A Wanderer’s Guide to: The Discovery and Capricorn Coasts

July 6, 2025
20:22
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Wanderers at Heart

We're Marc and Sandy, an Australian and an American with a passion for wandering. Follow our adventures as we travel around Australia and beyond!

Once we finished our journey through New South Wales and crossed the Queensland border, our travels north to the Discovery and Capricorn Coasts started in the quiet, unassuming coastal town of Woodgate. The town sits along a stretch of calm beach with hard sand great for beach driving, particularly for those without a lot of previous experience. The waters, being a bay, are generally calm and friendly, making them ideal for a swim or SUP.

A long circular stretch of sandy beach is flanked by thick bushland and calm ocean on a mostly clear sunny day — Woodgate Beach

The beach is flanked by Burrum Coast National Park, which offers an opportunity to explore remote beaches and wetlands. Located north of town, Theodolite Creek is a must to take the boat out for a fish or enjoy a beautiful sunset over the tidal flats.

A panoramic drone shot of sandy tidal flats flanked by thick bushland looking out over the ocean at sunset — Theodolite Creek at sunset

Bundaberg and Mons Repos

Bundaberg’s claim to fame would have to be from the very polarising Bundaberg Rum – you either love or hate it! Even if you’re not an avid fan, we still highly recommend the distillery tour. From its interesting history to a trip through the distillery and finishing off with some free tastings, it’s a worthwhile experience.

The front of Bundaberg Rum Distillery in Bundaberg, Queensland — The iconic Bundaberg Rum Distillery

Another draw card to this area is the close encounters you can have with turtles. Mon Repos is one of the best places to see nesting turtles and hatchlings between the months of November and March. Make sure to book ahead as the tours book out quickly!

A grassy beach leads to the ocean at sunset — The beaches at Mons Repos house nesting and hatching turtles year after year

Agnes Water/1770

We first visited the twin towns of Agnes Water and 1770, located halfway between Gladstone and Bundaberg, in June 2022 and almost instantly fell in love. It has easy-going beach vibes, boasts the northernmost surf beach on the east coast, and is a great launching point to access the southern Great Barrier Reef, considered by many to be one of the more pristine sections of the reef. For beginner surfers, Agnes Water Main Beach and Springs Beach are your best options, and for those with more experience, 1770 Headlands can offer some fantastic waves in the right conditions.

For such small towns, there is a lot of stunning coastline at Agnes Water and 1770

The best way to appreciate the natural beauty of Agnes Water/1770 is on foot. The 1770 Headlands Lookout offers great views over the coastline, while the 1770 Boardwalk meanders along the beachfront and is particularly dazzling at sunset. Plenty of tables are available to enjoy an evening meal while you watch the sun set over the ocean, a rarity on this side of the country.

A Panoramic view of a small beach flanked by rock with a headland curving around in the background — Beach views from the 1770 Headlands Lookout

Our favourite walk, the Red Rock Trail, is a 5km return hike along the southern coastline. It does require a good level of fitness as you’ll be walking through sand, inclines and declines, and some rough terrain, but the natural beauty you’ll see makes it worth the effort

a panoramic view of grassy hils with palm trees leading to red rocks and a sandy beach overlooking a blue ocean on a clear day — Beautiful scenery along the Red Rock Trail

The enchanting Paperbark Trail has risen to Insta-fame over the years which unfortunately has led to it being shut indefinitely whilst the owners of the land figure out how to make visitation more sustainable with less negative impact on the land. Hopefully this walk will reopen again so people can respectfully enjoy its beauty.

Raised pedestal steps make a trail through a marshy wetland and paperbark trees — Hopefully the Paperbark Forest Trail will re-open again one day

There are plenty of camping options in town (unfortunately none of them free) but our favourite is hands down 1770 EcoCamp. Located on the main road into town, this dog-friendly campground with its idyllic bush setting will make you feel immediately at ease, and the wonderful staff will make you feel always welcome. Ammenities are rustic and sites do not offer water hookups, but the natural setting compared to your usual caravan park more than makes up for it. If you have a smaller set up, definitely opt to stay in the Grasstrees section at the top of the hill; the pool is refreshing and the views are unreal!

A black dog with a bluey muzzle and black and red harness is jumping into a dam, the photo taken just before he enters the water — The dam at 1770 Ecocamp is fun for human and fur kids alike

One activity that comes highly recommended that we haven’t had a chance to experience yet is the 1770 Larc tour. As you drive into 1770, you can’t miss the bright pink vessels, which offer a variety of tours. We’ve been told the day-long tour, which takes you up to the Bustard Head lighthouse, is the most worthwhile. While at the marina, do not miss the Marina Cafe’s award-winning vanilla slice. Good luck trying to finish one on your own!

Deepwater and Eurimbula National Parks, which flank Agnes Water/1770, offer a chance to get a bit more seclusion. Eurimbula is popular for fishing, offering both land and boat-based options. Deepwater takes you through some interesting rainforests and wetlands, with detours to the pristine coastline. Both require a 4WD to access.

A rocky outcrop provides panoramic views over lush bushland on a mostly cludy day — Lookout from Eurimbula National Park

Rockhampton

Rockhampton, commonly referred to simply as “Rocky”, is the gateway to some fantastic coastal gems, Yeppoon And Great Keppel Island. However, Rocky itself is worth a good look around. If you have a self-contained set up, the free camp at Kershaw Gardens is a convenient stop over, with a dog-friendly park to walk your pup, and a sizeable shopping centre across the road to stock up on supplies.

In town, the Quay Street precinct has an array of well-maintained historical buildings, and a walk along the Fitzroy River is pleasant on a nice day. Mount Archer National Park, a short drive from the city centre, offers some pleasant bush walks and fantastic views over town and surrounds along the easily accessible boardwalk lookout.

A wooden boardwalk leads through trees to a lone man standing at a lookout with an orange sunset sky — The lookout from Mount Archer is especially beautiful at sunset

If you’re keen, you’re welcome to hike up to the 604m peak along the 14km (one-way) trail or take the easy option of driving the sealed road to the top. For avid mountain bikers, the national park also offers numerous mountain biking trails.

Yeppoon

About 45km northeast of Rockhampton along the Capricorn Coast sits the town of Yeppoon. There are several caravan parks to choose from in this area, but we have always enjoyed our stay at the NRMA Capricorn Yeppoon Holiday Park, with Mulambin Beach a short walk away. It is also conveniently close to the Bluff Point Walking Track, a short walk with some steep climbs offering great views over the coastline. It includes the Turtle Lookout, a great point to spot turtles in the waters below.

A panoramic view from high looking across the ocean to a sun setting behind tall hils — Bluff Lookout

The NRMA park is also close to the marina, which is the launching point for ferries to Great Keppel Island (Wop-pa). Great Keppel Island is only a short 30 minute ferry ride away from the mainland and can be easily explored as a day trip, although if you have the time to stay on the island, you will definitely get to see more as it is a sizeable island. If you get to the Rosslyn marina early enough, you can take the short hike up to some lookouts, including the interesting geological formations of Fan Rock, before catching your ferry to the island.

An interesting geological formation known as Fan Rock, has bars of rock fanning out from a central point — Fan Rock

Once on Great Keppel, you have a number of options since there are 17 beaches to choose from. We chose to hike from the ferry terminal across the island to the beautiful stretch of Leekes Beach, then follow the coastline back around to where we started.

A clear sandy beaches stretches out into the distance and green rolling headlands on a partly cloudy day — Great Keppel Island has plenty of beaches to find your own patch of paradise

From there, we headed south to check out Long Beach, Monkey Beach, and Shelving Beach, all great options for snorkelling. Even with all that, we still had time to grab a cocktail by the beach before catching the ferry back to Yeppoon. And good news for dog owners: the ferry and island are dog friendly! We can’t wait to get back there with our pup one day.

A view down through the trees to a sandy beach and clear blue ocean — With clear waters like this, it’s easy to see why snorkelling is a popular activity on Great Keppel Island!

If you love nature and 4WD adventures, you don’t want to miss Byfield National Park. Familiarity with sand driving is highly recommended as some of the tracks are not for the faint of heart! But if you’re able to tackle them, you’ll be rewarded with pristine beaches for swimming, snorkelling, paddling, or boating, and you’re likely to have them all to yourself!

A panoramic view from a bushy hill of a long stretch of sandy beach continuing to the horizon and clear ocean on a mostly cloudy day — Byfield National Park

Blackdown Tablelands National Park

If travelling Queensland’s central coast, Blackdown Tablelands National Park is fairly out of the way, but if you have the time it is well worth the detour. It is located about 200km inland from Rockhampton and offers bush camping, indigenous rock art, lookouts, and some of the prettiest (and coldest!) rock pools around.

Aboriginal rock art of hand silhouettes in ochre under a rocky ledge — Rock art to be found in Blackdown Tablelands

As you drive into the park, have a quick stop at Horseshoe Lookout to enjoy the scenic views.

A panoramic view of a lookout over a gorge looking into the sun — Horseshoe Lookout

Continuing into the park you’ll reach the end of the road into a small carpark. Gudda Gumoo, also known as Rainbow Falls, is accessed by 240 stairs into the gorge. Be sure to check out both the lower and upper pools as they are both quite stunning. We’d highly recommend visiting in the middle of the day (especially in the colder months) as otherwise you’ll be in shade, which will make the cool pools just that much colder!

A tall rocky waterfall with a slight trickle creates a small rainbow as it lands into a reflective pool — The lower pools

A three tiered rocky waterfall with circular pools with tall gum trees in the background — The lower pools

After our visit to Blackdown Tablelands, we rejoined the central Queensland Coast to continue north, where we would soon discover that there is so much more to this stretch of coastline than just the world famous Whitsunday Islands!

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