Which place would you recommend for a backpacker who's going to be in New South Wales and Queensland?
Hey. I'm going to spend a month in Australia after New Years. My only plan so far is to spend a week in Sydney and perhaps visit Brisbane and Melbourne afterwards, but I'm sure Australia has more to offer than cities. I'd love to see some nature and visit places where I can meet other backpackers. Which places would you recommend for that? :-) Thanks!
Reply to this Hello Jarle, and sorry for not responding earlier, I didn't see your post.
I personally think the natural side of Australia has more to offer than the cities. Being January you will be there in summer, so my recommendations are based on an Australian summer, so all options here are coastal.
Around Victoria - Great Ocean Road and Philip Island are great to visit ensure you see the penguin parade at sunset in the latter.
New South Wales - I do really like the Eden/Bega area of the south coast and can also speak highly of Byron Bay and a place called Bellingen - slightly inland from Coffs Harbour. The Tweed Coast near the Queensland border is also lovely.
Queensland - The Gold Coast is a popular tourist destination in Australia, but since January is school holidays, so you may want to steer clear due to higher prices at that time. Strongly recommend a visit to Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island. Wouldn't go much further north than Fraser Island in summer.
January 26 is Australia Day so there are always plenty of celebrations occurring. In popular tourist places accommodation prices will increase dramatically, but if you stay in a major city during that time (Brisbane or Sydney do it well) there will be something for you to witness and prices there don't change much.
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