Travelling the amazing East Coast

On the 10th of January I flew to Brisbane. Had 3 nights here to explore the city and plan the rest of my trip. Brisbane is a big but compact city, so you can see it all within one day. Best part of Brisbane (in my opinion) is the lagoon, just across the city from the centre. I loved hanging out here in the sun overlooking the city.

I heard so many good things about the east coast north of Brisbane so I decided to fly to Cairns and travel down to Melbourne from there. In Cairns the weather unfortunately was not so good. It is rainforest season there meaning a lot of rain, but still warm so that was nice. From Cairns I did a one-day trip to the famous Great Barrier Reef to go snorkeling. On the boat it was really sunny and visibility was great. The reef was beautiful, so many fish with so many colors, and also the coral itself was really colorful! From Cairns I also did a one-day trip to the Tablelands rain forest where I saw three waterfalls (swam in one) and two volcanic craters. In one volcanic crater we could swim as well. After 4 days it was time to leave Cairns to my next stop, Airlie beach to go see the Whitsundays.

In Airlie beach I walked passed the shops and hung out at the lagoon, with a beautiful view. From Airlie beach I went to see the Whitsundays. First stop on this trip was Whithaven beach, beautiful! When you think of a beach in paradise this is what is in your mind. We were there for 1.5 hours but I could have sat there all day. Next stop was on the Great Barrier Reef to go snorkeling with turtles. Saw turtles a couple of times, they came really close as well. Cool animals to see! On my last night I met some great Aussie people and had drinks with, too bad I had to leave early to catch my night bus to Agnes Water.

In Agens water I took my first surf lesson. We were in the water for 2,5 hours. At first I had major balance problems (even just lying on my board) but it got better and better. Unfortunately I didn’t stand up, but I did catch several waves on my knees. After the lesson I was exhausted and had bruises all over my arms and legs, surfing is a hard sport! But I did have fun and I definitely will try it again, maybe even do a surfcamp for a couple of days. Besides teaching surfing our coach also organized a trip to the kangaroo sanctuary. The kangaroos live in the wild there but are taken care for by a couple that lives there on the sanctuary as well. Therefore the kangaroos are really people friendly. We just sat in the grass petting and feeding the kangaroos. We also saw baby kangaroos that still were so small they didn’t come out of the pouch yet. So cute! The next day I did the so called Scooteroo tour. We got dressed up like real bikers and drove around on our awesome little bikes which could go up to 80 km/hour. Had so much fun.

Up next: three day two night trip to the biggest sand island in the world: Fraser Island. The trip to Fraser Island was a self-guided tour. Meaning that with the 8 people in the car you had to do everything yourself. We drove the car ourselves, got food, a coolbox for our drinks and a water tank. On the island you drove around on the sand, on the beach trhough waves and up to lakes trough the forest. The sand was so soft in places that you couldn’t go faster than 10 km/hour and had really little control over the steering wheel. When sitting in the back it could become really bumpy and you had to make sure not to hit your head. As you can imagine it also happened that the cars got stuck and we had to push it out. We drove to several places to swim on the island. All the lakes and creeks we could swim in, the water was so clear at all these places and the sand was so pure that it squeaked when you walked on it. It was great fun! At night we stayed on a camp, cooked our food outside, had drinks at the campfire went to the beach to watch the amazing stars and slept in tents. Meanwhile there was sand everywhere (in your tent, in your food, in your bag) as you can imagine when staying on a sand island.

After a lovely time on Fraser island I took the bus to Noosa, where is was going to stay in a bush camp for a couple of days. First impression: what did I get myself into. The camp was really messy, there were rats in the kitchen and frogs everywhere. We were unlucky because the water wasn’t working so the showers and the toilets didn’t work. Had to wash in the river and use the long drop (smelly) toilet. During the day we went canoeing on the Noosa river. The way up was really nice, the way back was upstream, and the current was really strong so at some bits we were paddling but still didn’t go forward. But in the end I had a really good time, because we were with a good group, and everybody was in hetzelfde schuitje (don’t know how to translate this:p). After 3 days in the bush camp it was really nice to be in a hostel again with showers and a bed with a mattress! In Noosa I explored the national park. Which was really good. Walked around in the national park for 4 hours, first along the coast past several surfers beaches and great views up to a lovely beach. After that back to the beginning through the forest where I spotted some wildlife: a kanagaroo, a lizard that was 1.5 meter long(!), and some wild turkeys.

Everywhere I go I have no problem meeting people, there is always somebody to talk to, hang out with, have drinks with and share experiences. Some people it was even sad to say goodbye to after knowing them for only a couple of days. The backpackers world is a small world as well, I often run into people I already met in another city.

All in all I am loving my backpackers love with all my heart right now, can’t wait for all the things I will see and do between Brisbane and Melbourne. But I also love looking back at all the amazing things I have done already ☺ I want to share all my experiences with my friends and family through my blog but it is hard to put it all in words. You guys just should come over here and experience it with me :D See you soon! Haha