Cardwell
your excitingly unique destination

Located halfway between Townsville and Cairns, Cardwell is the gateway to the Hinchinbrook experience of untamed wilderness, superb beaches, deserted islands (35 in all), fishing, crabbing and oystering; pure utter peace and serenity.

On the mainland, Cardwell is the centre of a vast Natural Wonderland. Visit waterfalls including Wallaman Falls, Australia’s highest single drop waterfall (305m); The remote but spectacular Blencoe Falls, and Attie Creek Falls. Swimming holes and Forest Drives with well maintained picnic and BBQ areas are available. Trek the wilderness walking tracks, climb Mount Bartle Freer (Queensland’s highest mountain); enjoy the thrill of white water rafting and canoeing.

Incredibly, 70% of the Cardwell Shire is National Park, world heritage and State Forest. The township of Cardwell is a tiny speck of freehold land in the centre of 80 kilometres of National Park oceanfront.

Fishing and Boating - enthusiasts will lack no opportunity in this premier fishing region! From the novice to the expert, everyone will have the opportunity to fish, crab and go prawning from the beach and jetty. You may prefer to launch your boat at the safe haven - Port Hinchinbrook - into the sheltered waters of the Hinchinbrook channel in search of Barramundi and mud crabs or venture seaward to the islands or the Great Barrier Reef to catch the succulent Coral Trout. There are regular reef and estuary fishing trips; sports fishing charters and dingy hire complement these services. NB:The boat ramp at Port Hinchinbrook is a public ramp available FREE of charge to all users. Houseboat and yacht hire is available at Port Hinchinbrook for those who enjoy the extra comfort while out on the water.

On completion it is envisaged that Port Hinchinbrook will feature over 600 private residences, apartments and villas, a hotel, a 250 berth marina in conjunction with refuelling and boat maintenance facilities, an 18 hole golf course, health club and other associated recreational facilities. Front Street will provide the central focus of the resort township and will include cafes, restaurants, bar and bottleshop, grocery outlets and specialty shops.

Our many tourism based operators such as a Dive Shop, Reef Cruises and Gameboat operators will have a central operating point for their businesses to operate from. Already many of these mentioned facilities are in place or well underway, in either the planning or early development stages.

Feature articles on this area appear regularly in all major fishing and boating magazines, a fitting tribute to the very productive fishing grounds of this region.

For many years a well kept secret, Cardwell now offers all attendant retail services, restaurants, a supermarket and medical facilities. Our Country club with golf and bowls, tennis courts, Olympic size swimming pool and Art Gallery offer excellent pastime activities. Cruises through the Hinchinbrook Channel and seaward to the friendly Hinchinbrook Island Resort and the magnificent National Park Trails of the eastern wilderness coastline of Hinchinbrook Island are available.

From Cardwell, branch out on self drive day trips to Ingham, Lucinda, Tully and Mission Beach, Cairns and Townsville are less than two hour drive away.

Pamper yourself - encapsulate our Natural Wonderland with a breathtaking scenic flight from Cardwells Dellachy Airport. Peter Webster (editor of the Fisherman and Boatowner magazine) best describes Cardwell as “Definitely the best boating and fishing are I have ever seen - and one of the most beautiful places in Australia”.Let us welcome you to Cardwell and Hinchinbrook hospitality. We may share the same latitude as Fiji, the Caribbean and Tahiti but our pace is more relaxed, more in tune with our vast wilderness wonderland.

Come share it with us.........
You’ll be truly welcome!

View the Cardwell Street Map.

For much more information about the district including maps, tour descriptions, community services, places to eat and photographs visit the official Cardwell web site.

And for much more information about Hinchinbrook Island click here.

In addition, check out the other close regional sites of Innisfail and Mission Beach.