Ayr (Queensland)

The town has a population of about 8000 and is a major centre for growing sugar cane, mangoes and vegetables. This is helped by the good water supply in the area. The town attracts people with working holiday visas between March and December to work on harvests.

Ayr is an hour's drive south of Townsville which has flights to Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. Highway 1 then goes south to Mackay, Rockhampton, and Brisbane.

By train

Ayr is on the North Coast railway line, which links Brisbane with Townsville and Cairns. Ayr is 1,260km from Brisbane. Trains from Brisbane run 5 days per week leaving around 15:45 and arrive at 08:00 the following day. Trains from Cairns run 5 days per week, departing around 09:00 and arrive at 16:20 the same day.

• Alva Beach

• Historic buildings in the town centreThere are several buildings from the early twentieth century around Queen Street.

• Yongala Dive

  phone: +61 7 4783 1519
  address: 56 Narrah St
  Alva Beach. Yongala Dive offers 2 dive scuba diving day trips to the Yongala Wreck, which is only 45 minutes boat travel from Ayr. Trips cost $160 or $190 with gear hire included. Bus transfers from Airlie Beach are available for $40. Some speciality dive courses are available on request but introductory dive training is not.

The town's backpackers offer weekly rates for temporary workers.

• Delta Backpackers

  address: 139 Queen St

• Ayr Backpackers

  address: 52-56 Wilmington St