The Ultimate Australian Road Trip – Queensland

Written by Anna, Diego, Enrica & Camilo (Intensive General English (Advanced level) BROWNS students)

 

Fun Facts about Queensland:

• Also known as “the sunshine state”
• 300+ days of sunshine
• Stated flower is the Cooktown orchid
• The capital is Brisbane
• Has five of Australia’s eleven world natural heritage areas
• Home to more than 4 million people
• About one third of Queenslanders are migrants or the children of migrants

Popular Places in Queensland:

• Gold Coast
• Brisbane (capital)
• Noosa Heads
• Hervey Bay (Fraser Island)
• Airlie beach (Whitsunday Islands)
• Townsville (Magnetic Island)
• Cairns (Great Barrier Reef and Kuranda)

Where to Party:

• Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise): Sin City, One Cavill, Bedroom Lounge Bar and BROWNS students go on Tuesday to the Beer Garden and Melbas on Thursday
• Brisbane: Stockies (go there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night) & Fortitude Valley
• Airlie Beach: Magnums and Mama Africa
• Darwin: Opium, Ducks Nuts Bar & Grill, The Precinct Tavern

How to get there:

The best way to travel up the East Coast is probably by car or campervan.
Most highways/roads along the East Coast are of good quality.
It is also possible to go by public transport such as train and bus.

Train: https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/

Bus: https://www.busqld.com.au/ or https://www.greyhound.com.au/

Where to stay:

My favourite places to stay are the YHA Hostels.
They are in all the popular places in Queensland.

But… there are many more hostels! Check out the website below to compare:
https://www.hostelworld.com/

If you have a campervan, I recommend buying the ‘’Camps Australia Wide’’ in the App store.
This application shows all the campsites and holiday parks in Australia.
https://www.campsaustraliawide.com/

Gold Coast Highlights:

• Burleigh Heads
  –Burleigh Head National Park (rainforest with birds and walking trails)
  –David Fleay Wildlife Park (wildlife park with walking tracks through groves and rainforest)
• Lamington National Park (1h drive from BROWNS)
• Springbrook National Park (1h drive from BROWNS)
• Coolangatta
  –Watch the sunset with a view of the Gold Coast skyline
• Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
• Surfers Paradise
  –Sky point (get a discount ticket at the BROWNS reception)
  –Check out the beach!

Rent a car to get to the National Parks or use public transport (bus and tram).

Find out more about the Gold Coast: https://www.destinationgoldcoast.com/ 

Brisbane & Around:

• Brisbane
  – South Bank Parklands (Great place to have a picnic by the river)
  – City Botanic Gardens
  – Kangaroo Point Cliffs (An amazing cityscape view)
  – XXXX Brewery tours (Well-known beer from Queensland)
• Australia Zoo (a personal favourite!)
  –Located in Beerwah, north of Brisbane
  –Big, amazing zoo & home of the Australian Crocodile Hunter S. Irwin
• Moreton Island (3.5h drive from BROWNS)
  –Feed dolphins & Snorkelling
• North Stradbroke Island (3h drive from BROWNS)
  –Historical Museum introducing the island’s Aboriginal history
  –North Gorge Headlands Walk & Naree Budjong Djara National park

 

The Islands:

• Fraser Island (3.5h drive from BROWNS to Hervey Bay)
  –Located at the coast of Hervey Bay
  –Watch the whales during winter
  –Go to Rainbow Beach
• The Whitsundays (1h and 45min flight to Airlie beach)
  –Located at the coast of Airlie beach
  –Go sailing, diving, snorkelling or kayaking
  –Top beaches: Whitehaven beach, Chalkies beach and Langford island
• Magnetic Island (2h flight to Townsville)
  –Located at the coast of Townsville
  –There are koalas and rock wallabies
  –Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef

 

Cairns & Around:

• Great Barrier Reef
  –Diving, snorkelling and swimming among fish, turtles and beautiful corals
• Kuranda
  –Magnificent rainforest and interesting markets
• Daintree rainforest and national park
  –World Heritage
  –Take the river ferry and see wild crocodiles in the river
• Cape Tribulation Area
  –Only place in the world where the rainforest is connected to the reef

Find out more:  https://www.cairnstoday.com.au/  

 

*This article was written by students and should be used as a guide only. If you have any questions about travelling around Australia, we recommend you contact Backpackers World Travel.

 

Next articles:

• Road trip from Brisbane to Uluru (written by Cristian & Fernando – BROWNS Intensive General English students)
• Road trip from Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Uluru (written by Sayo & Jihoon – BROWNS Intensive General English students)

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