AH! I cannot WAIT for this blog post. Now I know it isn’t very artsy, but travelling down the East Coast of Australia has to be one of the more memorable experiences of my lifetime so far. So I just know that reflecting on it will bring me, and hopefully you, the utmost joy.

 

6 weeks. 16 stops. 1,766.1 miles. And a lot of kangaroos. Where did it all begin?

 

 

STOP 1: CAIRNS 

Lovely, lovely Cairns. My first stop! Arriving after a 21 hour flight, Cairns had to deal with my jet lag. But once I was over that, this tropical city in Far North Queensland became a great starter location for my travels.

 

Duration: 19th October to 26th October (7 nights)

 

Rating: 8/10

 

What I loved: Global Backpackers Hostel, the Esplanade and Lagoon (turns out a lot of the places I went to along the coast would have the prettiest lagoons for the public to swim in as a replacement for not having a great beach nearby), Ultimate Party Bus Cairns, Palm Cove, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Kuranda village, Kuranda Scenic Railway, Rex Lookout, Port Douglas, Crystal Cascades, Fairy Falls, Cairns Art Gallery, Fitzroy Island. I also loved how close the shops were to my hostel, it meant that I could do all of my admin-y stuff (sim card, bank account, etc.) in one morning! The consistent sunny weather was fab too. Last thing! I also met some incredible people in Cairns that I still see 3 months on!

 

What I didn’t love so much: Beaches were pretty far away, so would need a car! The heat was incredibly humid and slightly uncomfortable. The city beyond the Esplanade wasn’t the prettiest, especially compared to some of my other stops.

 

Cairns creates a slight divide amongst backpackers, some love it (like myself) and others don’t see the hype. I felt that a week was a great amount of time, arguably not enough. But I could be biased because it was my very first stop in Australia, meaning anything would have excited me because I had travelled over 10,000 miles from home. Regardless, there is so much to do in Cairns and my ‘What I loved’ section proves it!

 

 

STOP 2: MISSION BEACH 

Is this the outback? All I can see is luscious, green trees and insects. Oh wait, nope there’s the sea. We’re in Mission Beach.

 

Duration: 26th October to 28th October (2 nights)

 

Rating: 6/10

 

What I loved: The hostel I stayed in (Jackaroo Treehouse) was great for wanting a relaxing retreat in the middle of the forest, getting you to feel super zen! The owner, Rob, was very friendly and helpful so use him to your advantage if you stay there. One of the days I hired a bike and travelled around the area that way, which I would definitely recommend. Also loved jumping 10,000 ft from an airplane, and apparently Mission Beach is the best place to skydive in the whole of Australia! Locals were super friendly here – it was the only place along my trip where hitchhiking was encouraged!

 

What I didn’t love so much: There isn’t a lot to do here, so 2 nights was definitely enough time. As great as the hostel was, it was very far away from the ‘town centre’ (if you can call it that).

 

 

STOP 3: MAGNETIC ISLAND

A backpacker favourite for sure, and I have a feeling a lot of travelers would argue my score for it should be higher!

 

Duration: 28th October to 31st October (3 nights)

 

Rating: 7/10

 

What I loved: The ferry over from Townsville, Horseshoe Bay, the local outdoor cinema, lots of kangaroos, Alma Bay, the local RSL for their Sunday lunch! The architecture in Townsville was pretty nice too.

 

What I didn’t love so much: Very, very HOT. But like, too hot, like you can barely do anything hot. Again, not too much to do here, but if you like walks and lots of beach days you’ll be alright! Lots of insects and bugs and wildlife, its where I met my first Huntsman Spider (eesh). Also… pineapple on burgers, like what?! Very aware that this is just an Australian thing but I discovered the monstrosity on this island!

 

Just a side note to say that I stayed with family friends here, so my experience might be quite different compared to those who were staying in a hostel as I was pretty focused on just getting to know my lovely hosts during my time!

 

 

STOP 4: AIRLIE BEACH 

If you haven’t heard of ‘The Whitsundays’ by the time you’ve got down to Airlie Beach, you don’t qualify for East Coast Backpacker status. Sorry – I don’t make the rules!

 

Duration: 31st October to 2nd November

 

Rating: 7.5

 

What I loved: Beaches bar and the effort they put into Halloween, Dominos pizzas being $5 (again, all over Aus but I discovered this blessing here), Le Kiosk café and their ham and cheese croissants mmm. Oh and obviouslyyy the Whitsundays, which involved snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef at Hook Island and swimming with turtles, Whitehaven Beach and Daydream Island. The main stretch of shops, restaurants and bars are pretty cute – its where I found Cotton On and Jay Jays (gosh, what a discovery!) as well as the Village Café. Airlie Beach also has a lagoon like Cairns, and its lovely to have a sunbathe and a swim.

 

What I didn’t love so much: Boatys bar (weird vibe), the ‘beach’ wasn’t very nice to look at (which is why the lagoon is there I suppose!), my hostel (Airlie Beach YHA) was a bit meh and again, not tooooo much to do here – The Whitsundays is the main highlight.

 

Airlie Beach was like Cairns in the way of being a cute coastal town but also showcasing a good atmosphere at night – its actually known to be a bit of a party town. I don’t think I would go that far but it was definitely a bit more lively than Mission Beach and Magnetic Island!

 

 

STOP 5: MACKAY 

Not an immensely popular location with backpackers, but I was visiting a lovely family member here which is why its included! I couldn’t spend too much time here due to my itinerary but this is what I can summarise!

 

Duration: 2nd November to 3rd November

 

Rating: 6.5/10

 

What I loved: Caneland Central Shopping Centre, Bluewater Lagoon & Trail, Artspace Mackay, Street Art Gallery (there was surprisingly a LOT of street art in the city centre), the Mackay Marina was nice also.

 

What I didn’t love so much: Quiet… Mackay felt very, very quiet. Especially the city centre. There didn’t feel like there was a lot of stuff to do here but I was only here for a night so probably didn’t give it a real chance!

 

 

STOP 6: ROCKHAMPTON

Yeah, no. Just miss this one. I thought I would add Rockhampton in to save me the 10 hour bus journey from Mackay to Hervey Bay, but no, just stay on the bus for your own sake.

 

Duration: 3rd November to 3th November (2 nights – don’t ask)

 

Rating: 3/10

 

What I loved: (crickets)

 

What I didn’t love so much: Nandos was bad here (do I need to continue?), my hostel (Rockhampton Backpackers YHA) was terrifying, the whole place was pretty terrifying to be honest (my Uber driver upon being in Rockhampton approximately 5 minutes told me that it wasn’t a safe place for me to be outside of my accommodation after dark – great), and not to sound like a broken record, but not a lot to do here.

 

I might be being a bit dramatic with Rockhampton, and I did give it a 3 because I could sense slight potential. I’m sure if I arrived at the Rockhampton Museum of Art before it closed I would have liked that! I hope…

 

 

STOP 7: HERVEY BAY

‘Hervey Bay is for the newly wed or the nearly dead’

 

Duration: 5th November to 8th November (3 nights)

 

Rating: 7.5/10

 

What I loved: Fraser Island! Mainly the reason a traveler will consider coming to Hervey Bay – my day tour consisted of swimming in Bowarrdy Creek, tubing and kayaking at Awinya Creek and exploring the heavenly Wathumba Creek where we saw a dingo puppy! I also went on a Sunset Cruise where I saw dolphins – that was pretty nice and the beach near my hostel (Hervey Bay Flashpackers) wasn’t too shabby. Stockland’s Shopping Centre wasn’t a bad place to pass some time either

 

What I didn’t love so much: Seeing a shark in the water of where we were supposed to be snorkeling on Fraser Island… The lack of nightlife, the moody staff in my hostel, how far away the hostel was from a food shop and just the general lack of things to do apart from Fraser Island!

 

I can’t lie, 7 of that 7.5 score comes from my Fraser Island trip, but hey, maybe when I’ve got 6 months left to live I’ll come back to Hervey Bay!

 

 

STOP 8: RAINBOW BEACH

Duration: 8th November to 9th November (1 night)

 

Rating: 7/10

 

What I loved: Carlo Sand Blow and the people I was with! The hostel I was at (Freedom Rainbow Beach) was pretty cool with its own bar and Netflix lounge ooo la la

 

What I didn’t love so much: God is it expensive to stay here! That’s why I could only afford the one night, but to be honest one night is probably all you need. There isn’t a great deal to do here.

 

Rainbow Beach has a fairly good rating, but that’s mainly due to the fabulous dutchies I was with! The Carlo Sand Blow was pretty insane too.

 

Okaaayyyy I’m having to split this post up because otherwise you’ll feel like you’ve been reading for six weeks! So…

To be continued…

 

 

Some additional comments:

 

You might see in a few places I’ve said that it didn’t feel like there were a lot of things to do there – it’s important to remember that I only got a snapshot of all of my stops so somebody who has been in Magnetic Island, Rainbow Beach, and Hervey Bay, etc for a while might (and probably will) have an entirely different opinion!

 

Also, just because I say there wasn’t a lot to do doesn’t mean the location wasn’t beautiful. The majority of stops I visited were incredible aesthetically (apart from Rockhampton), and would suit most people just wanting a relaxing holiday, but I was travelling and trying to see and do as much as humanely possible.

 

Also also don’t hate me if I’ve slandered your hometown or somewhere you think is great, I’m sure its great in many ways (apart from Rockhampton)

 

Finally, all of my more critical comments should be taken in jest ;))

 

(Except the ones about Rockhampton)