Filling up craving for fun

FAR North Queensland’s scenic landscapes and underwater wonders have made it to two influential tourism bucket lists, including one attraction which has not yet been completed.

Mount Mulligan Station’s 6star, luxury outback lodge, a three-hour drive west of Cairns on the Atherton Tablelands, was ranked top of Tourism Australia’s 2018 Australian Bucket List destinations.

Touted as Queensland’s rival to the Kimberley’s outback paradise, El Questro, the station will open later this year and offer guests experiences such as mustering cattle and gold panning.

After all that activity, a maximum of 20 guests can kick back in an eight-room lodge.

Coming in at No.7 on the list of 11 must-see spots in the country was popular tourist mainstay Lizard Island Resort.

Up there with the Grand Canyon, the Arctic’s northern lights, and wildlife haven the Galapagos Islands, diving and snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns was ranked 13th out of 50 global travel destinations on Flight Network’s World’s Ultimate Bucket List for 2018.

Cairns was ranked higher than other Australian entries, Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, South Australia’s Flinders Ranges and the Northern Territory’s Alice Springs and Sydney Harbour.

The travel gurus consulted more than 800 travel journalists, agencies, bloggers and editors to compile “the most reliable and precise bucket list for the modern era, meant to captivate and inspire travellers all over the world”.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Pip Close said the Great Barrier Reef had long been recognised as a bucket list destination and regularly featured in various travel agency awards.

“It is pleasing to see the Reef continuing to make the cut in awards of this nature and be listed alongside iconic travel experiences from around the world,” she said.

“Tropical North Queensland is also home to the world’s oldest tropical rainforest and the world’s oldest living culture, two more experiences worthy of any bucket list.”

Recognition such as that which will come from featuring on Tourism Australia and Flight Network’s bucket lists would only benefit Cairns, according to the city’s chamber of commerce president Nick Loukas.

“Everyone in Cairns knows just how great this place is,” he said.

“It’s good to be recognised like this and have these organisations tell the rest of the world they have got to visit the Far North.

“These things are a huge benefit to Cairns businesses,” Mr Loukas said.