Banks All located on Flinders Street Mall.

Bookshops Mary Who?, 155 Stanley St, has a fine range of everything.

Buses Greyhound Pioneer (tel 07/4772 5100); McCafferty's (tel 07/4772 5100); Premier (tel 13 3410).

Car and scooter rental Independent, 25 Yeatman St (tel 07/4772 6850), have basic models from $28 a day; Meteor, 333 Ingham Rd (tel 07/4779 4422), and Can Do, 194 Flinders St East (tel 07/4721 4766), offer deals on one-way rental to Cairns; Thrifty, cnr Ingham Rd and Hugh St (tel 07/4772 5558), charge from around $40 a day; Townsville Car and Scooter Rentals, 12 Palmer St (tel 07/4772 1093), start at $28 per day for a car and $7.15 for a scooter.

Diving and reef trips The pontoon at Kelso Reef is the day-trip destination of Pure Pleasure Cruises (tel 07/4721 3555), whose fast catamaran leaves five times a week from the Barrier Reef HQ jetty, picking up from Magnetic Island en route ($122). Diving and snorkelling gear is also available on board. Townsville's best dive destination is the coral-encrusted Yongala , in 15-30m of water some distance offshore; this is a fabulous dive, particularly at night. Tricky anchorage means that dives can only be made in good weather. Also be aware that the Yongala is a demanding site - deep, with strong currents and startlingly big fish; best not to go unless you are an advanced diver with at least twenty dives. Operators include: the Dive Bell, just south past Palmer St at 16 Dean St (tel 07/4721 1155), who are geared towards locals rather than tourists; Diving Dreams, 252-256 Walker St (tel 07/4771 2500); Pro Dive, in the Reef HQ complex, Flinders St (tel 07/4721 1760); and Blue Adrenalin, 390 Flinders St Mall (tel 07/4721 3001). All the above also offer regular courses from around $490 (including training and reef diving); qualified divers are looking at $425 plus gear hire for a three-day reef-and- Yongala package.

Hospital Townsville General Hospital, Eyre St (tel 07/4781 9211).

Internet access Internet Den, Alexandra House Arcade, opposite McDonald's off Flinders Street Mall (daily 9am-10pm).

Left luggage At the Transit Centre and airport.

NPWS Information on regional parks at the Reef HQ (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; tel 07/4721 2399).

Pharmacy Amcal, Flinders Street Mall.

Police 30 Stanley St (tel 07/4760 7777).

Post office Flinders Street Mall, cnr Denham St.

Swimming Tobruk Swimming Pool, The Strand, in the parkland on the north side of the road, about 1km west of the junction with Wickham St.

Taxi Stand at Flinders Street Mall (tel 13 1008).

Tours Birds & Bush Tours (tel 07/4721 6489, www.ultra.net.au/~bbt ) run small, personalized 4WD day-tours to Paluma, the Hervey Ranges and the Town Common for around $100.