This time last year, I was preparing to go travelling for three months, the first month of which was spent in Australia.
Australia had always been a ‘bucket list’ country for me, but I went there really not knowing what to expect. Would it be like any other place I had been before? Would I spend my time dodging snakes and spiders? (Ok, this was more of a fear than an anticipation.)
We travelled up the East Coast, starting in Melbourne and ending in Airlie Beach. Each place we visited along the way was SO different, so I wanted to condense it down into my personal top 5 things that I would recommend to somebody visiting Australia!
1. Take a trip to Byron Bay for a few days
If you are travelling up (or down) the East Coast of Australia, you HAVE to stop at Byron Bay. It’s a small place, so if you only have a day there, you can still experience what Byron Bay has to offer. However, I would definitely recommend spending a few days there if you can!
It really is a place like no other.
As soon as we arrived, we went straight to a big supermarket (clearly food was our number one priority), and the first thing we noticed was that we were surrounded by people who were barefoot! In a supermarket…! In most places, you would get a few strange looks at the very least if you’re walking around barefoot, but Byron Bay is like a little world of its own. Everyone is relaxed, barefoot, carrying a surfboard under their arm, and probably on their way to buy some more kombucha.
Byron Bay has a very chilled vibe, and we spent most of our days there at the beach. The beach there is stunning, not crowded, and within walking distance of everything!
There is a big busking culture in Byron Bay. If you go out onto the streets in the evening, you’ll find street performers surrounded by big audiences on every pavement. Again, it really is a place like no other!
2. Do a daytrip to Bondi Beach
We couldn’t go to Sydney without a visit to one of the most famous beaches in Australia. What I loved about it was that one minute you could be in the middle of a busy city centre, and one bus journey later you could be swimming in the sea!
I have to say, the only thing that I wasn’t too keen on was how crowded it was. In all fairness, it was peak beach season in Australia: the start of their summer, but not yet unbearably hot. However, if you visit at another time of year, it will most likely be a little bit less crowded!
Having said that, one thing Bondi definitely wasn’t lacking was atmosphere. There was such a vibrant, fun, holiday vibe at the beach and the whole area around it, where there are tons of restaurants and cafes!
3. Go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane
This koala sanctuary in Brisbane is, despite the name, home to a lot more than just koalas. This is where I saw kangaroos for the first time, and they were SO much more out and about than I expected them to be!
There were around twenty or thirty kangaroos all just chilling together in an open field, and we were all free to walk up to them and interact with them! That’s when I felt that I had truly experienced Australia.
We also saw koalas (of course), wombats, dingoes, and loads more animals which I had only heard of from I’m A Celebrity!
4. Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef
This was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life, let alone the trip! There are quite a few places in Queensland where you can do a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, such as Airlie Beach, which is where we stayed. There are loads of backpacker travel companies around who can help you find a snorkelling experience to book.
The one we went with was called Ocean Rafting, and it involved a trip out to the Reef to snorkel, and a trip to Whitehaven Beach, which you’ll have to keep reading to find out about! The day started off with a 45-minute boat ride out to the Whitsunday Islands.
The boat we were on was a sort of blow-up raft (it was more stable than it sounds), and it went FAST. As in, so fast you couldn’t really get up from your seat. However, this did make it less rocky, which is great if you have a tendency to feel seasick.
We then pulled into a little bay, which is where we stopped to snorkel. They gave us an hour to do our own thing, and we were free to swim around the whole area. Although the Great Barrier Reef has been very damaged in certain areas, the part we were in was in great condition and looked AMAZING. I felt like I was on the set of Finding Nemo! We saw some stunning corals, a ton of tropical fish, and even a giant turtle. It was absolutely surreal!
5. Visit Whitehaven Beach
The second part of the Ocean Rafting experience was a trip to Whitehaven Beach, which was even more surreal than the Great Barrier Reef. This beach is the kind of place that you see on the screensavers that come with your laptop. The sand was completely white and insanely soft, and the water was crystal clear and turquoise! As the boat pulled onto the beach, I was genuinely amazed that this place was actually real!
This beach can only be accessed by these kinds of tours or by private boats, so the whole place is immaculate and looks completely untouched. It literally felt like paradise!
Here we had around two hours to hike to the top of a hill on the island for the most picturesque views, chill on the beach, and stock up our camera rolls with a lifetime’s worth of Instagram pictures.
When we were in the water, there were stingrays and baby sharks (apologies for undoubtedly putting that song in your head) swimming around us. Luckily, they really weren’t interested in any human interaction, and the water was so clear that we could see them approaching from miles away!
After visiting Whitehaven Beach, it’s going to be hard to find another beach that even comes close!
Hopefully this has given you some inspiration to book a trip to Australia, or some itinerary ideas if you are already planning on going!
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