deery’s Restaurant & Smokehouse has had a Hollywood makeover from its decor to menu, serving up new culinary creations to compliment the crowd favourite chargrilled steaks. Next door, The Main St. Bar & Eatery will please casual drinkers and diners - with a menu that covers everything from simple bar snacks through to their hunger satisfying tasting boards.

Further Information:
W: www.storybridgehotel.com.au