Everything you need to know about the Townsville Multisport World Championships: Part 4
If you're going to go this far for a race, you might as well take in some of the sights!
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
For athletes traveling to Australia from Europe or North America, adding some time to the trip to enjoy some time “Down Under” makes a lot of sense. The World Triathlon Multisport Championships take place in Townsville, a city in the northern region of Queensland, Australia. While the entire country has lots to offer, it won’t be hard to put together the trip of a lifetime just staying in that province.
Everything you need to know about the Townsville Multisport World Championships: Part 1
This is hardly meant to be a definitive guide, but rather a story with some suggestions based on our own experience from a couple of trips to Queensland for Ironman Cairns and a recent tour of the Townsville site coupled with coverage of the 40th anniversary of the famed Noosa Triathlon.
Everything you need to know about the Townsville Multisport World Championships: Part 2
While there’s lots to do in the Townsville region – see the link below – if you can take some extra time to enjoy some other parts of Queensland you should plan to hit some of the provice’s other hotspots.
Everything you need to know about the Townsville Multisport World Championships: Part 3
Cairns
The Ironman Cairns event – otherwise known as the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship, is renowned as Ironman’s most popular event for a reason – in addition to the great event, the area offers the opportunity for a great race-cation. Diving and snorkelling opportunities at the Great Barrier Reef are closer than from Townsville, and you also have some incredible opportunities inland, too.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast
There’s a good chance that you’ll fly into or out of Brisbane if you’re coming from Europe or North America, and you should take some time to enjoy the spectacular capital and largest city in Queensland. The city is built around the Brisbane River, with an incredible waterfront trail system that makes for great exploring opportunities on foot, on a bike or by boat. With a mix of great food, fantastic coffee, museums and art and a number of outdoor 50 m pools, the city is a triathletes dream for both living and visiting.
Even if you can only make it for an evening, be sure to take a walk down by the water front at sunset and at night to take in the incredible atmosphere.
August is a great time to take in some whale watching south of Brisbane along the Gold Coast, which is famous for its beaches and hiking opportunities in the rainforest to take in lots of wildlife (especially birds).
Sunshine Coast/ Noosa
Heading north from Noosa you can take in some of triathlon’s famous venues – the Sunshine Coast, which hosted the 70.3 world championship and Noosa, the home of one of the sport’s most iconic (and largest – 8,500 athletes compete in the Olympic-distance race) triathlons. It might still technically be winter, but you can still enjoy the beaches or simply enjoy the incredible scenery along the ocean. There are lots of water activities to take in – everything from diving to surfing to fishing to whale watching.
K’gari (Formerly Fraser Island)
Determined to experience as much wildlife as possible during our trip, we ventured to K’gari, the world’s largest sand island. It’s a few hours drive north or Noosa. You can only drive four-wheel vehicles on the island – you can either rent one, or simply park your rental car and take the ferry over to stay at one of the resorts on the island. (Kingfisher Beach Resort is a fantastic option, with a variety of room and dining options – you’ll feel comfortable keeping the kids entertained if need be, and at the higher end you’ll see that the resort has literally hosted royalty, with Harry and Meghan being the last of the royal family to make the trip.)
It’s well worth doing the “Beauty Spots 4WD Tour” from the resort, which will take you to some of the sights on the island including Lake McKenzie (pictured at the top of the story), 75 mile beach and its famous “highway,” the Maheno shipwreck and the coloured sands of the Pinnacles and much more.
If you’re lucky you’ll see some of the World Heritage site’s wild dingoes, which are the “purest strain of dingo” because domestic dogs are banned on the island. There are roughly 25 to 30 packs on the island, so there’s a good chance you’ll see some during your travels.
Make the trip your own
As with our suggestions for time in Townsville, doing some homework to create your own dream trip down under is well worth the time. Queensland offers lots of opportunities, but there’s certainly lots more to see in the country, depending on how much time you have to check things out.
Bottom line – this year’s Multisport World Championship will offer athletes from around the world the chance to race and vacation in one of the world’s most spectacular countries.
