STATE BY STATE GUIDE:

Queensland Capital: Brisbane Total land area: 1,730,648 km² Population: 4,000,000 Highest point: Mt. Bartle Frere, 1622 m Queensland has the lot! - lush green rainforest, empty white sand beaches, the rolling green scenery of the Hinterland, The Great Barrier Reef, bustling cities and towns, parties and people or peace and solitude.

Starting at the top and working south, Cape York is proper 4WD country. Most go north to Cooktown from the end of the tarmac road at Cape Tribulation and head off into the depths of the peninsula from there. It's wild and remote up there so plan properly and stay away in the wet season when most of the roads are impassable at one time or another.

Cape Tribulation is set in the heart of the rainforest. It's well worth taking the time to find out more about this fascinating ecosystem. There are trails throughout the area and the Daintree rainforest visitor centre has a wealth of information about the plants, birds and animals that inhabit the forest. It's incredible how densely life is packed together and how it changes as you move upward through the canopy. The visitor centre has a tower with platforms at different levels and you can see how the parrot species and other bird and plant life changes as you climb in height. Information leaflets and boards at each level tell you what to look for and how the aborigines used each unexpected resource.

Head to the coast and you'll find the forest is unbroken right down to the beach. Deep green mountains topped with bulging white clouds slope down to coconut lined white sandy beaches that slide gently into the turquoise waters of the Great Barrier Reef - and hardly a sole to be seen even at the height of the season. Paradise! Captain Cook beached his ship Endeavour for repairs at Cape Tribulation and when you sit on the beach with no one around you can really imagine them landing on an unexplored land, dragging their tenders up onto the beach and setting up camp.

The narrow road twists and winds south from Cape Trib. and is great fun on a bike. Eventually it opens out to a ferry crossing at the Daintree River and on to Port Douglas. This small town is, for my money anyway, far nicer than its better-known neighbour Cairns. It feels much more upmarket and the tropical vegetation seems to penetrate the town as opposed to being displaced by the buildings.

The Great Barrier Reef is about an hour away by fast catamaran and there are several major tour operators to choose from all leaving from the shop and restaurant lined marina. Snorkelling and/or diving on the reef is an essential experience if you're in Queensland. You can't describe the abundance of fish and coral and getting up close to huge potatoe cod, turtles and sharks is commonplace. The only issue I'd have with the GBR is that you have to take a boat ride to visit it but the cost and time taken getting out there and back is worth every penny.

Another great day out for the fisherman amongst you is a deep sea fishing charter. It's a much more personal experience than the large dive boat operators as there's only 10 or so on a boat. You meet interesting people, get great views of the coast and always come back with a sackful of fish for the barbie! No sooner is your bait on the bottom and the tugging begins. A 20 or 30lb fish is not uncommon but you've got to be quick pulling them up because sharks instantly home in on the stressed fish. One minute you're struggling to pull up a decent fish. Suddenly it gets much bigger and takes off into the distance! There's a short struggle and the line goes light. Bring it up and all that's left is the head of a 30lber with the perfect curve of a shark's jaw where the body used to be!

Throw your catch on the barbie wrapped in foil with some garlic salt and slices of lemon and you're in for a real treat. These fish are seriously delicious and taste all the better for catching it yourself.

There are loads of other things to do up here but another good day out is to Mossman Gorge. It's up in the rainforest and as well as the informative trails through the trees the real attraction is the cool water flowing down from the hills. On a hot, steamy day in January there's nothing better than sitting in the boulder-strewn river listening to the birds and wildlife - and the odd backpacker tour!

Head south to Cairns past countless sugar beet fields and things start to get busier. Cairns is not as big as you might expect but there are plenty of bars, restaurants, shops, day trip vendors and people from all over the world. Worth a visit but personally I wouldn't stay long - there's much better along this coast!

The road winds south along the coast towards Townsville with hills to your right and the sea on your left. There are one or two nice campsites right on the beach. Pitch your tent under a palm tree, cook your evening meal on the beach and watch the stars appear as the sun goes down. In the morning open your tent to see the sun rising over the ocean!

Townsville sprawls a little but the town centre is quite compact. The 290m high Castle Hill dominates the view. There's a 2km path to the top where there's some great views over the town and out to Magnetic Island 20 minutes off shore.

The town has a new looking marina and lovely seafront drive called the Strand with a large open-air salt water swimming pool at one end. It's free and open 24 hours. If you're keen enough to get there at 6.30am you'll see the locals all getting their daily swim before heading off to work! Townsville has one of the best Reef Aquariums in the world with an IMAX theatre and the Museum of Tropical Queensland next door. This part of town is the older part and also has the pubs and nightclubs.

I liked Townsville and it gets even better with a visit to Magnetic Island. It's 8km offshore and is easily reached with your vehicle on the ferry. Captain Cook named it when his compass spun uncontrollably as he passed the island. It's a quiet island with lovely sandy bays and some superb bushwalks with fantastic views of the island and plentiful wildlife. Look closely and you'll see koalas in the trees. 'Maggie' as the locals call it has a relaxed, laid back feel with small resorts spread around the 494m Mt Cook.

Just south of Townsville is Airlie beach and the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. I haven't been there yet and so won't comment but from what I've read it's high on my list of to-do's next time I visit the area.

Stay on the long road south and the next big stop is Hervey Bay and the ferry to Fraser Island. One of the highlights of a trip to Queensland, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world at 120km by 15km. The normal procedure for visitors is to either join a tour and accompany several other people with a guide or hire a 4WD car in Hervey Bay and take yourself onto the island via the River Head ferry 10km or so south of town.

Although the island is dominated by sand it has an incredibly wide variety of habitats. Dense rainforest is being taken over in some places by giant dunes and dozens of deep freshwater lakes have formed where leaves have created an impermeable layer through which the water can't pass. The eastern beach is the main road but only when the tide's out! Fines for driving hire vehicles in salt water are considerable. I asked the guy that thoroughly checked my 4WD when I came back and he described all sorts of ways they can tell if it's been in the sea.

There are several resorts and apartments on the Island but they are expensive and supplies are vastly overpriced. In my opinion the true atmosphere of the place can only be felt when camping on the beach. Take your own food and water (and maybe a few beers!) and camp just behind the 'road' in a series of small dunes. Light a campfire, cook a meal and watch the ocean as the sun goes down. All those things you thought were important in life seem to just drift away on the tide and you've time to reflect on what really matters. In the morning get up early and take a walk through the bush to one of the crystal clear freshwater lakes. Watch the fish eagles grab their breakfast, kick back and relax! Wonderful.

As you drive along the beach there are shipwrecks to explore, dingoes to watch and many 4WD tracks leading you off into the rainforest to lakes or interesting features such as huge dunes called sandblows. Towards the north of the island Indian Heads is an area of high cliffs that overlooks the ocean. Swimming on the beach is definitely not recommended and if you walk up onto the top of the cliff you'll see why. Large dark shapes in the water are distinctly shark shaped but turtles and whales are often seen passing by.

Leaving Fraser Island and heading south you'll find yourself on the Sunshine Coast. From Noosa you can see Fraser island across the ocean. This town is an upmarket tourist location located on the estuary to the Noosa River. Beautiful houses with jetties to the river mix with good quality restaurants and a modern, small town centre. Noosa has some of the best surfing in the area and the estuary is full of windsurfers and kite surfers when the wind's right. The Noosa National Park has some lovely walks and the river is a magnet for fishermen.

An hour or so inland from Noosa is an area of high ground called the hinterland. It's a mix of pineapple farms, tremendous views to the coast, quaint country towns and rainforest. Captain Cook names the peaks in the area the Glass House Mountains as it reminded him of the Glass factories in his native Yorkshire. The steep, craggy volcanic mounds are up to 300m tall with sheer sides in places. The surrounding area has gradually weathered away leaving these peaks of hard rock sticking up from the surrounding plain. There are some superb lookouts as you travel throughout the area and the wooden Queenslander buildings add to the country atmosphere.

An hour or so south of Noosa down a good road is Brisbane. There are several other towns along the Sunshine Coast but I haven't visited them yet.

Brisbane is a cosmopolitan, cultured town set on the banks of the Brisbane River. It has a great street café scene, is a magnet for lovers of theatre and nightlife and a superb shopping centre for those needing some retail therapy. It's now the third largest city in Australia with 1.6m people and all of the above plus fantastic weather make it one of the most desirable places to live in the country. There's loads to do in Brisbane but I prefer the natural side of Australia and so I leave other better qualified people to tell you about the city, its history and places to visit.

South of Brisbane is the famous Gold Coast with Surfers Paradise and the high-rise hotel strip that accompanies it. If I'd visited when I was 21 and unmarried they'd have had to drag me away from the place kicking and screaming because this is one great place to party and meet members of the opposite sex. For a married, 37 year old solo traveler it didn't appeal so much (even though I still enjoy a good party!) and so I passed through pretty quickly. The beach was beautiful with fine white sand and good surf but the tall hotels, bars, fast food outlets and neon signs of commercialism have spoilt it. There must be much more to this part of the coast than I've seen but as I passed through I was struggling for time and had more important things to see.

I could write forever about Queensland and its attractions and there's still so much for me to go back and see. It's a great state and I hope this short explanation offers a brief flavour of the place.