QUEENSLAND HAS A HABIT of electing some of the worst examples of humanity to state and Federal parliament: Pauline Hanson, Matt Canavan, Joh Bjelke-Peterson, Malcolm Roberts, George Christensen, Peter Dutton.
Still, don’t let that put you off. It’s a massive state, with plenty to see: diving, sailing, hiking, surfing, islands, turtles, forests, waterfalls, mining towns, rainforests.

Diving off Cairns. Surfing the Gold Coast. Sailing the Whitsundays. There are plenty of attractions in the big state of Queensland. And birdwatching too.

Not all of the Gold Coast is a sky-scraper nightmare of bikies and Insta-chix. Quieter parts remain down around Coolangatta.

The cassowary is one bird I've long dreamed of seeing, and on a walk along the beach with my aunt and uncle, this one just walked out of the bushes and kept walking right past us.

Surfers Paradise in the background, riders at Schnapper Point enjoy the swell powered by a cyclone. (Also muddies the water too)

Inland from international hotspot Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands conatin many small and quirky towns, like Kurandra, Ravenswood (Australia's highest pub) and Milla Mlla.

The flashy hotels of Cairns aren't far away from Atherton, but the forests and falls are a world away.