Brisbane Tourism News: Gladstone national parks, lookouts, horse riding, wine tasting, golf, food markets and bushwalking

Welcome to Gladstone

Gladstone is a beautiful holiday destination located 550 kilometres by road north of Brisbane, Queensland. Gladstone is blessed with 280 days of sunshine every year and balmy, subtropical climate. The area offers a wonderful array of exotic islands, city parklands and gardens, fun outdoor activities, abundance of wildlife and other unique locations to explore. Gladstone Airport is located only an 8 minute drive away from the centre of the city.

Running along the coast of this city is the heritage listed Southern Great Barrier Reef, where it is home to a mixture of fourteen breathtaking inhabited and uninhabited islands. Also located nearby are untouched National Parks, rugged headlands offering spectacular lookouts, man-made Lake Awoonga and botanical gardens.

Lake Awoonga

Kroombit Tops National Park

Gladstone National Parks & Lookouts

Gladstone's region boasts magnificent landscapes to be explored in its national parks, scattered throughout the area. If you love bushwalking (hiking) and beautiful expansive scenery, then make sure you visit Gladstone's parks for breathtaking views.

Gladstone Trail

From towering cliffs, to amazing lookouts, sweeping valleys, wondrous waterfalls and lush flora - can all be experienced when you drive and trek through Kroombit Tops National Park. Kroombit Tops is home to a range of native species of frogs and birds, and also wild horses (or brumbies as they're known locally) can sometimes be spotted in the area. The park is also famous for the wreckage of a World War II American Bomber that crashed on the site in 1945.

Wander through Isla Gorge National Park and discover the sweeping sandstone cliffs, intricate maze of gorges and extraordinary rock formations that mysteriously change colour with the rising and setting of the sun. The park offers marvellous lookouts that gives you an awesome view of the valley below. Isla Gorge National Park is home to evergreen rainforests of Eucalyptus trees and a multitude of native fauna - from grey kangaroos to whiptail wallabies, honeyeaters, wedge-tailed eagles and peregrine falcons. During spring (between September to December) the plateau radiates in stunning displays of wildflowers.

Isla Gorge National Park

Isla Gorge Track

Taroom - Isla Gorge

If you prefer more coastal landscapes, Deepwater National Park is located right by the sea with sandy shores, untouched freshwater creeks, sand dunes, rock pools and marsh-land vegetation for exploration. For animal lovers, the park has an abundance of varied native wildlife - from black cockatoos, brahminy kites, water birds and emus to little turtle hatchings that spawn from their nests at night. Due to the rough terrain, access to this national park is by four wheel drive vehicles only.

Deep Water National Park

Mixed Recreation – Horse riding, wine tasting, golf, food markets and trekking

The Gladstone region also has other recreation activities on offer, such as horse riding and historical gold mining at Boyne Valley, kangaroo watching and wine tasting at the Gecko Valley Vineyard and Winery, trek up Mount Larcom to reach the peak for a 360-degree view of Gladstone, play a round on the course at Gladstone city Golf Club, shop at the Gladstone Library Square Markets for fresh local produce and eclectic trinkets or go four wheel driving through the rugged landscapes and trails throughout the region.

While Gladstone is renowned for its beaches, islands, industry and fishing, there are many little-known activities that will add more depth and adventure to your trip.

Boyne Valley

Drive along the winding scenic route to regional Gladstone at Boyne Valley (an hour's drive from Gladstone) and enjoy the friendly country hospitality when you arrive at the Many Peaks Hotel - famous for their delicious steaks. The valley is home to beef, dairy, mining and sawmilling industries - but the community also caters to tourism. There's horse riding where you get to explore native bushland on horseback, or go on historical goldmining tours to learn about the history of the community, or go hiking, canoeing and four wheel driving in the region.

Less than 10 minutes’ drive from Gladstone city is the Gecko Valley Vineyard and Winery, where you can visit the vineyard and go wine tasting for a glass of flavours unique to the area. Encircled by expansive rolling bushland, with the majestic Mount Larcom as the backdrop, the site has a café serving dishes and matching wines, a visitor's shop selling locally-made craft, chocolates and merchandise, and the area is frequented by local populations of kangaroos. With Mount Larcom close by, do the challenging trek up the mountain and get spectacular 360-degree views of the entire city below.

Mount Larcom

The scenic 18-hole course at the Gladstone Golf Club is located near Stockland Shopping Centre in Gladstone city, with a pond water feature recently added. The clubhouse has a pro shop, bistro, fully licensed bar with takeaways available for members, rental carts, equipment hire and more.

Gladstone Golf Club

Gladstone Golf Course

If you love shopping and browsing at fresh food markets, then drop by the Gladstone Library Square Markets to experience what local producers have on offer. Delightful fresh fruit and veggies, arts and crafts, second-hand goods and more are on display for purchase.

Metro Hotel and Apartments Gladstone plus Apartments G60 Gladstone are located conveniently in the centre of Gladstone.

Both properties are perfect for short or long stays as they offer fully serviced apartments with fully self-contained laundry services.

The hotel is located on top of a hill, which means many rooms have excellent harbour, city and hinterland views. The property also boasts an onsite restaurant called Rocksalt (popular with the locals), a swimming pool and barbeque area, plus undercover security parking.

The fully serviced Apartments G60 Gladstone can also cater to extended stays of six months or more.

Click here to view Metro Hotel and Apartments Gladstone
Click here to view Apartments G60 Gladstone