Located in the car park of Grand Mall, Retro Museum transports visitors back to the 1944-1989 socialist period. The centrepiece is a collection of over 50 impeccably restored cars, including Volgas, Moskvichs, Trabants and Škodas, alongside Simson and Balkan motorbikes. The undisputed star is the Chaika GAZ-13 limousine, once the vehicle of choice for Communist Party Politburo members. Beyond the vehicles, the exhibits paint a fuller picture of everyday socialist life: East German household goods, Polish cosmetics, filterless Bulgarian cigarettes and Soviet vacuum cleaners all feature. A wax figure section adds Todor Zhivkov, Leonid Brezhnev and Fidel Castro to the mix, alongside beloved Bulgarian cultural figures. For anyone who grew up in that era, it is a trip straight back to childhood; for everyone else, a window into a world that has largely disappeared.

In this beautiful park, 50 km north of Mackay, the rainforest literally meets the ocean. A terrific park featuring long white sandy beaches and 25 species of tropical butterflies. The unique self-guiding Jupiera Aboriginal trail highlights native plants and inquisitive wallabies that visit the palm fringed beach at sunrise and sunset.

From 1778 to 1914, the university’s young students were briefly imprisoned here for minor offenses, such as willfully disturbing the peace of the citizenry. Many of the inmates passed the time away by immortalizing themselves on the walls of the prison with drawings, silhouettes, and expressive phrases. Their spirited artwork can be admired today on a visit to the prison. A combination ticket is available for entrance to the Alte Aula and the prison (Karzer).