Australia is a HUGE country, so to try and tackle it in three weeks is very ambitious for anyone. It’s always been a dream of mine to visit, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the whole country in the three weeks I had planned to stay. So while this means I of course have to come back to see the rest of the country, I decided to focus on the East Coast for my trip.
While I initially only planned to see Southeast Asia on my trip, knowing I had family that lived in Sydney obviously meant I had to visit! I planned to make it to them from Cairns (northern Queensland) in a week’s time. That meant over 1,600 miles on a bus…in seven days. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
I flew into Cairns, a small town in northern Queensland. Queensland is the second largest state in Australia, located in north eastern Oz. It is best known for being home to the Great Barrier Reef and its warm, tropical climate. I of course wanted to do some diving, so I booked a day trip with Tusa Dive to do three dives. While it was a dream come true to dive this reef, it was sad to see how much of it is already damaged and bleached. The reef experienced the worst coral bleaching event in history this year, which has killed almost a quarter of the reef and is predicted to last until the end of 2016. Coral bleaching is directly caused by climate change. As the oceans temperatures rise, they absorb excess heat from the atmosphere, unfortunately caused by our use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). If you’d like to help protect and preserve the Reef, click here to make a donation to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
To travel down the coast, I chose the popular backpacker’s transportation mode of Greyhound Bus. Outfitted with USB sockets, wifi and AC, these buses thankfully have entered the 21st century. What’s great about Greyhound in Australia is that you can buy a Hop On-Hop Off pass. This allows you to get on and off anywhere as long as you are heading in the same direction. I opted for the Cairns to Sydney pass and started my journey down the East Coast!
My next big destination was Airlie Beach, via a one night pit-stop in Hervey Bay, to check out the Whitsundays. I met Philip and John on the bus to Airlie Beach, so we stayed at the same hostel and had a nice time catching up and hearing about their first week in Oz after our diving trip in Indonesia!
With only one day in Airlie Beach, I booked a day trip to the Whitsundays on an ex-America’s Cup sailboat called the Southern Cross. I’ve never been sailing on a proper sail boat, so I was so excited to see how it was done first-hand. Of course there was zero wind the entire day so we didn’t even get to put the sails down.
The Whitsundays are made up of 74 islands, only eight of which are inhabited. It’s home to the famous Whitehaven Beach, which has been named as one of the top five beaches in the world. It’s no wonder its on the list because the beach is absolutely stunning. The pristine white beach is made from sand containing silica making it extremely soft to walk on and never gets hot.
After exploring Whitehaven Beach, we made our way to a patch of reef were we did some snorkeling. I spotted some nice corals and even swam with a turtle for a bit. Overall, this day tour was a great way to see the Whitsundays!
As a backpacker, I’m always looking for ways to save money. A great way to save on a night’s accommodation is to take a night bus. While a seat on a bus may not be as comfortable as a real bed, usually you get two seats to yourself and can spread out a bit. Another plus is that you’ll get to your destination in the morning and have the whole day to explore! So with that in mind, I departed Airlie Beach at 11pm for my 14 hour journey to Gold Coast.
As I finally got off the bus in Gold Coast, the first thing I noticed was that it was not humid and actually a bit chilly…something I was not used to having spent three months in Southeast Asia where I practically melted.
Gold Coast is your typical beach vacation town complete with restaurants, bars and nightlife. It wasn’t my first pick as a stopover, but with only one day, I didn’t feel like I would have been able to explore the Sunshine Coast like I really wanted to. Nonetheless, I took a nice afternoon walk on the beach, had drinks with a fellow traveler from Sweden that I met on the bus, and started the following morning with a beach run.
Knowing I was getting on the bus in the afternoon, I decided to spend the time I did have and visit one of Australia’s wildlife sanctuaries to see some koalas and kangaroos! The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is an easy trip from town on the tram and bus, and a great way to spend half a day. There are many interactive exhibits you can participate in like feeding the kangaroos, holding koalas and feeding the lorikeets. While I REALLY wanted to hold a koala, I couldn’t suffice spending $20 to hold it for only 10 seconds and have my photo taken. I did however see an interesting bird show, pet some kangaroos, and get up and close with some other animals.
And back on the bus I went, thankfully only for about three hours this time. My next destination was Byron Bay, a popular beach town with a hippie, laid back vibe. Back at it with the one day explorations, I decided to check out the boutiques and beach in the morning and walk up to the lighthouse around mid-afternoon. I really loved the culture and vibe this town gave off and enjoyed relaxing on the beach watching the surfers. The lighthouse was an easy 45 minute walk with beautiful views from the top.
Rounding out my bus journey with a 13 hour overnight trip, I finally made it to Sydney! My cousin, Chris, and his two kids picked me up from the Sydney Central Station and headed to the Opera House to have lunch and walk around. We strolled through the Botanic Gardens and ended the day by taking the ferry to Manly Beach where they lived.
Over the next few days I explored the Manly Beach area, reunited with some fellow Edelman colleagues, and spent time with my family. It’s so great to be able to meet family around the world and make new connections. I loved getting to spend time with Chris, his wife Michelle and their two kids, Tommy and Anya. Such a wonderful family- I hope to see them again soon!
It was nice to relax in one place for a few days and really get the vibe for the area. Sydney has a slew of beaches, but the Manly area and surrounding beaches are really wonderful. On any given day you will find surfers, swimmers making their way from one beach to the next, snorkelers and sunbathers. The beach is a huge part of life in Sydney and I can see why!
After about five days in Sydney my next stop was Melbourne. I planned to spend one day driving the Great Ocean Road, but because of the weekend, cars were either booked out or expensive. I instead opted for a day bus trip and was pleasantly surprised! I’ll have a whole post dedicated to the Great Ocean Road, but I will hands down say this is a MUST-DO trip!
Melbourne reminded me a bit of New York City, which was comforting having been away from Brooklyn for three months! The city is centered around arts, culture, music and food. The public transportation system is really great, making it easy to get into the city if you’re staying outside of the Central Business District. If you’re traveling within the CBD, the tram is free! I enjoyed just roaming the streets, doing a bit of shopping, eating some good food and sitting in the parks and enjoying the sunshine.
There is so much to see and do on the East Coast! If you’re planning a trip to Australia and only have a short time, pick a few places you’d like to visit and spend some quality time there to really appreciate the areas. If you have a longer period to travel, I’d recommend renting a car and going at your own pace down, or up, the coast!
Check out more photos in my Australia albums here!