Townsville to Cairns - What to see?

We enjoyed going to see the WWII forts on Magnetic Island. The bus drops you off at the carpark and there is walk to them. The trees along the way have koalas that are easy to see.

I just spent a couple of days at Paulma Dam northwest of Townsville. Very nice.

To me Josephine falls (signed turnoff on highway 20 minutes north of Innisfail) are a must. I also like the Babinda Boulders.

Hiking. Well at one extreme is the hike to the top of Mt Bartle Freere (Qld's highest mountain). You can do this from the carpark at Josephine Falls or from the Atherton tablelands side of the range. You'd need to be fit, plan it well and ensure the weather was going to be fine on the top to enjoy the view. I just spent a week up that way and only saw the peak of Bartle Frere on one day.

There's a through walk from the Babinda Boulders to the Goldsborough Valley. 18K from memory. The car shuttle would be long.

Trip up Walsh's Pyramid south of Cairns on a fine winters day looking over cane fires perhaps ?

Have fun

If you want a longer walk there is a great walk on Hinchinbrook island,

I'm a bit biased :-) but Mission Beach is a nice spot.
Hikes, lots of shorter ones 1 to 3 hours.

Magnetic Island - there are 3 ways to do day trips:

1. Combined ferry and bus ticket. You are able to get on and off the bus all day.

2. Ferry and hire a Moke or scooter. These hire vehicles are not permitted off the bitumen.

3. Your own vehicle over by barge. This way you can get to more places.

PeterD

Pardon my cynicism ozwasp but you're about 35 years too late to see much between Townsville and Cairns.
I don't know where you're from but we've had development mad councils and state govts. since the 70's.
We used to have untouched beaches but you'll find very expensive homes on most of them now, all built with the environment in mind of course.
As you go through Cardwell take particular notice of the wonderful addition Keith Williams has made to the beach front.
That is after destroying large amounts of " protected' ( unless you're a friend of the state govt. ) seagrass beds that are essential for dugong habitat.
Don't forget also to take a close look at the sensitive treatment the cassowary habitat has been given around Mission Beach.
I forgot Kurrimine, nearly all the native vegetation cleared from in front of the beach front homes.
When you do get to the Gold Coast of the Tropics, sorry, Cairns you'll notice on the left massive developments on what was sugar cane paddocks, they're easy to spot because of the 2 meter high paling fences facing the highway.
Another interesting feature as you enter Plastic Land is the BEIGE apartments on the left, high density living with a large sign at the front saying CITY WATERS .
You won't see it , but our wonderful Mayor has just done another deal with a developer to throw out the height restrictions and build another high rise monstrosity.
To end on a positive note take a drive into Wallaman Falls, well worth the effort.

Blencoe Falls are spectacular and well worth the 80km drive in west of Kennedy. Takes nearly 2 hours. Signs say the Kirrima Range road is closed but it is not really closed. The council is playing politics with the government.
Les