If you’ve been reading my blog for the past year, you might have heard about the road trip I took with my family from Georgia up to Maine and back, which was known in my blog posts as the East Coast Road Trip. I am now planning another road trip, this time up to Cairns in Australia.
I’ve booked my Greyhound Australia Mini Traveller pass, which gives me 90 days of hop-on hop-off flexibility to travel between Sydney and Cairns. The stops included are as follows.
- Newcastle
- Port Macquarie
- Coffs Harbour
- Lismore
- Byron Bay
- Surfers Paradise
- Brisbane
- Noosa
- Rainbow Beach
- Hervey Bay
- Bundaberg
- 1770/Agnes Water
- Rockhampton
- Mackay
- Airlie Beach
- Bowen
- Townsville
- Mission Beach
- Cairns
I need YOUR help planning this adventure! I need hostel, activity and restaurant recommendations! Here’s what I’m looking into so far.
- Everything BIG! Big Banana, Big Mango, etc.
- Day trip to Nimbin, Australia’s “alternative” capital
- Tour some breweries and distilleries, namely Bundaberg and XXXX
- Get up close with some koalas and kangaroos
- Learn to surf
- Possibly learn to scuba dive, funds allowing
- Get my picture taken at the Tropic of Capricorn
- Go bungy jumping in Cairns
Want to host me on CouchSurfing? Want me to stay at your favorite hostel? Want me to come hang out in your town? Send me an email at caroline.eubanks@gmail.com.
Have a great time!!! Can’t wait to read about it all. Check out my blog for my experience riding the same route.
I loved 1770!! The tiniest, most random town ever. And Fraser Island. And Byron Bay.
Those were my big highlights, I would say.
Can’t wait to read about your experience! Too bad the timing didn’t work out differently, otherwise we might have been able to go together – I’m hoping to do an east coast road trip in either December or January & I may go through Greyhound as well, so I’ll be interested to hear how that goes!
OMG where do i start. I hope you are going to Fraser Island right? its AMAZING! try to stay in the eco lodges much much cheaper than the resort / hotel
Look up Long Island in the Hamilton Islands, you should spend some time there it was cool, also while around Hamilton Island I highly recommend going on a 2 night 3 day sailing trip around the Whitsunday islands and around the Great Barrier reef.
In Surfers Paradise go to the Currumbin wildlife sanctuary where you can hold koalas and pet/feed kangaroos.
Definitely party it up in Surfers Paradise and if it is too much for you Mermaid beach just down the road is awesome too.
You should try to stop in Rockhampton and spend at least a night on a homestead. (I think that is where I got my pic taken at the tropic of Capricorn :) )
Go to Mojosurf in Byron Bay and you can stay there and take surf lessons. I think you can stay even if you dont want to surf http://www.mojosurf.com/
Cape Byron overlooking Byron Bay has the most easterly point in Australia, you can’t do an east coast trip with out stopping there :)
Apparently in Noosa there are wild koalas that you can see everywhere but I didn’t see any when I was there.
hmmm and that is all I can remember right now! :)
Byron’s about to have terrible weather, but I hope it will clear up for me! I went surfing in Coffs but may go again. Can’t wait for Fraser! Thanks for the tips Cailin. Come back soon!
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