The 400 million-year-old reason to visit iconic Aussie coast in the dead of winter
Most people associate the Great Barrier Reef, and the coast that leads to it, with the middle of summer: warm water, long days, sunburn by lunchtime.
Spend time in central Queensland in the depths of winter, though, and a different picture emerges. There’s a heap to do here that has nothing to do with the beach at all. And the best part? Visiting in the off-season will help save you some money.
Rockhampton was the ideal starting point for some winter exploring in Queensland. Getty
At Capricorn Caves, 23 kilometres from Rockhampton, visitors climb through limestone chambers that started life as a coral reef about 400 million years ago, hundreds of millions of years before the Great Barrier Reef existed in any form.
Rockhampton has long called itself the gateway to the tropics, and the claim holds up.
A spire on the edge of town marks the Tropic of Capricorn, the line of latitude that divides Australia’s temperate south from its tropical north.
It’s a fitting welcome to a stretch of central Queensland coastline that, it turns out, doesn’t really do an off-season.
I spent five days visiting Yeppoon, Capricorn Caves, and Rockhampton on a Queensland trip in the first week of July, the coldest point of the year.
The days were consistently mild, sitting in the low 20s, warm enough for a swim.
But as I discovered, there is heaps more to do in this golden stretch of coast.
Yeppoon’s lagoon, minus the wetsuit
Yeppoon’s main draw needs no explaining once you’ve seen it: a free, lifeguard-patrolled infinity pool built straight into the foreshore. It’s quite impressive. It’s also a joy to say “Yepp-oooon La-gooon” in your best Kath and Kim accent.
The Yeppoon Lagoon is a free experience for the whole family. Immy Abdullah
The lagoon covers 2500 square metres, with a shallow children’s area at one end and open views toward the Keppel Islands at the other. In winter, with the crowds thinner and the heat gone, it might be the better time to visit. There’s no queue for the shaded picnic tables, no midday scramble for shade.
A reef you can walk through, no snorkel required
Capricorn Caves, in the aptly named township of The Caves, is where the region’s geology gets its moment.
First explored by Norwegian settler John Olsen in 1881 and opened to the public three years later, it’s one of the largest privately-owned cave systems in the country.
Exploring the Capricorn Caves is fun and educational. Immy Abdullah
The guided Explorer tour takes visitors through cathedral-like chambers where the walls still carry fossilised corals and sea lilies from the reef this limestone once was. The guides are knowledgeable and entertaining.
Enclosed shoes are compulsory, helmets and lights are supplied, and a mild level of fitness is recommended for the scrambling and tight squeezes involved.
Exploring Rockhampton
Back in Rockhampton itself, the Fitzroy River anchors a revitalised riverfront of shaded walking paths and waterside dining.
The town’s main centre, Quay Street was recognised by the National Trust as Australia’s longest heritage-listed street. The town is worth the wander for the 19th-century architecture alone.
The city has long styled itself the “Beef Capital of Australia” for its place at the centre of the cattle industry, and the Tropic of Capricorn Spire.
Where to grab a bite
The best meal of the trip was at Waterline Restaurant, on Keppel Bay Marina at Rosslyn, just south of Yeppoon.
It’s the kind of waterfront room that could coast on the view alone, with boats gently rocking a few metres from the tables.
Meal at Waterline Restaurant Rosslyn Bay in Yeppoon. Delicious. Immy Abdullah
But the food is really where Waterline shines. The Banana Station beef is the dish regulars order back for, alongside a rotating list of local seafood.
The food is Asian fusion that celebrates local produce from the areas. On a cold, winter Monday night, in what’s meant to be the quiet season, it was close to full.
Why winter, specifically
None of this is exclusive to summer. Yeppoon’s July days average around 21 degrees, well short of the humidity and stinger season that shapes travel further north along the reef, and without the peak-season crowds that build over school holidays. Cost wise, travelling the Great Barrier Reef region in winter is going to save you and the family money.
Getting there
Qantas flies into both Bundaberg and Rockhampton from Brisbane, with Rockhampton Airport about 45 minutes’ drive from Capricorn Caves and just over an hour from Yeppoon.
This writer travelled as a guest of Tourism and Events Queensland.
