Mission Beach is a small coastal town about 240 kilometres north of Townsville. For visiting beach lovers, it offers a beautiful stretch of sand for all sorts of activities. Besides the obvious sunbathing, you can go skydiving or kayaking. Paddle from South Mission Beach along the coast, passing golden sandy beaches and rocky headlands. As you cruise along, there will be plenty of opportunities to see turtles and many sea birds that frolic along this scenic coastline.

Townsville Street Art Trail takes you through 15 works of art hidden in alleys, laneways and on warehouse walls. Head into the city centre for the biggest concentration of murals. The oldest and most well-known piece of guerrilla street art is the ‘Saint’ on Castle Hill — painted in the 1970s in the early hours of Saint Patrick’s Day by local students. It's naive stick figure aesthetic is pure delight.

King Faisal Street is one of the main thoroughfares of Amman. On this palm-fringed strip, gold dealers from the Gold Souq weigh bracelets under neon lights, while juice vendors press pomegranates nearby and old men play backgammon at pavement cafés. The street’s charm lies in its contrasts: the 1924 post office (now The Duke’s Diwan) overlooks a row of buzzing local businesses, and the call to prayer from Al Hussein Mosque competes with taxi horns. At night, the air thickens with the scent of sizzling lamb from decades-old shawarma stands, and crowds gather at Habibah Sweets for knafeh so fresh it crackles.

Just a 90-minute drive from Townsville lies a spot where in 1871 gold was discovered by an Aboriginal boy named Jupiter. Today, the town called Charters Towers has 10,000 inhabitants and has some beautifully preserved 19th and early 20th century buildings from its heyday. It is well worth a visit for architecture lovers.