3 months is a long timescale for this trip, it can easily be done in a matter of weeks but seeing as our bus pass lasted for 3 months this was how long we decided to dedicate to travelling the East Coast.
I visited 12 places along the East Coast, on average spending around 4 nights at each place:
- Port Macquarie
- Byron Bay
- Surfers Paradise
- Brisbane
- Noosa
- Hervey Bay
- Agnes Water
- Airlie Beach
- Townsville
- Magnetic Island
- Mission Beach
- Cairns
Port Macquarie: Koala Hospital
For a voluntary donation a visit to the koala hospital is a must. We went for the 3pm guided talk. The work they do here for the ill and injured koalas was really interesting to see.
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| Koala Hospital Mascot |
The walk to the lighthouse was enjoyable and once at the top, the most eastern point on mainland Australia is located. I was also lucky enough to witness hundreds of dolphins playing in the waves. It was incredible
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| Stood at the most eastern point on mainland Australia |
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| Lots of Dolphins |
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| and jump |
Growing up one of the few books that actually interested me was the Ripleys believe it or not annuals. In surfers Paradise there is a museum dedicated to the facts and memorabilia of Mr Ripley. It was a lot of reading but generally interesting. My favourite part was the laser maze.
Another attraction I visited at surfers paradise was called Infinity. Prior to going I was unsure about what to expect but it was awesome. I have never done anything like it before. It is hard to explain but it is basically a sensory maze with one entrance and one exit, made up of many different rooms. As you leave one room you enter the next and so forth. No room is the same; one was pitch black, another was lasered, one room was a mirror maze, uneven floors etc. It was a lot of fun but at times scary when you can't work out how to exit the room and panic builds. Needless to say me and Jen held hands around it and I wouldn't do it on my own.
Brisbane: Roma Street Parklands
I enjoyed it here, it was a nice place to walk around. My favourite area was the spectacle garden at Colin Campbell Place, because there were soo many lizards. We also watched Grease outside on a big screen one evening which was cool.
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| Spectacle Garden |
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| One of the many lizards I saw |
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| I see you |
Airlie Beach: Whitsunday Island Day Tour
Unfortunately Airlie Beach was damaged due to Cyclone Debbie, so its main attraction of the lagoon was not open when we were there. However Airlie Beach is the departure place for Whitsunday Island Tours. We decided to go on a day trip (not overnight) and despite waking to torrential rain, the sun made an appearance and it was a very enjoyable day. I describe our boat as a big speed boat, and with the heavy morning rain causing big waves, our boat was in its element flying over them. It was fun! We visited two snorkeling spots where we saw some cute fishes, as well as visiting the famous Whitehaven Beach where I tried SUP-boarding. We then finished the day by visiting one of the private Whitsunday Island resorts for cocktails with a view.
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| Me and Jen in our sting suits ready for snorkeling |
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| SUP-boarding |
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| Cocktail with a view |
Townsville: Castle Hill for Sunset
In Townsville there is a massive boulder called Castle Hill. It was a boiling hot day and we decided to trek up it for sunset. We made it with minutes to spare but the views were insane.
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| Castle Hill in the distance |
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| Sunset from the top of Castle Hill |
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| Taking in the views |
Magnetic Island: Feed the wild rock wallabies at Geoffrey Bay
Magnetic Island is situated just offshore from Townsville. It is such a beautiful island. My favourite part of visiting here was feeding the wild rock wallabies at Geoffrey Bay. We decided to walk for 2.5 hours following the Nelly Bay to Arcadia Bush Walk to Geoffrey Bay. We timed it so we would arrive for 5pm which is when the rock wallabies appear. They were soo friendly, and we were even treated to an incredible sunset.
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| Feeding a rock wallabie |
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| Incredible Sunset |
Cairns: Skydiving
Originally we booked to do our skydive in Mission Beach, but the weather wasn't great and it was cancelled twice. By this point we were due to leave Mission Beach and head to Cairns. Luckily we were able to relocate our skydive at no extra cost. So as the saying goes '3rd time lucky' and we excitedly boarded a tiny place and headed for 14,000ft above Cairns. I then jumped out the plane, freefalled 10,000ft in 1 minute, breathed a sigh of relief when my parachute opened before taking in the views for 5 minutes before landing in the middle of nowhere feeling super pumped with adrenaline. Considering i'm not an adrenaline junkie (you wont catch me on a roller coaster), I really enjoyed skydiving, and would probably do it again.
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| Me and Jen about to board the plane Photo Credit: Skydive Australia |
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| I screamed the entire freefall Photo Credit: Skydive Australia |
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| Thumbs up if you are having fun Photo Credit: Skydive Australia |
Cairns: Cape Tribulation/ Daintree Rainforest Day Trip
From Cairns you can do a day trip to Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest. It is a long day of travelling, and sightseeing but my highlight was the crocodile cruise.
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| Scarface, the alpha male of the Daintree River |
Amester x
