Queensland

With an area of 1,727,000 square kilometres, Queensland is the second largest state in Australia, the biggest is Western Australia.  Queensland is nearly five times the size of Japan, seven times the size of Great Britain, and two and a half times the size of Texas.

Queensland has five of Australia's eleven World Natural Heritage areas. These include the Scenic Rim  National Parks, Fraser Island, Riversleigh Fossil Fields, the Wet Tropics (including  Daintree National Park), and one of the Wonders of the World—the Great Barrier  Reef.

Queensland is home to more than 5 million people. (Including me!) More than half of Queensland's  population lives outside the greater metropolitan area of Brisbane—a large  proportion compared with the rest of highly urbanised Australia.

Brisbane: It is the capital, and the largest city in Queensland, with a population of 2.28 million. Brisbane was founded in 1824, and named after the Governor of New South Wales: Thomas Brisbane.

Gold Coast: The Gold Coast is a metropolitan region south of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast. It's famed for its long sandy beaches, surfing spots and elaborate system of inland canals and waterways. It’s also home to theme parks such as Dreamworld, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild.

Sunshine Coast: The Sunshine Coast encompasses beach resorts, surf spots and rural hinterland in southern Queensland, Australia. It stretches from the coastal city of Caloundra, near Brisbane, north to the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park, home to multicoloured sand dunes, mangrove forests, and shallow lakes.

Townsville: Townsville is a coastal city in northeastern Queensland, Australia. The Strand esplanade, with its pier and water park, is popular. The Reef HQ Aquarium has marine life and coral from the Great Barrier Reef, plus a sea turtle hospital. Southeast of the city, the Billabong Sanctuary wildlife park is home to koalas, wombats and crocodiles.

Cairns: Considered the gateway to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, it is a city in tropical Far North Queensland. Northwest of the city, Daintree National Park spans mountainous rainforest, gorges and beaches. With a population of 150,000, Cairns was founded in 1876.

In Queensland's far north, the biologically diverse Daintree Rainforest is home to the highest concentration of rare or endangered wildlife in the world. There are kangaroos, koalas, emus, dingoes, platypus, echidnas, bandicoots, and so many more!

I hope you enjoyed this small blog! And thanks for reading!