If you're wanting to pack your life into a backpack and jet off to the famous east coast of Aus then this ones worth a read! Whats there to think about when there's beautiful white sand beaches and clear blue waters calling your name? I decided to start my trip in Brisbane and go all the way up to Cairns (I chose to do it this way as it was winter and was desperate to catch the last of the sunshine up north). But you could definitely start a lot further south of Brisbane if you wanted.
I decided to travel to Aus on a Wim and I don't think any of my family or friends actually believed me for a while! I had heaps of trouble with booking flights/friends cancelling on me, the usual stress before making a life changing decision.. but eventually I had a one way ticket booked for 22nd august 2017. Im normally quite an organised person but I decided that it would be best to leave most of my travel plans to fate. With that in mind I flew to Brisbane with just one night booked in a hostel.. the scariest thing I have ever done.. EVER!
My best friend dropped me at the airport, there were a lot of tears exchanged and a lot of nervous tummies! I was leaving my whole family and friends behind for god knows how long, not to mention my boyfriend at the time. At least I had Arlo with me (my toy dinosaur).
After an extremely long flight I finally landed in Brisbane and hopped on the train into the city. It was all pretty straight forward with trains and buses, plus Australians are really helpful! As I got off the train around 11am I planned to walk to my hostel (baring in mind I had a huge backpack on my back which was already killing me), the next thing I knew it was heavily raining with thunder storms. YES, everything got soaked.. including me and Arlo. I went the wrong way a few times, whilst trying not to get hit by lightning and started to wonder why I had made this terrible decision. Finally I made it to the hostel for them to tell me I couldn't check in for another 3 hours.. I was literally about to start crying.. until I looked out of the window to see the sun was starting to shine, my luck was back!
So with no shower, no data and no clue, I headed off to explore some of this beautiful city i'd heard great things about! Well, I can honestly say, within about 5 minutes of leaving the hostel I was in awe of this beautiful country. The feeling of freedom was insane, I'd never been anywhere this far away from the uk before and it felt like a huge achievement! I wandered the city surrounded by huge buildings, people dressed in suits, and the occasional person saying "G'day mate or How ya going?".. seriously! There was this school that really caught my attention (All hallows school). The building was so beautiful and the girls from the school were all dressed in little blue dresses with cute hats, the boys in blazers and shorts.. nothing like your typical English uniform! It made me wonder what it would be like to have grown up here, to have been to school here? Its a completely different lifestyle!
Anyways, I'm rambling. Tips!... I'd suggest staying in a hostel room with a lot of people (hostels are usually between $15-$25 per night), my first night was in a female only dorm but its your preference. The more people in the room the more chance you have of making friends.. right? Seriously though, don't spend time stressing over whether you're gonna make friends or not. YOU WILL! Everyone is there to travel, everyone is probably a little nervous, making friends is the easiest part! I met 4 girls on my first night, one from California, one from Germany and two from Scotland. We ended up partying all night! Check with the hostel staff what they have planned each night.. there is always something going on and always an opportunity to get cheap drinks! Plan a little extra in your budget for drinks because it definitely adds up.. but always take advantage of the hostels happy hour and events to ensure you spend less!
My next stop was Noosa.. you have to stop here, I hadn't heard of it before but I asked one of the girls from the hostel where she suggested I go next and she told me about Noosa being stunning. She wasn't wrong! I'd suggest getting the Greyhound bus, this is seriously a great way to travel around, and not too pricey either! A guy who worked at the hostel offered me a lift to the bus terminal after I asked for directions, I told you, Australians are friendly. I wouldn't always suggest this as it can be dangerous, "don't talk to strangers" and all that, but what's travel without taking a little risk here and there!? The bus ride was roughly about 3 hours north of Brisbane and no more than $30.
Now for some tips on what to do in Noosa, paddle boarding is a must! Within 1 hour of arriving at my hostel (Nomads, I'd highly recommend) I had met two lovely girls and we were sunbathing on the beach, planning our paddle boarding experience for the next day! It costs roughly around $20 for an hour, trust me, one hour is enough.. I was shattered afterwards, or maybe i'm just lazy. If you're a bit of a dare devil then Noosa is a great place to do a skydive from! This is something ive always said I would never do but god i'm glad I changed my mind! But before you do it though, you need to watch Will Smiths video about skydiving. Here's the link.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG-F_rRVdLc its a MUST WATCH.. he's spot on! All I can say is this was by far the best experience of my life, do not let your fear of this stop you because you will regret it! I would recommend not going alone though, I met a Scottish dude in the hostel and we did it together for moral support. We had a blast! We ended up booking a Fraser Island tour from Noosa too, another high recommendation. You can do this as a 3 day trip or squeeze it all into one day, we chose the one day option as it was cheaper. The hostel will have a person who gives you heaps of info on all these trips so don't panic, I found that having nothing booked was the best way because every time I met a new person my plans changed! So being free to do whatever I wanted was super handy! If you're looking for a free activity there's the National park, there's different tracks you can do so whether you want to walk for hours or just a nice easy stroll its perfect for everyone. I'll add a map of the park below this paragraph. The hostel did free bbq food on some nights, happy hour daily and events where you could win cash prizes. My Scottish friend and a few others I had met won 100 dollars on the pub quiz, I would love to tell you it went on something useful but id be lying.. SHOTS!
After Noosa I was heading off to Airlie beach, the greyhound bus was pricey as its a 12 hour drive.. luckily for me I made friends with 3 guys who were headed there the next day, they offered me a lift! Again, i'm not advising anyone to do this as it can be very unsafe to travel with strangers, but I wanted the thrill of travelling. Back to the bus, I'd try and get an overnight one so you don't waste a day, if you can sleep on buses that is! I find it super easy to sleep on public transport. The bus shouldn't cost you any more than $250 but that's a lot if you're trying to budget.. the lift was a life saver for me! After two days of travelling squished up in a tiny car with 4 backpacks and 4 humans, we finally made it to Airlie beach. The road trip was a great experience though, great music, great chats, the open road, delightful! Id suggest breaking up the journey into two like we did, about half way there's a small town called Rockhampton where you can stay the night. Airlie beach is where I did my sailing trip around the Whitsunday island.. now you absolutely MUST do this! It will take a chunk out of your budget but it is totally worth it. The white sand beaches, clear blue water and wind in your hair is just amazing. It includes lots of exploring, snorkelling, and a very bad attempt at sailing if you're anything like me. Take sunscreen, a hat and some tablets for motion sickness!!! I burnt my scalp on the trip as it was so windy I had no idea how hot it actually was. Waking up on the boat was the highlight of this trip for me, the sun rising, the water glistening, calm music playing, what more could you ask for? After a beautiful trip it was time to move on.. funnily enough the two girls I'd met on the trip were on the same bus to Townsville later that night! What are the chances?
So, Townsville.. I only stopped off here because of the famous Magnetic island! Just a short 20 minute ferry ride and you're departing ship at what looks like the most beautiful island! Nothing but palm trees and sunshine. The return ticket costs about $30, a reasonable price for a magical experience. I stayed in Base backpackers, a very beautiful hostel with a swimming pool and ocean views! Definitely worth a stay. OK, one thing I didn't do which, by the way is a huge regret.. HIRE A TOPLESS CAR. They are so groovy, a small car with no roof, choose your colour and away you go. They really fit in with the style of the island. I was meeting a friend i'd met earlier on my travels to drive around and explore.. in a shitty normal car. Sucked to be me. But the stupid car didn't spoil the magic of the island, we still got to see heaps! It's super small so you can do lots in one day. I recommend Arthurs bay lookout, about a 30 min walk and Forts walk, about a 90 minute return, both pretty easy and both starting from the Forts car park. These walks are amazing for spotting koala bears so keep an eye out whilst enjoying the 360 views of the island. We finished the day by going to the west side of the island and watching a perfect sunset over the ocean.
My next stop was cairns, around 6 hours on the Greyhound bus costing about $55. I stayed in Gilligan's hostel, a very popular place to stay. It had an outdoor pool, a huge bar with a dance floor, and plenty of backpackers! This was where I first discovered goon (cheap wine), and boy I wish I hadn't. If you're looking for the hangover from hell and a super cheap night then this is your pre-drink! Cairns definitely wasn't my favourite place but it still had its perks. Take a visit to the lagoon, it overlooks the ocean and its the perfect place to get your tan on! After a few days of sunbathing and getting drunk, I decided to make my next big decision. With what little money I had left I decided to book a flight to Sydney! What better place to look for a job and settle right?
SYDNEY! Yes I decided to use my last bit of money to fly to Sydney because why not? Why not settle in this amazing city! I stayed in Maze backpackers, my favourite hostel to date as they have free food 4 nights a week and pancakes for Sunday breaky! This was perfect as I was almost out of money. Whilst applying for jobs I explored this beautiful city as there is heaps to do! But first, get yourself an Opal card, transport is cheap and easy with this, all you have to do is keep the card topped up then start exploring. Right then.. the opera house, WOW. I cried when I first saw it, cheesy I know but I'd only ever seen this on finding nemo and I just couldn't believe I was standing in front of it. The bridge was equally as overwhelming. You must visit the luna park, get a bus to palm beach (where home and away was filmed) and visit the most amazing.. blue mountains! They really take your breath away, perfect for some instagram shots and an easy train ride away! Also you should hit up George street for some amazing shopping, and obviously take a trip to the extremely famous Bondi beach. Another great beach is Coogee, there's a walk from Coogee to Bondi that's got stunning views and is super easy! So much to do!
That pretty much sums up my trip and completes my first blog! To wrap this whole thing up I just want to dish out a few more tips, SLIP SLOP SLAP, in other words wear sunscreen everyday, watch out for spiders and snakes (even though I didn't see a single one), don't be afraid to make friends (most of the friends I met i'm still in touch with now), eat in the hostels and always ask what events they have on each night if you wanna save money, and the best tip yet.. HAVE FUN! Honestly, don't sit around waiting for the right moment or wondering what it would be like.. just go, explore, make memories, create your adventure!
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