Queens Gardens Townsville

A favorite place for peace and tranquility

Queens Gardens is the oldest botanic garden in Townsville and showcases the tropical colonial heritage of the city.

Now heritage listed, the Gardens were originally established in 1870 as a trial garden for European settlement.  The original planting of timber and fruit trees was done to work out the potential for food and economic plants during colonisation.

Some of the hoop pines and black beans planted at the time of the trial garden are still growing in Queens Gardens today and are thought to be the oldest cultivated specimens in Australia.

The Rainforest Walk has meandering paths that take you through the shade of spectacular trees like this Ficus Tree and Australian Strangler Fig.

Pink Ginger has such a pretty flower.


Another beautiful flower to look out for is the Coral Hibiscus, also called a Japanese Lantern.

Tucked away in the Rainforest area you can find a plaque from The Compassionate Friends.  The message reads:  We need not walk alone. We are the Compassionate Friends. We reach out to each other with love, with understanding and with hope. Our children have died at all ages and from many different causes, but our love for our children unites us. Your pain becomes my pain just as your hope becomes my hope.  Some of us have found our faith to be a source of strength.  Some of us are struggling to find answers... We are all seeking and struggling to build a future for ourselves...and help each other to grieve, as well as to grow. 
We need not walk alone.

All year round the Gardens are host to picnics & parties, weddings & community events.      Each September, TheatreiNQ performs Shakespeare in the Park to sell-out audiences.

        
It's fun to make your way through the maze to locate the lion centrepiece.

This magnificent Mango Tree is believed to be the oldest specimen in Queensland.

   

Keep a look-out for the shy Curlews hiding in the shade.

Queens Gardens includes a bird aviary with peacocks, chickens, ducks and turkeys.  

 
The Frangipani Lawn displays many different varieties with amazing colors & scents.

The Gardens provide a lush habitat for all sorts of creatures.  Birds, lizards, spiders, moths and butterflies all make their homes in the Gardens.  

Ulysses Butterflies are a popular species flitting amongst the tropical plants.

The Australian Jewel Spider is also known as the Christmas Spider because it's generally found in high numbers at this time of year.  It is a species of orb weaver found throughout Australia.

There is a Succulents Garden, as well as a Herb Garden and Rose Garden.

Exotic, 
Strange,
and best admired from a distance

Beauty Leaf

Calophyllum inophyllum

Clusiaceae

Found from Torres Strait to Fraser Island in Queensland, 

also in NT Australia, Asia and Africa

The best view of Townsville's iconic Castle Hill is from right here in Queens Gardens.

Beach Camping at Crystal Creek

Get away from it all, soak up the sun and set your mind free

Setting up camp under the shade of the Sheoaks

Get your feet wet  (but not in stinger season, and never smile at a crocodile)

Getting There

Head north from Townsville,

about an hour along the Bruce Highway

turn right at Crystal Creek Caravan Park

follow the dirt road past cane farms

and through bushland

until you get to Crystal Creek boat ramp

then the track veers off to the left

and runs parallel to the beach

keep going past the beach huts 

then take your pick of camping spots

anywhere along the beach.

Four wheel driving on the beach
will take you all the way along 
to Insulator Creek.

............Keep an eye on the tide...........

from Hermit Crabs 

to Mud Crabs

The Muddies taste amazing 
cooked on the camp fire coals. 

Best Breakfast Ever!

Hunting and gathering

The one rule of beach camping is...

Never return empty handed!

Kicking back on the camp chair, looking up to the canopy.

Some days you can spot a goanna moving through the scrub and heading up a tree. 

White-browed Robin

Riverway Townsville

Exploring Riverway is fun and it's free

Riverway infinity pool over Ross River.  The perfect place to cool off on a warm day. 

Smarteez in Riverway Lagoon

A great way to explore Riverway is by following the public art trail...

"Smarteez" - created in 2006 by Hew Chee Fong & Loretta Noonan.  There are seven smooth disks scattered across the Riverway beach and lagoon.  These sculptures have been carved from Australian granites and designed to resemble giant lollies accidentally dropped.

One Fish, Two Fish, Spoon Fish?

Local artworks feature at Pinnacles Gallery

Giant spider sculpture at Pioneer Park

Step into the foyer of Riverway Arts Centre to find this unique sculpture...

"One Fish, Two Fish, NO Red Fish, NO Blue Fish" - created in 2012 by Sue Tilley.  Look closely and you will find stainless steel spoons have been used to form the fish scales, knives make up the fins and tail, with a saucepan lid used for the eye.







Loose yourself in art on display at Pinnacles Gallery.

Featured left are works of art created by local high school students from schools all over Townsville and selected for the Artists-In-Schools Exhibition.  












Look up and live!












A popular walking circuit at Riverway takes visitors across the Ross River on a footbridge overpass.  You can follow the path along the riverbank to cross again at the Weir Bridge and complete the 3.7km trail.

The boardwalk network includes viewing platforms and park benches overlooking the river system.

Kookaburras at home

Turtle spotting in Ross River

Pacific Black Ducks

The Laughing Kookaburra is the largest of the native Australian kingfishers.  They live in families of 4 to 8 birds, so you will often spot more than one Kookaburra when you see them in areas like Riverway.











Krefft's River Turtles are abundant and easy to spot along Ross River.














One of the most common of native ducks in Australia, the Pacific Black Duck lives at Riverway.

Comb-crested Jacana hops across water lillies

These little Jacana's are fun to watch as they hop across from one lilly pad to the next searching for their next meal.

Water lillies in bloom along the riverbank