Australia East Coast

After our time in New Zealand, our journey continued in Australia. From Dunedin, we flew to Brisbane and then to Cairns.

In Cairns, we started our 3-week trip along the East Coast. Since we didn't have much time, we couldn't see everything, but we traveled to the most beautiful and important destinations for us.

In Cairns, we stayed for two nights at the Gilligans Backpackers Hostel and had a great start to our vacation. We booked a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef and after a 2-hour boat ride, we had our first snorkeling dive. With a guide, the three of us went deep into the water, the feeling was simply indescribable. We saw so many beautiful fish, corals, and the reef, including the famous Nemo fish.
After our dive, we had lunch on the boat and the tour continued. The next stop was for snorkeling and swimming on a secluded sand island in the middle of the sea. After many beautiful impressions and a perfect day at the Great Barrier Reef, we returned to Cairns. There, we ended the day at the lagoon on the beach and at the night market.

The next day, we continued with the Greyhound bus to Airlie Beach, a 10-hour bus ride. From Airlie Beach, we booked a 2-night, 3-day sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands.
It was a completely new experience for us to spend almost three days on the water, luckily we didn't get seasick. The landscape around the Whitsunday Islands is simply stunning. Our highlight was the Whitehaven Beach, from a lookout we had the perfect view of the turquoise blue water, which changes color depending on the sunlight and the sand.
The beach was sparkling white and the water was a great refreshment. In total, we had 3 stops with the boat where we could go snorkeling. One evening, we watched the sunset together. Overall, it was a very successful sailing trip.

Arriving in Airlie Beach again, we continued with the Greyhound bus to Hervey Bay in the evening. Since we didn't sleep a lot on the bus overnight, we spent the next day relaxing at the beach. Hervey Bay is also known as the gateway to Fraser Island. Since we didn't have much time, we booked a day tour to Fraser Island. There are also longer tours of 2 or 3 days. In the morning, we took the ferry from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. On the island, we drove with a type of jeep and explored the island. After lunch and a short hike through the rainforest, we ended up at Lake McKenzie, our highlight of Fraser Island. Simply beautiful with white sand and deep blue water.

The next morning, we continued to Noosa. In Noosa, we explored the national park, lonely beaches, and beautiful landscapes. If you are lucky, you can even see koalas in the wild. We spotted a koala high up in a tree. We spent the next day in the cute little town and went shopping.

Our next stop was Brisbane. We spent one day exploring the city, went to the Story Bridge, took a harbor cruise, which is highly recommended to get an overview. We also went shopping and visited the Wheel of Brisbane, which is comparable to the London Eye.
The next day, we visited the Koala Sanctuary. Besides many other animals, we mainly saw koalas, sleeping or eating. Twice a day, visitors have the opportunity to cuddle koalas, and we also took advantage of this opportunity. In the park, we could also feed and pet kangaroos. Since you often only see the animals from a distance in the wild, this was a very good opportunity to observe and pet them up close. One day is enough to see the major attractions in Brisbane.

We continued with the Greyhound bus to Surfers Paradise. A beautiful city with a very nice beach. We spent most of our time at the beach in Surfers Paradise as well. At sunset, we went to the Q1 Tower, a very nice view of the ocean and the city. We can definitely recommend it. Surfers Paradise is also known for its vibrant nightlife. From our hostel, we joined a pub crawl and visited different bars and clubs. We stayed in Surfers Paradise for two nights.

Then we went to Byron Bay. A very cute little town. We stayed at the Beach Hostel, which is very central and one of the best hostels during our trip. On our arrival day, we spent the remaining time in the town and at the beach. The next day, we booked a surfing lesson. The surfing lesson lasted a total of 4 hours. Byron Bay is a great place for beginners who want to learn how to surf. We started with some exercises on the sand to learn how to stand up correctly, and then we went into the water. Our guide helped us catch the waves, and then we tried to stand up. In the beginning, we were a bit shaky, but towards the end, it worked better and better. Once we found our balance, we even managed to make it all the way to the front of the beach. It was a great experience, but also exhausting. 4 hours are enough for beginners.

Time flew by quickly and the end of our vacation and our trip was approaching. The last stop was Sydney, from there we flew back to Germany.

So the last ride with the Greyhound bus was from Byron Bay to Sydney. We had the Travel Pass from Cairns to Sydney for the Greyhound bus. With that, we were only allowed to travel in one direction. We always reserved our seats a few days in advance comfortably online.

In Sydney, we took part in a guided city tour offered by our hostel. We saw the major sights like Hyde Park, the Cathedral, Botanic Garden, Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, and Chinatown. The guided city tour was great to get a first overview of the city. Sydney is very spread out and we walked about 20 km every day.

For the next day, we planned the Coastal Walk from Bondi Beach to Cognee Beach. We took the bus to Bondi Beach. What fascinated us was that in Sydney we could easily pay for the bus or train with our credit card by holding the card to a device. After arriving at Bondi Beach, we first relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the good weather for the last time. Then we started the walk, which is about 6 km long, and along the way, we passed several bays and beaches. It's simply beautiful to walk along the coastline, the water is deep blue and the weather was perfect. We can only recommend the walk. It's not very strenuous, but also not easy due to the hot temperatures. From Cognee Beach, we took the bus back to our hostel.

We used the next day to buy the last souvenirs for friends and family and to take a harbor cruise, which offered a great view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
We ended our last evening at the Sydney Tower. We went up the tower for the sunset and had a beautiful view both during the day and at night.

On the last day, it was time to pack our suitcases and head to the airport. From Sydney, we flew to Singapore and then to Frankfurt.

We were very excited to see our family and friends again. However, we were also sad that the trip was over. Time flew by so quickly, but we will always remember everything we experienced.