Guide to Backpacking can be found here.

By Recent Traveller- Paul Barnard.  A guide to Australia and the east coast.  I had an amazing time travelling the east coast of Australia and it is a must on a backpackers to do list.

The best way to explore the east coast of oz is on the bus with Oz Experience.  It is a hop on hop off service which travels in the day (unlike greyhound and other services).   Oz Experience bus drivers are usually very funny and tell you about the local area as your driving through. The other operators do not do this.  

Oz Experience can be booked at many travel companies when you arrive in Oz but the best one to use is Peter Pans.  I don’t recommend you book this in England as when you are out there, you may meet friends straight away (especially if travelling alone) who might want to travel with.  The good thing about the east coast and oz is can change your mind about how long you stay somewhere (once you arrive), but I have given a guide to this below.

First Stop, Fly into Cairns. Good arrival time is November - this is so you can get to Sydney well in time for New Years. This is a big party town and probably the least amount of sleep your have.

As you make your way down the coast you can experience lots of activities which are usually much cheaper than the UK.  

Next Stop, Mission Beach. Activity town with sky diving and high adrenalin activities. I only did the Water rafting which was great fun. I recommend 2-3 days here.

You then get to go on lots boat trips if you wish,  Magnetic Island is accessed from Townsvill (and there is not much point in staying in Townsville according to many travellers). I never experienced it so cant say much.

The Whitsundays Islands are accessed from Airlie Beach which are amazing and the sand is like powder. It was used on the Hubble space telescope. You get to chose which boat you go on when you book in oz.   Airliee beach is a fun town, with many good bars and restaurants.  The Hostels are within a short distant from each other.  When you arrive here, you should have already booked your boat your going on, and booze can be purchased from the marina.   There are party boats, sailing boats, small boats, etc etc, but largely they are much the same and its the luck of the draw which company you end up in.  When you on a boat, all you can do is jump overboard!.  The boat trips are between 2-3 days on average, although you can also book day trips. Most of the boats also have dive equipment.  In all 5 days are needed in Airlee beach including the boat trip.

All down the coast you get to go diving on the Great Barrier reef, you can go on a beginners lesson and they literally through you in at the deep end!  I had been before but I forgot a lot after 5 years and did a refresher course. We had to wear stinger suits to protect us from Box Jelly fish, as they can be deadly.

The bus trip includes lot of actives including lawn bowls and a night at a cattle farm (Kroombit). We were taught to round up goats, learn to crack a whip and ride a mechanical Bull. There is a competition to see who could stay on the longest

We then went to Frasier Island which was really good, really enjoyed driving on the beach trying to avoid streams, oncoming traffic and people!. It is the largest sand island in the world stretching 123km long. The island is also made up of 40 freshwater lakes, which are great to swim in. (see photo). I volunteered to cook one evening, (risotto) which I enjoyed although challenging to try and avoid the sand. The trip is very well organised, they provide with all your food, tents, water, gas stoves and most importantly beer!. We also had to be wary of wild dingos on the island which have attacked people in the past.

The rest of my trip was made up of two nights in Brisbane, two nights at Surfers Paradise, four nights at Byron Bay, and one night at surf camp which was great fun.   You can change your mind and rebook the bus at any point on your trip.

Arrival in Sydney, the first 2 nights where very hectic looking for flats, jobs and sorting paperwork out. We found a flatwith my old school friend who also lived in Southampton, plus two random people I met down the coast. I working for Sydney University over Christmas and continued after the new year doing various bits in the Dentistry apartment. My first job was to mount metal plates to dental equipment, something I have not done before!

We spent Christmas day on the beach, it was a really nice day with lots going on including street entertainment and a music festival. On Boxing day, we went to the Sydney Racing, which was international day. I won 4 out of 6 races so came away with a nice profit.

We decided to watch some of the test between Australia and South Africa, Sydney Cricket Ground is a superb ground and we enjoyed the cricket. We got to see both teams bat and field, I was impressed with Graham Smith, although unfortunately he broke his hand and had to retire hurt. Australia went on to win the test although they lost the serious 2-1. We were happy about this! The 1 day serious is now on, and we are again rooting for the Saffers.

We decided to dress up for New Years, a big tradition where I grew up (Bridport in Dorset). We went as Mexicans and to our surprise, out of 1.6 million people, we were the only ones dressed up (as far as we could see!). We decided to celebrate it on the north side, away from all the tourists and back packers. We had a great view of the fireworks, we could see the Opera house directly from our view opposite the river. It was great banter with the locals and we had a great night. My Scottish friend who I share a flat with got so drunk, on his way home he somehow managed to walk across the bridge, get lost somewhere in Sydney and cross the bridge again as he thought he was on the wrong side of the harbour! The harbour is about a mile apart! He eventually arrived back at the flat at 6 am, getting a lift from a friendly local who took pitty on him.

There are always things going in Sydney. Before we could get over New Years, they immediately have a month long festival in January. The city parks are filled with stages with a variety of different music and performances. My old school friend has now gone out to New Zealand, and oddly we advertised the room and a Kiwi has taken up his bed. In February, its the Chinese New year, so another month long festival to celebrate this.

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