East Coast Road Trip

I had an amazing spring break and I thought it was nice to tell you my trip.

You can see below the trip we did as it’s more interesting to see where the cities are located while I tell you everything.

During our semester we had a break (2 weeks) and it was a perfect opportunity for us to discover other places in Australia. We decided to do a road trip on the East Coast from Cairns to Brisbane. The best is to go up to Sydney or Melbourne but we had only two weeks and it still was worth it.

This trip is kind of known in Australia and many backpackers are doing it. We wanted to see another part of Australia since it’s very different from South Australia, where we live. You can see during this trip many different things that Australia offers: big cities, amazing viewpoints, animals, beaches and rainforest as well.

Cairns:

We took a flight the 13th of April from Adelaide to Cairns. We first stayed few days in Cairns which is a lovely city. At that time of the year Queensland’s weather is very nice and hotter than in Adelaïde so we could enjoy every day ! We stayed in a nice hostel (probably one of the best but we didn’t know yet). You can’t really swim in the ocean but the city has a beautiful Lagoon where it’s nice to swim and hang out. During our stay in Cairns we dived one day in the great barrier reef which was amazing and we felt so lucky to see that. We also hiked in a rainforest which was amazing. We even saw a crocodile while going there. In fact, on the East Coast there are many places with crocodiles and sharks so you can’t always swim in the ocean.

Magnetic Island

We then planned the rest of our trip and left to our next destination which was Townsville. During our whole trip we took the bus to travel because it was cheaper and less tiring since we had to drive every other day. We didn’t stay in Townsville but in Magnetic island a lovely island with beautiful viewpoints. The hostel there was amazing! You can get really close to animals on the island and we’ve seen many wallabies there.

Whitsunday Island

We then drove to Airlie beach which is really nice. Unfortunately, we had to deal with bed bugs ! We knew there were a lot on the coast but hoped not to see any. Hopefully it ended well because we quickly changed hostel. Near Airlie beach there is a wonderful island called Whitsunday island. Honestly it was my favourite day of the trip. It felt like heaven! We went to the beach, saw landscapes, swam in turquoise water and went snorkelling. Enjoy the pictures of the island !

Fraser Island

The next day we took a night bus to Hervey bay. It was the longest drive we’ve done so far. From this city you can go to Fraiser Island, one of the most famous place in Australia, an essential Australian experience. It is the largest sand island in the world and is really worth it. We were there for two days and had an incredible guide that knew everything about the island since he has been living there for 22 years. He also was a photographer and reporter for BBC. As explained in my last article, I’ve seen crazy animals there especially dingos, wild dogs that can be very dangerous. On our first day it was raining a lot but it was still really nice. The roads are crazy and you have to trust your driver! The next day was our best day because the sun was back and we drove on the beach the whole day. We saw amazing landscapes and swam in a champagne pool.

Sunshine Coast

We were really lucky with the weather during our whole trip because it was the beginning of the dry season. Our trip was almost done (already) but we still had two cities to visit. The next one was Noosa. We really liked it! It looks like the south of France with soooo many nice restaurants, bars and shops next to the beach. We could finally swim in the ocean this time and watch all the surfers! We hiked for 2 hours along the ocean to the city. It was amazing! We also saw a beautiful sunset.

Brisbane

We decided to leave Noosa sooner since we couldn’t leave our stuff in the hostel. Brisbane is Queensland’s capital and a really nice city! We went to a karaoke and enjoyed the night life. It was our final destination so we were feeling kind of sad but still enjoyed our last days there.

We had an amazing trip with beautiful landscapes that were really different from each other. We’ve also met incredible people and also soo many different animals. I feel like I discovered another part of Australia that is different from South Australia. It was one of my best trips !