Recently I set myself a challenge; to travel from Sydney to Cairns, as cheaply as possible while seeing as many sights as possible. Two weeks later and I'm back in Sydney having seen a majority of the East Coast's hotspots without breaking the bank. Although it took me a good two years to step up the courage to go off alone and do this trip I'll be eternally grateful to myself for just getting up and getting it done. I'm a strong believer that the journey is more important than the destination and on this trip the saying especially rings true.
I began in Sydney, posting a Gumtree advert for a trip up to Byron Bay which got a fair few replies in a matter of days. People tend to be incredibly wary of asking strangers online for help, and while some of that paranoia is justified I've never had an issue. Of course there will always be risk, as with most things, but if you use your common sense then a lot of that risk is nullified. I chose to travel with a guy who, in his e-mail, came across as friendly and laid his plans out on the table asking if I was interested. His plan was to travel to Armidale for work, stay one night and then travel on to Byron. Even though Byron was my intended destination I was happy for the diversion, I particularly wanted to explore more than travel directly up the motorways where I'd miss a lot of the places in New South Wales.
Armidale and New England: The first day we spent a great deal of our time driving, reaching Armidale with plenty of time to spare. Although Armidale itself is essentially a student city, with the University of New England as it's only outstanding feature seemingly, there's plenty to do in the surrounding area. Check out the pine forests for some good photo opportunities or venture to Uralla to see the New England Brewery and The Sweet Place. From Armidale in the morning we headed up Waterfall Way Highway to check out.. well, some of the waterfalls and walks that pattern the area. In the evening we camped in the New England National Park.
Byron and Nimbin: On the third day we made the stretch to Byron, stopping momentarily in Nimbin, one of the most peculiar towns I've ever visited. The town is famous for its blatant use of drugs which seems to go relatively unnoticed or ignored by the authorities, affectionately nicknamed the weed capitol of Australia. Nimbin is tiny, with only one street of shops, cafes and a hotel/pub. In the evening we finally made it to Byron Bay, with the most beautiful view driving down Bangalow Road. Although my time in Byron was short lived to this day it stands as one of my favourite places in Australia. In the morning my companion left and I was completely on my own for the first time since the trip began. I spent that time on the beach, reading and exploring the wide array of shops. I checked into Art Factory Lodge in the afternoon which is honestly my favourite hostel I've ever been to. I'll expand on it in a separate post but as an overview I met some of the best people there. Later I did the walk from the hostel up to the lighthouse which ended up taking much longer than expected, with a lot of minor detours. I reached the lighthouse just before sunset which provided some beautiful views and photos.
Brisbane: In the morning I headed up to Brisbane via a Greyhound, only $30 for the trip, however pretty expensive if you compare it with the price of hitchhiking. In Brisbane I met up with a good friend from England who thankfully housed me for the next two days. I'd been to Brisbane before and I only had a couple of hours in the area so I didn't get a fair view of the city. After spending an extended period of time there I now see why so many travelers settle in the city. During my time there I explored Southbank, checked out the food markets, investigated the CBD (very pleased with the shopping variety), visited the Mt Coot-tha lookout and trecked back down it, and went to the Queensland Art Gallery. I also found a couple who had hired a campervan to take me up to Cairns. At first I was worried that I'd have to just grab a plane ticket North and miss all the sights but thankfully I ignored the travel agent and posted a Gumtree advert that ended up being successful.
Rainbow Beach and Noosa: Day one of the roadtrip and we headed off straight away after gathering some supplies. Our first stop was the Sunshine Coast which was a lot less exciting than it sounds, or than I thought it would be. We traveled further North to Rainbow Beach which is one of the largest beaches I've come across, very close to Fraser Island. Apparently it's the gateway town to the island. We traveled a little further on and reached Noosa which is packed with backpackers and tourists but mainly families. Don't get me wrong its one of the most beautiful little towns at night, with a ton of beautiful restaurants, shops and lights in the trees, but for a backpacker I feel like you couldn't reach its full potential. It's very much a resort area. We did visit the nightclubs, and with it being a Friday night you'd think things would be going off, but it wasn't as intense as you'd hope.
Airlie Beach and Whitsundays: This has got to be one of the go-to places for backpackers. The second you drive into Airlie Beach you instantly know where all the travelers have got caught. The main strip in lined with pubs, clubs, endless hostels and tourist companies. We stayed at Nomads, I had to try out the hostel chain at least once while in Australia after hearing so much about them. Being just moments from the Whitsundays I had to put some money aside to visit Whitehaven Beach, it was almost a necessity. We found that most places were selling a $99 half day morning trip, however one company advertised that they'd beat any price and we managed to get it for $89. The way the trip is described is pretty mundane but actually vising the beach and being able to swim in the crystal waters and sunbathe on the pure white sand is something I'll never forget. We were lucky in that it began to rain just as we were leaving the beach, but even in a storm the area was incredible. The cruise also took us to Daydream Island Resort giving us serious travel envy.
Cairns: After Airlie Beach we tried to do as much of the driving up to Cairns as uninterrupted as possible and even picked up a couple of American backpackers. We stopped in Rockhampton, but not long enough to entirely take in the city. We arrived in Cairns a night later and all I wanted to do was sleep and go back to Sydney. The hostel we decided to stay in after a lot of deliberation was Calypso Inn. The place itself was the perfect hostel, with two kitchings, a pool, darts, pool table, laundry, with a twenty minute walk into the city and lagoon. I wish I'd had more money when I was in Cairns, as the city itself is not the most amazing place, however the tours and places up near Port Douglas, as expensive as they are, seem totally worth it. If you're looking for a place to drink on a Monday night I recommend Gilligan's Backpacker Hotel. If you're lucky you might even catch the talent show!
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