This is the perfect place to base the family for an affordable extended thaw from a NZ winter.

Rockhampton is on the Tropic of Capricorn and is the gateway to ‘the north’, ‘the west’ and the islands of Keppel Bay. The region experiences an average of 300 days of sunshine per annum. Average temperature in winter is 23C; it can

climb into the high-30s and beyond in summer. Allow at least three days and you will not be disappointed, but be warned, many of the locals arrived the way you did — as tourists — and never

left. It has that effect.