The Hinchinbrook Area is a place of rugged beauty and inspiration. The area’s natural attractions include vast passage landscapes, cloud-covered mountaintops, luxuriant rainforests and small islands with dense tropical vegetation, sandy beaches and fringing reefs.

The area contains a diverse array of habitats, which support a range of fauna such as dugong, turtles, dolphins, as well as a host of birds and the occasional migrating whale.

The area has become internationally renowned for offering a relatively untouched nature-based experience where the scenery is suburb. Uses of the area are diverse and include bush walking, camping, low-key commercial tourism, cultural activities, recreational fishing and boating and commercial fishing.

Many residents around the Hinchinbrook Planning Area favour marine-based recreation, with activities centred mainly on boating and fishing and some island based recreation, including hiking on the world famous and strictly managed Thorsborne Trail.

The distinctive natural surroundings, unique plant and wildlife, and the nature-based experiences offered by the Hinchinbrook region have led to international recognition of this portion of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. However, there are a number of specific management concerns for a variety of nature conservation values within the area. The protection of these (and other) significant nature conservation values forms a key element of the Plan.