Cairns to Brisbane Road Trip: Travelling Australia’s East Coast
Ahh Australia’s East Coastβ¦ somewhere that should be on EVERYONEβS bucket lists if youβre heading Down Under! Whilst making my way around Oz on my six week adventure there back in March, I was really looking forward to exploring new states and cities on the East Coast after spending the first three weeks of my trip exploring Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory. My 10 day Cairns to Brisbane road trip took in the likes of Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, the Whitsundays and Fraser Island along the way. I booked my East Coast trip through Topdeck Travel, a fantastic tour company who offer group tours for 18-39 year olds, similar to the Contiki I did in America back in 2016! I had an amazing time travelling Australia’s East Coast and really loved exploring a side to the country that was totally different to the vast Outback and the Great Ocean Road! Hereβs the lo-down of my Cairns to Brisbane road trip, and everything I would recommend you see when planning your own East Coast adventure tooβ¦
Cairns – Magnetic Island
After meeting my new tour mates and having a full introduction from the Topdeck team at our Cairns hotel, the first day of our tour was spent exploring all that Cairns had to offer. Despite having already spent 2 nights in Cairns prior to the tour starting, it was actually really nice to spend more time exploring the city whilst getting to know my new tour mates at the same time. Some of the group decided to just chill out by the lagoon and stay in the centre, whilst others opted for high adrenaline sports including white water rafting and bungee jumping. I decided to join the rest of the group in doing a day trip to the Kuranda Rainforest after my trip to Cape Tribulation was cancelled the day before due to bad weather! We rode a cable car over the forest below, went on a boardwalk amongst the trees, admired the awesome Barron Falls waterfall and walked around the tiny village of Kuranda. After lunch we then hopped on the Kuranda Express and took the train all the way back to Cairns. I absolutely loved exploring the rainforest as it enabled me to see a totally different side to Australia.
After a heavy night of dancing and drinking until the early hours on the first night of our tour, we were all up early and were ready for a day some of us had waited our whole lives for… it was time to head out to THE GREAT BARRIER REEF! Ahhh I was so excited and couldn’t wait to get my wetsuit on and jump in that gorgeous blue sea. I have to say, snorkelling the GBR was absolutely incredible and one of the best things I’ve ever done. I saw hundreds of different species of fish of all sizes, shapes and colours, a whole host of beautiful coral reefs and even came face to face with a small shark at one point! We spent most of the day out at sea, enjoying lunch on the boat as we sailed and we did two separate dives; the day was truly magical and I am so happy I got to tick the snorkelling off my bucket list!
Magnetic Island β Whitsundays
After spending 4 long days in Cairns (2 on the tour and 2 just before the tour started) I was totally ready to move on and explore somewhere new so was looking forward to heading to Townsville ready for our next destination. After around 5 hours of driving we made it to Townsville in time to catch the ferry over to Magnetic Island where we were spending the night. The ferry was only a short crossing and we were soon arriving onto Maggie Island, a world heritage listed island right on the Great Barrier Reef that’s teeming with sandy beaches, tropical fish and brightly coloured reefs. Shortly after arrival, we were ready to check in to our cute little motel in Arcadia with gorgeous sea views. I joined a few of my tour mates on an afternoon hike up to the historic world war two forts which were used by the Australian army to defend their coastline. We passed some fantastic 360 degree views of the sea from the top of the fortifications along the way and even spotted a few koalas resting sleepily in the trees. After our hike we spent some time on the pretty Alma Bay beach before chilling at the pool on our resort.
After dinner at the motel, we headed out to watch the sun set over the sea and went to the nearby rocks to feed the resident wallabies which was super cute! Our evening was spent having drinks at the one and only nightclub on the entire island, Base Backpackers, before heading back to our motel in Arcadia to get a good night’s sleep. The next morning we headed to Bungalow Bay Koala Village, the only accommodation resort in Australia that has it’s very own wildlife park on site! Sadly we weren’t staying here and were just visiting for the day, but we got to meet all the classic Aussie animals including koalas, crocs, snakes, echidnas, possums and even Harry the wombat who was HUGE but just the cutest thing! We held tropical birds and snakes on our hands and round our necks and petted the koalas and wombats too. After our visit to Bungalow Bay it was time to leave Maggie Island behind as we headed back to Townsville to continue with our Cairns to Brisbane road trip.
Whitsundays β Airlie Beach
This was the part of the trip that I was actually dreading the most as I get sooo sea sick and was terrified it was going to ruin my entire experience! After getting off the boat back in Townsville, we left the bus (and our suitcases) behind and boarded our very own private yacht ready for overnight sailing in the beautiful Whitsundays, a cluster of 74 islands off the central coast of Queensland founded by Captain Cook. After we had left our overnight bags and ditched our shoes on the boat we set sail and cruised along the beautiful Coral Sea, lapping up the waves and gazing at the sparkling turquoise waters blow. Shortly after, we arrived at our first stop, Whitehaven Beach, a natural wonder famed for its pure white sands that should be on everyone’s Aussie bucket lists! Unfortunately the weather was awful whilst we were there and it rained non-stop (typical), but we donned our stinger suits and swam in the waters where we saw tropical fish aplenty and some of our group even saw sharks and sting rays.
Back on the boat we wolfed down our lunch that was cooked on-board and sailed further out to sea, stopping again for a second time a few hours later to give people the option for more snorkelling or swimming as the boat stopped in the middle of the ocean. We sailed for another few hours, enjoying an incredible sunset along the way, before having dinner and drinks as it started to get dark. The anchor then docked for the night as we settled down in our cabins ready to catch some Z’s. Unfortunately I was starting to feel a little nauseous by that point, although my sea sickness tablets/patches had been amazing, so I opted to go on the sleeper boat in the hope that I would actually get a good night’s kip. Most of my tour mates were getting drunk and I wasn’t really feeling it so I am glad there was a more chilled option for those of us who wanted to chill out and Topdeck catered well for instances like this!
Airlie Beach – Myella Farm Stay
Our second day on board our boat was spent sailing further out to sea and taking yet more swimming stops as we visited Blue Pearl Bay to try and see some more amazing marine life. We had actually seen a shark and baby dolphins the night before from top deck of our boat which was a real treat so I was keeping an eye out for some more activity! Unfortunately it rained again on our second day so the water wasn’t as clear as we’d hoped for, and the snorkelling wasn’t great either, but we did enjoy sailing for another few hours and having another great lunch before we disembarked the boat. After our overnight Whitsundays sailing had come to an end, and as we made our way into Airlie Beach, we spent time exploring the lagoon and the shops before having dinner and drinks in one of the most popular backpacker resorts in Australia. Our hotel for the night was the Mantra Club Croc which was amazing and the rooms were so luxurious – something that was much needed after an uncomfortable night’s sleep on a boat and I was so glad to be back on land!
Myella Farm Stay β Fraser Island
The next morning we enjoyed a hearty breakfast ahead of our longest driving day of the entire trip – a whopping 8 hours – ready to head to Myella Farm, a traditional working farm ran by a local family who welcomed us all with open arms. We spent two nights on the farm and took part in activities including horse riding, lassoing and feeding the baby joeys as well as enjoying some of the best home cooked meals we’d ever had! We went for sunset walks on the ranch, drives around the estate and chilled out in our hammocks whilst catching some rays. I spent time reading my book, contacting family and friends back home and doing some laundry too as we hadn’t had much chance to do any since our tour started. It was so lovely to experience a traditional way of Australian farm life for these two days and we also used it as a chance to recharge our batteries after a whirlwind start to our crazy Cairns to Brisbane road trip.
Fraser Island β Brisbane
The penultimate stop on our tour, and somewhere that I was super excited to visit, was the one and only FRASER ISLAND! Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the largest sand island in the world, Fraser boasts Queensland’s longest beach which stretches for 75 miles. We made the long drive from Myella Farm, stopping at Bundaberg to check out their famous rum distillery along the way, and then caught a ferry over in the afternoon. We started our time on Fraser with a four wheel driving experience across the bumpy sand. Shortly after, we went on an epic rainforest walk swapping sand for trees, and were then taken back to our Wilderness Lodges ready for dinner and a night of dancing in the tiny nightclub! Day 2 of Fraser was probably my favourite day of the entire trip as we packed SO much in to such a short amount of time. First up was tubing down Eli Creek and exploring the Maheno Shipwreck before jumping on an optional scenic flight over the entire island below which was amazing! After coming back down to earth, we spent the afternoon swimming in Lake Mackenzie, the bluest water I’ve ever seen, and even did some stand up paddle boarding too.
Night two of Fraser was our last official night on tour as a group as loads of us were jumping off in Brisbane the next day (myself included) so we wanted to enjoy one last evening together. We had a lovely sit down meal followed by more dancing and drinking at our lodges/the bar. Our last morning was spent enjoying one final breakfast together before we all hopped on the ferry back to the mainland and got back on the bus for the last time (sob!). We then had a 5 hour drive as we made our way over to Noosa where we had a few hours to stop for lunch and do some exploring. I had no idea what to expect from Noosa at all but really enjoyed walking up to Noosa Heads and the Fairy Pools for some epic ocean views. Only a few of us took part in this hike, and we were actually back late to the bus because we lost track of time (oops!) but I’m so glad we did it. Our final stop on the way down to Brisbane was at the Glasshouse Mountains, a set of dormant volacanoes that dominated the skyline. After a few more hours of driving we FINALLY reached the lively city of Brisbane ready to say goodbye to all our Topdeck pals. There were hugs and tears aplenty as those of us who were leaving got ready to wave everyone off, but I actually stayed one more night for a final dinner and drinks with the crew before my lovely friend Amy picked me up the next morning and my Cairns to Brisbane road trip came to an end!
As you can tell, I had a brilliant time on my Cairns to Brisbane road trip and absolutely adored travelling Australia’s East Coast. From snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef and sailing the Whitsundays to feeding baby kangaβs at Myella Farm and flying over Fraser Island, I ticked plenty of Aussie bucket list items off my list and made 30 new friends whilst I was at it! A Topdeck tour is a great way of getting around Australia and seeing a large amount of the country in such a short time, so I would definitely recommend them if youβre looking to do an East Coast tour like I did! The final instalment of my Australia posts will be coming soon, and I’ll be sharing the last part of my journey from Brisbane-Sydney. Writing these posts is so much fun and is giving me so much nostalgia, but it’s also giving me serious travel blues and making me miss Australia even more! Take me backkkkkkkk.
