Holiday houses in Agnes Water

The charming coastal town of Agnes Water lies roughly halfway between the cities of Bundaberg and Gladstone in north Queensland. The town’s super-long main beach is home to the most northerly surf break on Australia’s east coast — the Great Barrier Reef stops the swell making it to shore any further north. On the sheltered side of the headland just north of this long beach, you’ll find Agnes’s little sister, Seventeen Seventy (also known as Town of 1770), a village on the site where English explorer Captain James Cook first landed on the Queensland coastline in 1770. Agnes Water is bordered by the mangroves and rainforest of Eurimbula National Park to the northwest and the rugged Deepwater National Park to the south, while off the coast lie the coral cays of the Southern Great Barrier Reef. The less-visited southernmost section of the Great Barrier Reef is home to the Bunker island group, including Lady Musgrave Island and Lady Elliot Island, both of which are great for snorkelling and scuba-diving.

While Agnes Water is south of the Tropic of Capricorn, you’ll find the summers are still steamy, with hot and humid days followed by balmy nights. You’ll need to book your holiday house in Agnes Water well ahead during the busy school holiday periods and over the summer break. The town also gets crowded during the a music festival, which takes place in February. Loggerhead and green turtles nest on the beaches in the area from November to January, with hatchlings taking to the sea up until late March. Be sure and follow the lead of locals and maintain an appropriate distance from the turtles. You can snorkel and dive off the coast all year around, or take advantage of lower daytime temperatures from May through September to hike the surrounding national parks and state forests.

Eurimbula National Park

Most of this low-lying coastal national park is pristine bushland, with just one established walking track in the reserve. You’ll need a serious off-road vehicle to push deeper into the park on the rough roads leading to the short but steep Ganoonga Noonga lookout track.

Eurimbula sea trail

If you don’t have a four-wheel drive, grab a kayak to explore the coastline of Eurimbula National Park. The Eurimbula sea trail starts at Seventeen Seventy and traces the coastline past Middle Island to Bustard Head. The whole trail takes several days to paddle, but you can check out the estuaries and creeks nearest Seventeen Seventy in one memorable day.

Lady Musgrave Island

Take a tour boat from Seventeen Seventy for the 90-minute trip to Lady Musgrave, a densely forested coral island surrounded by a long ring of coral protecting a pretty lagoon. Pack reef shoes and snorkels to explore the marine life sheltering in the lagoon, or scuba gear to dive the fringe of the coral cay.