The Ultimate Trip of the East Coast of Australia

I'm nearing the end of my year backpacking the east coast of Australia, and I've had a truly sensational time here. Since I've been documenting my travels, a few friends have now started, or are about to start their journeys down under, and I wanted to sum up a few of the best spots to enjoy the ultimate trip of the east coast of Australia.

Before coming to Australia, I admit I didn't have a clue where anything was, so I'd like to give my readers an insight so that you can enjoy your trip to the fullest, as well as find out where Joe and I ended up! Hopefully I'll persuade a few others to travel at the same time.

Adelaide, SA
Starting at the bottom in the state of South Australia is Adelaide. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to visit here, but it's still a place worth seeing. The city of Adelaide itself is the cosmopolitan coastal capital of SA and is an art lover's paradise with it's museums and galleries. Off the coast of South Australia is Kangaroo Island which I would have loved to visit as it's home to a rich and diverse array of wildlife and stunning scenery.

Melbourne & Great Ocean Road, VIC

Botanical Gardens, Melbourne

View of Melbourne from St Kilda pier

This is where we started our journey. Melbourne is voted year after year as one of the world's most liveable cities, and I can certainly see why. Being in the south, the state of Victoria has a mild climate, like a slightly warmer version of Britian, but with mild winters and much more satisfying summers. The city boasts large and beautiful botanic gardens, an awesome aquarium, Luna park and relaxed beaches amongst many other attractions. It is a short drive from here to the Great Ocean Road, with stunning ocean views which is well worth hiring a campervan for best experience.

St Kilda pier at sunset

Tasmania, TAS
Another on my wishlist, perhaps I'll get to visit in my last month here! The home of Taz, the Tasmanian devil, is it's own state, and an island created with the wilderness and photography enthusiasts in mind, as it contains some of the countries best views and wildlife that is found nowhere else in Australia. Waterfalls, hills and lakes galore!

Canberra, ACT
The capital city of Australia is also the largest inland city. Most tourists don't visit here, probably because it's not by the beach. But it's most known for it's museums and galleries. It is given it's own district, named "Australian Capital Territory" (ACT) within the state of New South Wales (NSW).

Sydney & Blue Mountains, NSW
The biggest city in Australia is next up the coast and is in fact the next stop on our travels at the end of the month. It doesn't look too far on a map, but Sydney is a surprising 8 hours drive from Melbourne (yes, this country is big. Like, really big.) The city is home to all those iconic Australian buildings and landmarks you've seen in pictures, such as the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is also home to some amazing beaches, and is close to the filming location for Home and Away (which I was admittedly addicted to as a teen). Towering over Sydney are the Blue Mountains within a national park well worth visiting. Many tours run daily from Sydney for backpackers and tourists.

Byron Bay, NSW

That cool, edgy little town I've been living in for the past 4 months is located in northern New South Wales and is a definite stop for travellers. Without going into too much detail because I've already written two blog posts on the place here and here, Byron Bay is the most easterly point of the Australian mainland, and it's awesome. You don't have to be a happy hippy or have dreadlocks to come here, but it helps. There are so many activities you can do in the bay, the beaches are outstanding, and everybody is chilled out!

The Cape Byron lighthouse marks the most easterly point of the Australian mainland.

Gold Coast & themeparks, QLD

Waterfall in Springbrook national park

Now we're in Queensland, which is probably my favourite state. The Gold Coast is a large city on the coast of southern Queensland with so much to offer. Here you'll find all the massive theme parks - Dreamworld, Waterworld, Movieworld, Wet n Wild, Seaworld, Paradise Country - just to ensure that you're never bored. The hinterland a short drive from the city harbours incredible views such as the Springbrook National Park waterfall circuit and Natural Bridge and glowworm cave. You'll also find mine and Joe's favourite campsite in this area.

Natural Bridge

Brisbane, QLD
The capital city of Queensland is bustling and beautiful with arts, attractions and even a beach on the river right in the middle of the city! It's so diverse with plenty to do and lots to explore. Joe and I worked here in August for Brisbane's annual 10-day show - hard work for us, but a spectacular event for it's citizens and visitors. It's a great central location and is perfect as a base even for short breaks to Australia.

Showing off the modern day dinosaurs at Australia Zoo

Sunshine Coast & Australia Zoo, QLD
As well as stunning coastline, here you'll find Steve Irwin's legacy live on in Australia Zoo. Now run by Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin who plan to continue in Steve's honour with the conservation and awareness of animals. This zoo was one of the best I've ever visited in the world, and the show with the Saltwater Crocodiles in the Crocoseum was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. The zoo also has an animal hospital, with part of it open for public viewing.


Hervey Bay, QLD

Sunrise paddle at Hervey Bay

Joe and I spent a fair amount of time in this coastal town on the fraser coast as we immediately fell in love with the place. I wrote in more detail about our time here in a previous blog post. It was so beautiful, with calm beaches and cheap campsites where you can pretty much camp on the beach. Our favourite pastime (because we didn't have a fishing rod) was watching the armies of soldier crabs scuttle along the beach during low tide. Hervey Bay is one of the best places in the country for whale watching during the winter months, and also has regular visitations of turtles and dolphins.

Fraser Island, QLD

Lake Mackenzie

Every inch of Fraser Island is something else. From rainforest to beach to sand dune to lake. Fraser is the world's largest sand island, and is only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. Tours run daily in 4WD buses or self drive options are available. During our bus tour we were given an abundance of information about the history and what you can find on the island. It is also the home of 200-300 purebred dingos, which as the highest concentration for the whole of Australia means that you'll probably see one if you visit. Popular spots on the island are Lake Mackenzie, Eli Creek, Maheno Shipwreck and 75 Mile Beach. You can read more about our trip there here.

Eli Creek

Maheno Shipwreck

Rockhampton, QLD

Excitingly for meat lovers like me, Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia. I'm not sure what this means exactly but they commemorate it with large cow statues dotted around the city. During my stay there I set out to find them all. And succeeded. Now that you've reached Rockhampton, you're entering into the north of the country, which means from here you'll need to watch out for crocodiles. You'll be reminded of this at every beach, lake and creek as crocs go where the hell they want and if they're there they do not want you there. Don't go swimming in any areas that do not specifically say you can swim there. I would have loved to see one (from a distance) during my time in the north, but I was there in winter when they are less active.

Mackay, QLD
Mackay is a nice rest stop on your way up the coast, as it is central to many stunning locations and you'll also find here a lovely free water park. Perfect for relaxing on a hot day, and did I mention - it's free! Though it was winter, we still took a dip and it was lovely.


Airlie Beach & the Whitsundays, QLD
Airlie Beach is backpacker central, and is a lovely dynamic town full of mostly young people who love to party and adventure. If you like alcohol and debauchery then this is the place for you! From here you can go on a tour to the iconic Whitsunday Islands, which I'm gutted I couldn't go to during my time here but hopefully one day I'll get to see them.


Townsville, QLD
Another busy city but with a much more chilled out vibe than some of the larger ones in south Queensland. Townsville hosts the annual V8 Supercar Championships which Joe and I had the amazing opportunity to work on during our time here. I wrote more about our time here. From Townsville heading north was pretty much my favourite place in the world so far and you can read about my journey in more detail here.

Townville V8 Supercars - stunt cars

The Cassowary Coast, QLD

Cassowary

This stretch of coastline which covers the towns of Cardwell, Mission Beach and Innisfail is aptly names the Cassowary Coast after the dinosaur-like rare bird that parades this area. We were fortunate enough to spot one just outside Mission Beach, but if you don't see one here, you'll have to go to Australia Zoo. As well as cassowaries, you can look out for turtles, snakes, crocs, and the rare (apart from this area where they are abundant) bright blue Ulysees Butterfly. These towns have amazing beaches (that you can't swim in because of crocs, and stingers, but they are pretty to look at). Mission Beach is one of the top places in the country for skydiving. And driving inland from these towns finds you with immense waterfalls and amazing scenery. Amongst my favourites were Paronella Park (castle in the rainforest), Murray Falls (nature's waterpark), Josephine Falls (bigger slides for bigger thrills) and Wallaman Falls (Australia's highest single spot waterfall). You really need to read my blog post on this area to appreciate this place as much as you can without actually being there.

Paronella Park

Josephine Falls

Wallaman Falls

Cairns & Great Barrier Reef, QLD

Saw our first turtle!

The gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is most popular for its daily tours to the Great Barrier Reef for snorkelling or diving. Joe and I took a trip to the island of Michaelmas Cay for snorkelling, where the water was crystal clear, colourful and bursting with life. As well as massive impressive fish like the rainbow fish, and small colourful fish, we saw a white tip grey reef shark and a couple of large green sea turtles. It was so awesome to be able to swim with these amazing creatures and see these in the wild for myself and not just in pictures on the internet. Truly breathtaking! Unfortunately we didn't go north of here, but there are many more awesome towns and national parks to experience including Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation and the tropical Daintree Rainforest. 

Video still of the Grey Reef Shark

Darwin, NT
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory. It's hot here. Right at the top of the country, Darwin has a tropical climate with wet and dry seasons much like north Queensland but with higher temperatures and prone to cyclones. It's a main link between Australia and Indonesian islands. Here you can discover more about the indiginous Australian culture. And it's also the one place in the country you can go to experience the "Cage of Death". Stuck in a glass cage face to face with the earth's living dinosaur - saltwater crocodiles. Scary!

There's the ultimate trip of the east coast of Australia summed up. And that's not even mentioning Uluru in the centre of Australia and the amazing beaches on the west! There is SO much more to see that I cannot even begin to explain, so the only thing to do is see it for yourself!  So, what are you waiting for?!

Been to Australia before? Where were YOUR favourite places?