What to do if I only have a month....
Hi all, I'm flying out to OZ in October for one month, I'm going to be doing the east coast, from those with a bit of experience would you be able to tell me what I should definately make sure I do and see whilst I'm out there?
Any words of wisdom would be gladly appreciated.
Cheers,
Dan.
Reply to this Hey Dan. My family and I spent a month on the east coast of Oz in 05 and loved it. For details of what we did see our blogs starting with http://www.travelblog.org/Australasia/Australia/Victoria/Great-Ocean-Road/blog-8249.html.
Reply to this Hi Dan,
i spent about a month travelling down the east coast and it totally depends on what u want to do. I wasnt really interested in the 'party' scenes of surfers and cairns so spent my time doing many of the numerous trips there are! Starting from Cairns i went to Kuranda and did the scenic railway and skyrail which is not too expensive, but i did learn to Dive with the CDC (PADI authenticated) on the Barrier reef which made up for not spending too much in cairns! its def worth the money if ur likely to dive in other places, as it means you get cheaper rates and can go onto 'better' reefs (ie the ones that arent used for snorkelling and practicing on) I ended up in Townsville for a bit....not that exciting unless u go to Magnetic Island and do some diving or snorkelling.
i would recommend a Prosail trip around the whitsunday islands, most of the crew allow you to get involved rather than just sit and watch and i had a blast sunning myself on the deck and exploring the islands. They usually last about 3/4 days, I also took a trip on Fraser Island in a 4 wheel drive tour which was a good laugh (about 3 days). What else........Australia Zoo was really good (thats in Beerwah, on the Gold Coast). Brisbane is also worth a stop.
What bus company u thinking of going with? I ended up on the cheapy greyhound style one as i was on a budget but if u go with Oz experience i think they could give u some ideas. Honestly, if ur only there for a month u want to make the most of ur time and there is sooooo much to do on the east coast....have fun searching!
Vicki. x
Reply to this Hey!
I've lived on the Coast in Aus my entire life - I spent last year backpacking around the east coast - honestly no matter where you go you're gonna have a great time! Some of the BEST places to see would definately be the Sunshine Coast (check out Noosa, Coolum and Mooloolaba if you're there), the Gold Coast (check out Surfer's Paradise and CAville avenue - the main tourist areas with every thing you can want right on the beach.) The Whitsundays are a great place to check out - if you're there you should check out Airlie Beach for at least a day or two... it's very 'touristy' but worth a look in. Just be aware that all nearly all of the islands in the Whitsundays are VERY expensive - because it's really only tourists that go there they hike up their prices, you can have the same great experience on a beach on the mainland and pay half the price. Or if you're really keen to head to an island check out Fraser Island - you can go four-wheeled driving, camping or stay in a five star hotel if you want, check out dingo's in their natural environment and just generally laze around in the sun. Byron Bay is another great place to check out if you get the chance...
Townsville is in North Queensland and is a great city to check out, as well as Cairns - Cairns is the biggest city in the upper part of the East Coast. If you're looking to go to great beaches though do NOT, i repeat - do NOT go too far north! The further north you go, basically, the more Jellyfish and sharks - seriously. The Sunshine coast is the BEST place for beaches. (i'm biased because that's where i live, but seriously, having travelled the east coast i can confidently say it is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places with the cleanest beaches.) a good site to check out for you might be 'mysunshinecoast' - could offer you some local info if you're interested. You're coming at the best time of year to go diving off the coast, or Whale watching (Harvey Bay is the best place for this - although that's pretty much the only reason you'd go there.. lol.. not the most exciting place.)
So there are a few suggestions that you might like to look into.. i hope this has helped in any way. if you have any questions about anything and want a local's perspective feel free to ask, i'll answer anything i can to the best of my ability.
cheers mate, have a great week.
x Gabrielle :-)
Reply to this hi
i have just returned back from my trip down the east coast from cairns to sydney. Just like you i did the whole trip in a month and had the time of my life.
I travelled on the oz experience bus and although i didnt stay long anywhere, i stopped at all the main stops and even spent a few days on magnetic island, fraser island and did a 3 day sailing trip on the whitsundays.
Only spent a day in cairns and do regret not visiting cape tribulation, but hey thats a reason to go back!
I recommend and so will others not actually staying in townsville and going straight to magnetic island.
Hervey bay isnt a great place to spent to long in, its fairly industrialised and thats about it, however its a fairly good place to use as a bridge to fraser island.
Only stayed one night in rainbow beach and arrived there in the evening so didnt really see alot of the place in day light. however its meant to be a quicker boat journey to fraser island.
Most of the people i spoke to went from hervey bay, it might be a bit longer boat journey but its drops you off in your 4x4 in a better location which you will be thankfull for when you get there
if you want to go to nimbin, its probably better to take a bus trip there from byron bay and stay in byron bay for a bit
anyway thats all i can think of now
have a good time
Reply to this For me Mission Beach is a great place to chill on the east coast, nice beaches, adrenaline packed with skydiving if you dare - I did it and it was awesome, you can also paddle out to the islands there. For a fantastic place to stay, check out the sanctuary
sanctuaryretreat one of the best places in Queensland to stay, accommodation are huts in the middle of a rain forest over looking the sea, and cheap too $30
Have a fantastic time
Cheers
Banners
Reply to this Wow, in a month you have lots of time to visit some of the best places in the East Coast. But it really depends on what you are into. My advice would be Sydney, Byron Bay, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, Whitsunday Islands, Mission Beach, Magnetic Island, Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, Cape Tribulation, the Atherton Tablelands and a bit of the Outback.
If you want to stay at the Whitsunday islands, South Molle Island is not as expensive as the rest, it offers budget accommodation. Usually people stay at Airlie Beach and do day trips to the islands. Don'g miss Whitehaven Beach.
If you need further information, just ask.
Reply to this I have literally just got back from doing a month of the east coast, sydney to cairns. we went with oz experience which made it so much easier as they were so helpful so i can definitely reccommend that. my favourite places were byron bay, airlie beach and magnetic island-stay longest at these places!! allow enough time to do whitsundays and fraser island as well
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