David Gustafsson

Posts Tagged ‘Road Trip’

To travel the east coast of Australia is a true experience for anyone, especially if you are from Sweden or any other unspectacular country. Of course I love the Swedish nature as well; nothing can be compared with a Swedish midsummer or a calm winter day. So why do I love to travel in Australia? The answer must be composed of many factors: from the uncountable beautiful long lonely beaches, the magnificent sceneries, and the experience of surfing or taking a steak. Everything is just so much more exotic and different (but also similar in some sort of way). A fact is however that every single beach in Australia beats everything I have seen during 20 years in Sweden!

We have done three road trips from Sydney so far. The first went to the state South Australia where I worked at a vineyard; the second trip went via the eastern coastline from Sydney to Melbourne and thereafter over The Great Ocean Road. On the final journey from Warrambool to Sydney I took the inland route and saw enough of the outback. In my mind there is really nothing to see or experience except the heat and the long straight never-ending roads.

Australian Beaches

The last travel has gone north from Sydney into Queensland. The trip took 14 days on the road; 10 days on the way up north and 4 days back. Experiencing Australia by car is a common way by many tourists (including all backpackers) and there is of course a reason for that… Trains and buses take too much time and inconvenience. Flying is of course an option to cover some of the distance between cities but besides that a car is my recommendation for transport.

Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains were the first stop on the journey. I have been there before but the national park is always worth a visit. The eucalyptus oil evaporates from the trees in the mountain valleys which creates the fantastic blue scenery. The drive from Richmond to Katoomba via the north mountain drive is to recommend. In Katoomba the Three Sisters is visible from Echo Point. This is a very touristy destination that attracts many visitors per day. The best part I have met in Blue Mountains is the walks around Wentworth falls. Here the mountain range is very similar to what you associate with the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The sandstone scenery is definitely worth to see along with the waterfall that drops 800 meters down the canyon. Must be experienced!

Blue Mountains

Port Stevens – Hawks Nest

From Blue Mountains we traveled via Sydney’s north-eastern suburbs onto the Pacific Highway. This is a good route to avoid toll ways and the traffic lights in Sydney CBD. The Pacific Highway Stretches from Melbourne to Cairns (?) and has in general two or more lanes with a good flow rate. Port Stevens is located about 250 km north of Sydney on the south side of a wide bay that stretches into the country. I stayed in Hawks Nest, a smaller community on the north side o the bay. A caravan park, a few hotels, motels and restaurants is the main buildings in town. The beach was the best with Hawks Nest. Walking south from Hawks Nest you come out on a peninsula, 50 meters inland from the ocean the bay stretches inland. Taking the car along the beach is also an option when the tide is low.

Port Macquarie

Another 200 km north of Port Stevens along the Pacific Highway you find Port Macquarie. This is one of the biggest cities north of Sydney in New South Wales; if I remember right it was actually the largest. We arrived early to the area which of course was solved by lying on the beach. The waves were really big and stingers were flushed on shore. First we thought the stinger was a Jelly Fish (it looks like one) but it turned out that stinger is the proper name. This was good since it should be harmless in comparison to the Jelly Fish. To get stung by the tentacles of a stinger should be similar to a bee-sting whereas the Jelly Fish is often ranked as the most dangerous animal on earth causing instantaneous death after contact. Sometimes they are spotted in NSW but their natural territory is north of Brisbane.

My opinion is that the southern beaches were the best with Port Macquarie. The city was a little too big and maybe the one I least will remember.

Yamba

Another 200 km north was my next stop, Yamba. A small township located in a large river entrance. Yamba is famous for prawns and seafood which I think is a well deserved reputation. Large ships were spotted in the harbor bringing the prawns from the ocean to the harbor. I stayed at the Pacific Hotel, located with the best view of the main beach, the lighthouse and the ocean. The beach was not very long, similar to Bondi or Coogee in Sydney, however it was very wide! When the tide was high the water rose all the way up to the pavement and rocks inland (no sand was visible). On the other hand when the tide got low (around 7 pm and am) the beach appeared at its widest of almost 100 meters.

Byron Bay

Byron Bay is a very famous place to visit in New South Wales. According to what I have heard it is due to the relaxed lifestyle which includes surfing and somewhat more accessible drugs. I don’t know about that myself more than that the lifestyle indeed seemed relaxed. We stayed in Byron one night on the way up the coast and on that time I got caught by the beauty of the beach and the surroundings. The lighthouse at Australia’s most easterly located point is very scenic. There bay below the lighthouse (Byron Bay) attracts many surfers at sunset. The surfers start at the beginning of the bay next to the lighthouse and follow the swell as the waves enter in the bay. The surfing experience is extended when you surf along the beach and not against it.

The public in Byron Bay is young and hostels and backpacker accommodation is more common than hotels. I stayed with Sofia and my parents in a small cottage that accommodated 4 people at one of the hostels. The standard was ok and I personally prefer this environment before motels. One night in Byron Bay did not feel enough. Therefore we also stayed in Byron on the way back to Sydney. I then did some surfing for 4 hours and had the luck to meet some dolphins in the waves!

A memory from Byron Bay was the dinner we had at the Balcony, a restaurant that I can definitely recommend. I and Sofia had very good tapas. The second time we visited we had paella, a dish that I also recommend!

Tweed Heads – Kingscliff

Very close to Byron Bay (about 50 km) on the border to Queensland is Tweed Heads. Another 50 km north of Tweed Heads you find the big city Brisbane. Tweed Heads and the coast south of Brisbane is therefore exploited with holiday houses and there is a lot of new construction going on in the area at the moment. The coast line consists of pure beach. The area seamed empty when we went out for dinner and there was not much in the offerings. Due to this we were on the other hand alone at the beach.

We were however not impressed by the restaurants so our experience of the city felt average.

Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise is a big city where I estimate about 1 million people lives. The city is built on a small area with almost nothing but skyscrapers. We stayed at the 14^th floor at a hotel/an apartment called International Beach Resort. It was ok. I definitely recommend looking for hotel offers before arriving to Surfers to get a god deal. Sunloversholidays.com.au is one good option that many hotels use.

We stayed two rainy days in Surfers. The city offers a very long beach with good surfing. The city is also center for many fun parks; maybe all that is something of value in Australia. Wet n’ Wild, Sea World, Water World, Dream World, Movie World and you name it is some examples!

Next door to our hotel was a bungee jump facility. Of course none in our company dared to jump. I have done it before in New Zeeland and will definitely never do it again!!!

Noosa Heads

The last stop on our travel up north was Noosa Heads; a lovely city located in the riverbanks of Noosa River. Noosa was the most exclusive towns we have visited. $2” was not an uncommon price for a house (then of course with access to the river).

I rented a surfboard on the beach and had some really good waves. One of them was caught on camera (thanks Sofia!).

Fraser Island

On our second day in Noosa we went for a trip to Fraser Island. Fraser is a large sand island that hosts rainforest, dingoes, Lake McKenzie and two ship wrecks. The tour company took us to the lake through the rainforest. The only road that exists on the island is the beach, which makes it impossible to access without a good four wheel drive. Some rental companies exist in the mainland port Rainbow Bay. This is cheaper when not traveling alone, however it takes a while to learn how to drive 80 km/h on the beach and find the way in the island. Therefore I would recommend having more than one day on the island if not going with a guide.

Coffs Harbour

The next stop after Byron Bay on the way back to Sydney was Coffs Harbour. We really enjoyed our beachfront accommodation and the town; which made us stay two nights in town. Coffs has good fish, a nice beach (as everywhere else) and a river with boardwalks where you can fish or go for a run. The town is also in the center of a banana district. Stop on the road and grab a few fresh bananas and mangoes!

Forster

Forster became our final stop for accommodation before returning to Sydney via the wine district Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley was sold out apart from the very luxurious hotels. However in my mind it is enough to travel through the area, stay at a vineyard, taste some whine and maybe buy a few bottles for dinner. We found some port wine from Chalmers, a vineyard with the same name as our Swedish University. Of course it tasted very good… J

* Long beach, nice lookouts, etc.
** Good surfing, funparks, great food