Starting in Cape Tribulation and ending in Melbourne, the East Coast is the destination for backpackers. With a distance of 4,500 kilometres over 3 states, it offers plenty of opportunities for adventure, relaxation and job opportunities for those on a working visa. For me, it was where I decided I was going to let go of my fears and embrace every adventurous opportunity that came my way. Jumping out a plane? Easy-peasy! Diving in the Great Barrier Reef? Hell yeah!
With so many places to visit and exciting activities to do, it can be easy to overlook the hidden gems of the East Coast. It took my friends and I almost 2 months to travel between Cairns and Brisbane and even then we didn't get to experience everything we wanted to. Based on my experiences here is what you can't miss:
- Mission beach: its sandy beaches offer the perfect location for relaxation, or if you are more daring, it is the perfect spot for doing a skydive. Why? Because you see the Great Barrier Reef and land on the beach! It's also a great place to interact with the locals as it is less touristy than other locations. From here you can also do white water rafting, the one daring activity I didn't dare to do. Here I stayed at Scotty's which I thoroughly recommend as it has a good sized swimming pool and they have events to get you to meet new people such as BBQ's. It is about a 15 minute walk to the main part of the town but offers a bus service to get there too.
- Rainbow beach: Hike up the steepest hill I have ever seen (and survived!) for wonderful views of the beach and sunset, fun times sledging down the sand and a hike back down a very steep hill! This unspoilt place might just be my favourite of the East Coast. Here we stayed at Fraser's which is the hostel that offers this free walk up to Carlo Sand Blow. If they hadn't offered this, I probably wouldn't have known it existed.
- Magnetic Island or "Maggie Island" is situated near Townsville and is full of adventure and beautiful sights. I thoroughly recommend staying at Base hostel which has fun competitions in the evenings, offers diving courses and has awesome full moon parties. The locals from Townsville even travel across for full moon.
Not only is it the ideal place to party, you can hire a jeep which is the best way to travel around the island. A trip to the National Park allows you to see koalas in their natural habitat as well as beautiful views of the Island. Tip - not a good idea with a hangover and a lack of water!
- Airlie Beach is the stop off point for Whitsunday Islands. This medium sized town is full of hostels and backpackers, all raring to go on their adventures. Despite being little, it offers great shops, a beautiful port and has a great nightlife too. Tip: when choosing what boat to go out on, shop around a little as there are many shops selling tours.
- Whitsunday Islands are a group of 74 islands which offer the most beautiful views I have ever seen in my life. The boats leave from Airlie Beach port and you do activities such as snorkelling, diving, kayaking as well as sailing past some of the islands. A sailing trip would be incomplete without a visit to the stunning Whitehaven Beach. This photograph does not even do it justice:
The boat I went out on was called Summertime and we had a blast! Yummy barbeque food, plenty of adventures and fun games in the evenings made for a perfect 3 day trip which I would recommend to everyone. The crew were very friendly and wanted us to have the best experience.
From Cairns to Airlie Beach, it takes about 8 hours to drive. To explore and make the most of our time here, it took us over a month. There are endless opportunities awaiting here and you might as well make the most of it, it really is a once in a lifetime experience.
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