Travelling the Australian East Coast

Where to go, where to stay and what to do! 

Sydney - Base Backpackers

• Jet boat around Sydney Harbour
• Visit Bondi Beach and do the coastal walk
• Take a guided walking tour of The Blue Mountains 
• Have dinner at the top of Westfield Tower
• Take surfing lessons with MojoSurf
• Watch the Sunday fireworks at Darling Harbour
• Visit the Sea-life Aquarium 
• Have lunch in Hyde Park

Byron Bay - Nomads & The Arts Factory

• Take a day tour to Nimbin and stock up on green cookies
• Do the sunset walk up to the lighthouse
• Go down to the beach at night to watch the street performers 

The End of the East Coast

After two long months on the road, with nothing but a suitcase, backpack and a gradually decreasing bank account, our backpacking journey of the East Coast in Australia has come to an end. There’ll be no more weary morning checkouts, or sixteen-bed room shares - no more noodle dinners, chocolate biscuit breakfasts or McDonald lunches. No longer will we have to sleep curled up in the seat of a Greyhound bus for thirteen hours, or drag all of our worldly belongings behind us as we race to the bus station. But don’t let that put you off, because it’s safe to say that these have been the greatest two months of my life (cliché, sorry!) 

After quitting my job, saying goodbye to family and friends and moving myself over to the other side of the planet, I was soon doing things I could have only imagined. I’ve jet boated around Sydney Harbour and seen where Russell Crow lives. I’ve had surfing lessons from the best instructors in Australia, Mojo Surf, and I’ve hiked through the Blue Mountains with a friend of Steve Irwin. I’ve had a top-notch dinner at the top of Westfield Tower and been able to watch so many incredible sunsets in so many different, beautiful places. I’ve visited Steve Irwin’s zoo in Brisbane, canoed around the everglades in Noosa, and gone camping on the amazing Fraser Island. I’ve sailed around the Whitsunday Islands, slept under the Milkyway on a racing boat, visited the third most beautiful beach in the world and gone snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef itself. Last week I even jumped out of a plane at 14,000ft and did my first bungee jump. So yes, it’s been a pretty great couple of months!

Fraser Island (And a Little Bit of Rainbow Beach)

Driving on Fraser Island

Rainbow Beach…a beautiful, sometimes sunny and ridiculously boring place to be. That pretty much sums up the five days that we spent at Fraser’s On Rainbow, after having to extend our stay before our weekend trip to Fraser Island. After arriving on the Monday and coming to the conclusion that there was next to nothing to do, the realisation that we were stuck there for the next week hit us hard. Luckily, the amazingly speedy wifi soon perked us up, and within the hour we were happily downloading movies and catching up with the latest How I Met Your Mother in no time (Finally got to see the ending!) 
To be fair, we did eventually manage to find some things to keep us entertained. For $30 on Thursday morning we headed over on the ferry to Tin Can Bay, where we were able to see a group of wild dolphins coming in for their breakfast. For another $5 we were actually able to get in the water with them and hand feed them, which was an amazing experience - despite the fact I had a slimy dead fish in my hands and the woman told me off for wearing my flip-flops near the edge (apparently dolphins are well known for their dislike of Havaianas) 
That afternoon we also did the hostel’s daily sunset walk, which took us up to the Caloola sand dunes where we went sand-boarding and, you guessed it, watched the sunset. That was definitely one of those ‘I can’t quite believe this is my life’ moments, as we sat together in silence and took in the beautiful view, with only one woman’s ukulele to be heard. 

Top 10 Highlights So Far

1 - Jet boating around Sydney Harbour 

Byron Bay & A Very Wet Surfers Paradise

Byron Bay

We arrived in Byron Bay last Thursday morning, after a 14 hour Greyhound coach trip that can only be described as ‘less than comfortable.’ To be fair, the wifi and chargers were a great shout, but that didn’t do much towards my numb bum, cramped legs and sore side from having Jack constantly slumping over onto my side of the seat… We pulled in at 7:30am, and were instantly greeted with torrential rain and a group of very wet hostel workers barking at us to follow them if we needed transport. After about five minutes of blearily trying to find our luggage in the rain, feet soaked and freezing cold, we eventually made our way to Nomads, where we were able to shower, change and feel human again. Unable to check in until the afternoon, we took this as the perfect opportunity to bikini up (the sun was shining once again) and head to the beach. 
Byron Bay was completely different to Sydney, and for the first time in two weeks I actually began to feel like I was really in Australia. Instead of homeless people on every corner, there were street performers, and quirky boutiques with people walking around with surfboards under their arms - the atmosphere was so relaxed and laid back that I could see why most backpackers said that this was their favourite stop along the East Coast.