Choose from 646 Fun Things to Do in Australia
Richmond Gaol
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Qantas Hangar
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Questacon: Australia's National Science and Technology Centre
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Reefworld
Reefworld is the Barrier Reef experience made easy. It's located on two giant pontoons over sheltered Hardy Reef, one of the most beautiful and prolific of nature's coral gardens. So many colors! Thousands of fish! It's a deluxe way to see the wonders of the reef.
You're whisked out there by high-speed catamaran, so you'll spend less time getting out to the reef, and because Hardy Reef is a platform reef, it's not subject to choppy conditions and can be snorkeled pretty much year-round.
You can tour the reef without getting wet aboard spacious semi-submersibles, with commentary from Reef Interpreters. Reefworld's facilities also include a large, seated underwater viewing chamber (complete with soft nautical music); a secure diving area; a large sundeck with sun lounges and views; and a tailor-made viewing area on deck to see the massive Queensland Groper living beneath the platform. There are also masseurs, shops and a host of activities for children.
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The catamarans that take you out to Reefworld leave from Shute Harbour (near Airlie Beach), going via Hamilton Island, and from Hamilton Island direct. Both ferries leave in the morning and return in the late afternoon.
Puffing Billy Railway
- Tickets sell out, especially during the summer holidays, so book ahead to avoid disappointment.
- All stations have parking, restrooms, and a cafe or snack bar.
- Luggage space is limited, so bring a small day bag and opt for a fold-up stroller.
- Steam locomotives are sometimes replaced with diesel locomotives during Total Fire Ban (when dry weather increases the risk of forest fires).
- Wheelchair access is available at all stations, but spaces are limited and must be booked in advance.
Queens Domain
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Remarkable Rocks
Perched on a large granite dome that drops abruptly to the crashing surf, the Remarkable Rocks are changing even today. Information boards display pictures of the rocks from the 1800s alongside current photographs, as well as detailed information on the weathering process.
The Remarkable Rocks have been weathered into strange and unique shapes – many visitors enjoy picking out familiar objects in the formations, such as giant chairs and hooks. Enhancing their beauty are the colours in the granite uncovered as the rocks are worn down – blues, blacks and pinks play across the surface of the rocks.
As well as the Remarkable Rocks themselves, the viewing area offers visitors an unobstructed outlook upon the wild Southern Ocean. Migrating whales can be spotted between May and October, and Cape du Couedic and its Heritage Listed Lightstation can be seen from the Western platform.
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Riddell Beach
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Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary
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Queensland Maritime Museum
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Queensland Museum
As well as hosting traveling exhibitions and the permanent museum collections, the Queensland Museum is home to the Sciencentre, a favorite attraction for families and school groups.
Take time to wander outside the museum, along the river front, past the fountains and sculptures and enjoy a break in the two museum cafes.
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Queensland Art Gallery
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Rainbow Beach
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Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm
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Richmond
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Queen Victoria Market
Fill up at Melbourne's marketplace, the historic, fun and friendly Queen Victoria Market! Operating since 1878, Queen Victoria Market is the finest place in town to shop for fresh fruit and veg, gourmet meats and cheeses, condiments, seafood – you name it, and you’ll find it.
Melbourne is a city that loves food, and Queen Victoria Market is where gourmets, chefs, office workers, families and just about everyone who eats come to do their shopping. The atmosphere is particularly busy and vibrant on Saturday mornings, especially if a feast like Christmas or Easter is just around the corner.
On Wednesday evenings in summer, a Night Market with food and entertainment lights up the marketplace. A souvenir and trash and treasure market operates on Sundays, with children's rides and outdoor cafes.
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Trams run to the market along Elizabeth Street, or it's around a 10-minute walk from the city-center shops. To help you get around this huge shopping area, you'll find the Deli, Fish and Meat halls facing Elizabeth Street. The covered fruit and vegetable stalls are behind the halls, stretching for several blocks, and there's a Food Court facing Therry Street.
Queen Victoria Building (QVB)
Sumptuously decorated and timelessly elegant, central Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building is an unforgettable shopping destination. Built in High Victorian Romanesque style in 1898, and now meticulously restored, it stands on the site of the original Sydney markets.
The QVB's soaring central dome boasts translucent stained-glass clad in copper on the outside, and the shopping area takes up several balconied floors linked by grand staircases. Tiled floors, pillars, colonnades, balustrades, and arches. Chiming clocks and interesting historical displays complete the QVB’s flamboyant decor.
Originally the shops included tailors and florists; today there’s a wide range of specialist stores, from stationers to couturiers, cafes and coffee shops.
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Sydney’s grandest shopping mall, the Queen Victoria Building takes up an entire city block, bound by George, Market, York and Druitt streets.
Town Hall Station is adjacent to the QVB on George Street, just over Druitt St. You can walk here from Circular Quay in around 10 minutes – just head south down George St.
Reef HQ
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Rainforestation Nature Park
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Queen Street Mall
Known as the cleanest city mall in Australia, Queen Street Mall is a community hub that offers performance space for buskers, community acts and local and international artists, as well as public art highlights.
A tourist information centre, located towards the Edward Street end of the Queen Street Mall, offers mapping, ticketing, tourism and retail information to visitors.