Most of the east coast of Queensland prides themselves with their proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. But not everywhere is the same. Further up north, where the reef almost touches the coast, Cape Tribulation, already famous for its Daintree rainforest, also gloats with its closeness to this huge underwater organism, even seen from space. Once arrived in the remoteness of this access point, money tends to turn irrelevant, because “This could be my only chance.”. Only a twenty-minute boat ride separates the snorkel-enthusiast from a world full of colours. Deep-blue starfish chill on empty spaces in between forests of green and red corals. Orange and white or black and white clownfish hide shyly between yellow sea anemones and giant black clams sprinkled with turquois dots allow a tiny peak through a small hole into their interior that sparkles and glows mysteriously. Home to a myriad of fish, including the rainbow-coloured parrotfish munching happily on the corals, the attentive first-timer learns how sound travels underwater. Every now and then a majestic brown sea turtles graces everyone with their presence, while both grey sharks and blue-dotted stingrays prefer to remain hidden in caves or the sand.

Just a couple hours south, Port Douglas and Cairns, specialised to receive tourists, have a far larger number of tours to choose from that cost a little more but offer the same if not less. The city offers perks that the rainforest can’t, and the inquisitive traveller might just join on a Wednesday afternoon social sailing that so many of the Yacht clubs here offer.

Escaping the typical tourist routes is easier said than done and even on sparsely populated Magnetic Island, or ‘Maggie’, which is not very magnetic, off the coast of Townsville, which indeed is a town, backpackers and quiet-seeking holidayers seem to outnumber the down-to-earth locals who live the dream of being able to watch sunrise and sunset from two different beaches only a thirty-minute car ride away from each other. Although not endemic, the main and cutest attraction of Maggie remains the Koala, whose drowsy nature thrives in the island’s lifestyle. To keep entertained creative minds came up with the most Queensland thing ever, the Cane Toad Race, whose biggest part is betting on the winning creature, who afterwards is rewarded with a kiss, regardless of potential royal blood. Apparently, their mouths are not toxic after all. September is supposed to be the best month to go visit the island, unless, of course, there are strong wind which make water sports opportunities improbably. No sailing, no diving and no snorkelling. What remains is to go and watch the endangered rock wallabies eat carrots which the tourist should technical not bring, just if they really, really have to feed them.

Not even pretending to be anything else than a tourist hotspot, Airlie Beach, even further south, presents itself as access point for the Whitsunday Islands. Lined with by many claimed to be the most beautiful beaches of not only Australia but the whole world, accommodation prices on the islands are unobtainable for the average backpacker, who instead books a boat tour, sometimes even overnight. Still pricy, but worth the fearful look at the bank account, is a scenic flight across the archipelago, the only viable undertaking to grant a full view over the whole area including the nearby Great Barrier Reef. While the usual snorkel trips grant a cherry-picking glimpse into the extension of the reef, the flight shows it all. Suddenly a completely new understanding of its vastness and distinguishable geography enters the uneducated mind. Like a completely submerged mountain range it breaks the incoming waves as if approaching the coast but instead of sandy beaches, green planes and rocky hills it makes art in a way that no human artist could ever imagine. Copper red coral reefs separate emerald green shallow areas from deep turquois pools. So diverse and bizarre is the range of formations that even a heart-shaped reef can be found. Though truly enticing, the Great Barrier Reef remains too far from the coast to discover in a day’s trip and snorkel tour participants have to content themselves with discovering the less spectacular reefs flanking the islands. But as much as the hyperactive tour guides try to push their uniqueness, they remain just a sickly grey cousin, sad to look at, of the beauty visible further up north, effects of tourism and climate change, one can only suppose.

Although the Great Barrier Reef stretches even further south, all the way to the height of Rockhampton, coastal tourist hotspots get scarcer, and the city itself, being so far from the sea, instead shows the first symptoms of a landlocked outback town. Tourists are rare, streets are empty, houses are low, and the atmosphere is flat. The boundary towards a different world.