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Byron Bay, Australia
Our Australia trip started out in Bryon Bay. We spent a full week here eating
some really good food, meeting beautiful people, and getting some surf lessons.
After that much needed relaxing week, we headed to Brisbane to pick up our van,
which would be our home for the next couple weeks. We were excited to start our
Queensland road trip!
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Noosa, Australia
Noosa is about 2 hour drive from Brisbane. This is most people’s first stop on a
Tropical North Queensland road trip. It’s considered one of Australia’s best
locations for surfing and is known for its laid back surf-town kinda vibe. It
can be the perfect place to ease into your road trip as you don’t need to drive
that far on your first day. But unfortunately we didn’t have the time to stop
here. Another popular stop on the way is Fraser Island. It’s best known for its
unique landscape of sand dunes, rainforests and the beautiful Lake McKenzie.
Getting here from Noosa takes about 5 hours as you’d need to take a ferry. Keep
in mind that the island lacks sealed roads so the only way to drive here is with
a 4×4. That was one of the main reasons we decided to skip Fraser Island as
well. We didn’t feel like leaving our campervan and renting another car just for
the island. Our friend Sammy and his company Ratpack Travel are helping many
travelers save close to 15% on their trips there. Sammy is an entrepreneur from
the UK who learned and lived the traveling agency world in Australia for years.
He understood how agencies take a big commission on the expense of visitors. So
he started his own agency which operates from a modified bus as an office. That
way not only do they have the coolest office in Australia, but they are also
able to save money on a lot of activities around Australia for their customers.
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Agnes Water QLD, Australia
Since we skipped Fraser Island and Noosa, we had a lot to drive on our first day
– a total of 6 hours. It was not the easiest but it was good to get it out of
the way on the first day. The main reason we wanted to stay near Agnes Water was
a specific camp we wanted to visit – Horizons Kangaroo Sanctuary. It was around
$30 per night for a powered site. The camp is small with not a as many amenities
as the big holiday parks. But it is ran by a lovely couple who loves animals and
takes care of orphaned and wounded kangaroos. The property is beautiful with a
large green pasture and a lot of trees and dozens of kangaroos roam around
freely.
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Cape Hillsborough QLD, Australia
Back on the road, the next stop in our Queensland road trip was Cape
Hillsborough. It was another 6 hour drive but at least this was the last long
drive we had planned on this trip. We arrived in Cape Hillsborough Nature
Tourist Park right before sunset and got to experience the beauty of the beach
in low tide and took a little stroll on the beach while the sun was setting. It
was one of the most beautiful sunsets we had on the entire trip. Cape
Hillsborough is also known for its “kangaroo experience” where you can feed
kangaroos on the beach early in the morning. It was a beautiful morning, with
the sun rising from behind the cliff and the roo’s hanging out on the beach.
After a short briefing people started taking pictures with the kangaroos. Great
chance to meet other people in a very relaxing morning.
- Cape Hillsborough Beach
- Cape Hillsborough National Park
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Airlie Beach QLD, Australia
Our next stop was the one we were most excited about. You’ve probably seen or
heard about Whitehaven beach and the Whitsundays. It’s one of the most beautiful
areas in Australia with powdery white sands and crystal clear waters. And if you
are visiting Queensland it’s a must-see. To get to the Whitsundays, it’s best to
stay in Airlie beach area and take a boat tour. Airlie beach was an hour and a
half drive from Cape Hillsborough and the holiday park we chose here was one of
our favorite from the entire trip. ISLAND GATEWAY HOLIDAY PARK We stayed here
for 3 nights and would have probably stayed a little longer, this was by far the
best camp we stayed in. It’s a little away from all the bars and restaurants of
Airlie but we deliberately chose to stay a little outside of the main town. We
wanted more nature and quiet rather than being in the middle of everything. And
we really got that!
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Whitsundays QLD, Australia
There are so many options for activities in this area but Whitsundays is the
main attraction. You can sail and stay on a boat for a couple nights, you can
camp on Whitehaven beach, or you can just take a day tour. We used Ratpack to
book our Ocean Rafting Southern Light day trip. Our boat left from the beautiful
Airlie beach Abell Point Marina North where you can see the blue water like we
never seen before in a marina. After an exhilarating ride to the famous Hill
Inlet, we had about an hour at this popular spot to go enjoy the view and of
course take some pictures of the Whitsundays swirling sands. This is one of the
most stunning views we’ve seen, and we’ve seen a lot!
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Bowen QLD, Australia
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South Mission Beach QLD, Australia
Our last stop on our way to Cairns was South Mission Beach. We stayed at Big4
Beachcomber Coconut holiday park as we wanted to be near the beach. Although you
won’t get a camping spot right near the water, like you would in Bowen, this
park was still wonderful. The facilities were very clean, with BBQ, showers,
spacious kitchen and everything you might need in a caravan park.
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Port Douglas QLD, Australia