This was the big 3-week trip I had been waiting for. A friend of mine has travelled from Wales to come and do this adventure with me. I will first post the route we done before I go into where we stayed and what to do there. We flew from Sydney to the Gold Coast and then travelled the rest of the way with the Greyhound bus.
Sydney - Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast) - Brisbane - Noosa - Rainbow Beach / Fraser Island - Agnes Water 1770 - Airlie Beach / Whitsundays - Magnetic Island - Cairns - Cape Tribulation - Back to Cairns.
We started in Sydney as it was convenient from already living there however, many people also start travelling from the top which is Cairns. Personally, I think starting from Sydney and travelling up is better because the more North you go, the more beautiful and tropical it gets. Surfers paradise was our first destination and we stayed in Base hostel. This was one of my favourite hostels as it was really clean and most importantly the beds were great. The lay out wasn't like a normal hostel and with the beds you had your own private space which always makes such a difference when backpacking. Surfers Paradise is mainly good for going out. The beach is lovely, and everything is pretty much within walking distance. We stayed here for a few nights before moving on.
Next stop was Brisbane. Brisbane is a smaller city in Australia but still has a lot going on - apart from beaches. We stayed in Summerhouse hostel which was in a good location and there are great food spots really nearby. There are no beaches in Brisbane however, there is a lovely artificial one in the middle of the city which is actually really cool. You can usually get the city done within a day. We went to the koala sanctuary there which was great, and we got to hold koala bears (so cute). Usually the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo is the place to go though, I didn't have time to go here but I would definitely check it out if you are there, I heard awesome stories. Gauge is a cool cafe I visited, and they do really different and unique food - the best way I could describe it, it was delicious! Although, I couldn't get over that they served black garlic bread and it literally looked so burnt but people seemed to be enjoying it. Renting out bikes for the day is also a great idea because it gets you around the city quickly and you get to see everything, including the famous Brisbane sign!
Noosa was a place I was really looking forward to. I heard from so many people that it was so beautiful, and I couldn't wait to check it out. We stayed in Nomads hostel, which was pretty lively, so if that’s what you're looking for that’s the place to go. It had a nightclub, pool, hammocks and more. My first thought when I arrived in Noosa was that it was so hilly. I had such a huge suitcase with me and I’ll never forget the pains of dragging it up a huge hill to get to our hostel. However, the hills were worth it when you got over them to arrive at the beautiful beach. I really recommend doing the coastal walk and you can also whale watch from there if you go in the right season. After the coastal walk, treat yourself to a burger and ice cream at Betty's Burger, food had never tasted so good after that walk, especially this food - it was the best burger I had in a while. The next day we canoed on the Noosa Everglades which is only 1 out of 2 in the world with the other one being in Florida. We were able to canoe in these everglades though as there was no crocodiles, if there were, I would have been out of there in a flash. This was a lovely relaxing day although the canoe took so much longer than we thought, and we were pretty exhausted after it. Rent out Hydro-bikes! They were so much fun and do what they say, you are literally cycling a bike on the water.
Finally, onto Rainbow beach / Fraser Island. This trip is quite well known among travellers as it is one of the most popular ones. It definitely lived up to the name, this was one of my most favourite experiences. In rainbow beach itself there is nothing much to do. We stayed in Dingos hostel which was really cool and well facilitated. I would recommend walking to the sand dunes there and going sand boarding - you get free sand boards from the hostel. We then went on our Fraser Island trip through Dingoes company and the adventure began. We were split into groups and each group got a jeep to drive. This was already making me excited because I love jeeps but us getting them to drive along beach islands was incredible. There are no roads in Fraser Island, it’s all beach roads so you are literally driving alongside the sea and its spectacular. We visited Mckenzie lake, Champagne pools and so many other beautiful outlooks. We also camped which was an experience, fun but so so cold! Make sure you layer up as much as you can when sleeping. You were supplied with plenty food and we always got marshmallows to toast at night over our camp fire - yum! There was a mini nightclub within the camp site which was pretty fun, everyone danced to their own iPod playlists and had the best time. When we got back to Rainbow beach, I had my skydive. This was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. Fraser Island and Magnetic Island are the only 2 places in Australia where you can have a beach landing and it was so worth it. I can’t recommend doing this enough, especially if you love an adrenaline rush! Make sure you get it filmed; it does cost a bit extra but when you do an experience like this you want to re-live every moment of it. Every time I watch my video, I not only cringe but it makes me so happy and brings back so many memories.
We stayed in Agnes Water 1770 for 1 night which is enough as it is a pretty small town. Cool Bananas was the hostel that we stayed in and the hosts were really friendly and helpful. Although they made us do riddles to get the Wi-Fi password and this resulted in me almost never getting the password. This is the best place to surf or do surf lessons as it is also the last place up the east coast that its possible, as you aren't allowed to go into the water any further up because of it being shark infested or you have to wear a sting suit. We done a surf lesson which was really fun and were supposed to do Scooteroo but it got cancelled. If you can, do Scooteroo as I have heard it is a great experience.
AIRLIE BEACH! I finally get to visit the beach I have wanted to go to for so many years, Whitehaven beach. We stayed in Nomads hostel in Airlie and it was really nice, one of my favourite hostels! They have really nice markets in Airlie and its another good place for going out. The main thing to do here though is get yourself on the Whitsundays boats. We went on one called New Horizon which is sister boat to the Clipper. We had a chef on board and got fed really well and the food was delicious. We got to snorkel, scuba dive, paddle board, there was a big slide on our boat and a diving board. Obviously, we had to wear sting suits as these waters are infested with box jellyfish. This was a paradise trip and Whitehaven beach is heaven on earth. The sand is the purest sand in the world and is 98% silicone. Which meant you could brush your teeth with it and exfoliate your skin, it really does work! I also thought it was a great idea to wash my hair with the sand but actually, I do not recommend this. This trip is not one to miss out on.
Magnetic Island was the next stop. You have to get a bus to Townsville and then a ferry over to the island. Stay at Base hostel here, it is almost compulsory as I have never seen such an amazing hostel before. You basically lived in shacks and the hostel was right on the beach. This island is filled with koala bears, so you are always stopping in awe looking at trees. We rented out Barbie cars and it was one of the best days I have had, reliving the childhood dream of being a real-life barbie doll was pretty fun! This was a beautiful island but a couple of nights here and you have done mostly everything.
We finally reached the top of our trip, Cairns. This is known to be the party place in Australia and Gilighans is the only hostel you want to be staying at as it is famously known as the biggest party hostel in Australia. Great Barrier reef is another compulsory trip you have to do here. I scuba-dived and it was another world under the ocean. So colourful, tropical and peaceful. I was initially really scared to scuba dive but once I was under the water it was beautiful, and I didn't it want it to end.
We then went to the Cape Tribulation trip and stayed in the rain forest for a night. This was a really cool experience. We went on a crocodile tour and saw the man eaters themselves, which was actually really scary. This was the oldest rainforest in the world, so it was extra better getting to say I stayed the night there. We went back to Cairns for one last night to finish our trip and then we headed home to Sydney.
I could not recommend doing the East Coast trip enough. It was the best time of my life and I hope everyone can see the paradise I got to experience.
