5 HIDDEN SPOTS ON THE EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA

Hello everyone! 

So i was going through some of my photos from my self-driven trip of the East Coast of Australia, and i realised how many places i visited that you normally wouldn't be able to see if you took the standard Greyhound bus from Sydney up to Cairns...

So i thought i would share with you all the 5 places i visited, that are more or less off the beaten track and not filled with too many tourists! 

1) Wallaman Falls

Situated in the Wet Tropics area in Queensland, this place is Australia's tallest single-drop waterfall! It is about 51km (an hours drive) from the nearest town of Ingham, driving through rural properties but well worth the journey! We managed to find a free campsite situated on the property of the Ashton Hotel, in Long Pocket which is surrounded by mountains and sugar cane fields and is closer to the falls then the paid campsites in the nearest town. 

(A beautiful sky at our campsite in Long Pocket):

(A view half way to the falls, stopped for a spot of lunch!):

(Finally we got to the falls, which you can actually walk down too but it's a very steep hike so we didn't attempt it):

2) Shute Harbour

Everybody has heard of Airlie Beach, which is Shute Harbours neighbour (only 10kms away). We decided to venture into this small port town and although you have to pay to park, we drove around until we found a free parking spot... which also happened to be the car park for a bush walk which lead to the beautiful Coral Beach. So unknown that we were the only ones there, which is why we loved it so much. Views across the Whitsundays and taurtles popping their heads out of the surf! If  you are in Airlie and fancy a walk then this is the place to go! The car park is just off Passage Avenue, before the turning to Harbour Avenue!

(There's a reason why it's called Coral Beach, and that's because it's filled with washed up coral from the reefs, and all these multi-coloured pebbles!):

 3) Inkerman Hill Lookout

This place is hard to find unless you are driving and manage to spot the 'scenic lookout' sign, well i mean Mount Inkerman is surround by flat land so when you're their it isn't that hard really...

The drive up the mountain is quite steep, but well worth it for the views. It makes a great place to stop, mainly because it breaks up a long journey but also it has picnic facilities at the top and is a great place to relax. We also met some of the wildlife, in the form of wallabies!

(The wallabies weren't too afraid of us humans, and stayed for a while so i managed to get some great photos!):

 4) Big Crystal Creek Rockslides

Most people coming though this area would go to Big Crystal Creek itself, but we decided to follow the road until we reached a gate that would let us go no further. We parked up and carried on,on foot, until we reached the rock slides. These are rocks that are naturally smooth and therefore can be used to slide into the water. A lovely quiet, relaxing place.

(On our way to the rockslides we came across this fruit and vegetable stall, owned by someone who lives in the area. The stall was full of a whole range of home grown goodies, which were being sold for almost nothing. We met the woman who was running the place and she was very very friendly, it's nice to support the locals so we really did stock up on food here!):

 5) Millaa Millaa Lookout

So this place is only a five minute stop, but i want to speak about this whole "area" in general. I lost my photos of Millaa Millaa waterfall, and didn't take any in Ravenshoe, but this lookout is in between both places and therefore should definitely be a place to stop as the views are incredible.

It's worth noting that we were on our way to Innot Hot Springs, a place i don't recommend because it's not as great as it sounds. The springs are basically just a puddle that are too hot to touch, with one campsite, that's it. Not worth the journey.

Ravenshoe is the town which is situated the highest above sea level in Queensland, which we didn't learn until we arrived. A very small place, but the main town in the area. A post office, supermarket, fuel, cafes, a few antique shops and accommodation for visitors to the many waterfalls in the area.

Which brings me to Millaa Millaa waterfall, infamous for being the waterfall featured in the herbal essence commercial and also in the video for Peter Andres Mysterious Girl. Easy to get a tour to, but then you don't get to see the surrounding area which is just as impressive.

Before i finish this post, i would also like to mention one more place. Paronella Park. I had found one leaflet on this place, and thought it looked amazing. Then whilst driving the East Coast i saw a sign for the real deal, and didn't realised how close we were. So i made us pay a visit. This place was so amazing that i'm going to give it its own blog post, so look out for that next week!

I know there are many other places on the East Coast, but these are my top five places that are less known in comparison to places such as Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, Noosa and many more. These places are beautiful too, but can all be reached on public transport. This post i wanted to feature those places which can only really be self-driven to, and therefore gives you places that aren't filled with tourists or backpackers who are drinking at every hour of every day. Please note that none of these pictures have people in them, and that's because there were no people except us. We had all of these places near enough to ourselves, a rare occurrence in the land down under.

Thanks for reading, xo

*As with all pictures featured on my blog, they are all taken by me unless otherwise noted. I use a Canon S120.

LEAVING BRISBANE, AND BACK IN CAIRNS

Well hello! It's been a while, a few months!

So what has happened since i last made contact with this blog? Quite a lot actually!

I ended up spending two months in Brisbane, a month of which was working for accommodation at Base Central Backpackers. Here i was a housekeeper, which was an okay job and it gave me free rent which saved me $600. I made a tonne of new friends and said goodbye to some other ones, and then eventually to all of them when i decided to pack up and leave just short of a month ago! But we'll get back to that in a moment. First of all, what did i get up to whilst in one city for that long?Many things i can assure you, but quite important to me was the fact that i could finally unpack and not live out of a backpack!

There are lots of little treasures in this wonderful city and although i dreamed of escaping and traveling once again, i wouldn't change this little adventure for anything. Sunday sessions on the green at Southbank played a big part in my ability to stay sane and every weekend we'd go to the bottle shop and purchase the cheapest bottle of wine we could find, pick up some cups and catch the free ferry across the river to the green. Here we could chill out and listen to free music, drink wine and watch the sun go down over the city.

A few times we went to Eat Street Markets which is a big food market (obviously!) which contains may food stalls, serving food from all over the world! My first time i was like a kid Disneyland and it took me a good few loops to decide on what i wanted to eat. I chose yaki soba, langos and a cronut with a syringe on Nutella! Sounds like heaven right? I did try to not get the same thing and also tried the lanksa, currywurst and few other heavenly foods! Some locals do not even know of the existence of this place, we found out, even though it is a weekly event.

We also went to the Soutbank markets a few times, where i purchased a new ring. There was also a food market at the end of the mall every Wednesday where we would go around trying all of the foods.

Towards the end of our time in Brisbane we finally got around to visiting Mt Coot-ha, which is a lookout with spectacular views across the city and surrounds, and therefore became one of my favorite places. Here we were to say our final farewells to the city that became home for a few months.

Me and two friends, one who i've been traveling with ever since we met in our first ever week in hostels in Sydney and one we met in Cairns, decided that we wanted to leave! And that we did. on Gumtree i discovered a camper van that seated five people and slept four, for a reasonable price. The following day we met with the owners to have a look around and then the day after purchase our beloved Trevor. One week later and we were outta there!

Our 3 weeks travelling up to Cairns has bought us to many places we visited on our first East Coast adventure, but now with the ability to drive ourselves we got to see many new sites that Australia has to offer! Lots of lookouts, lot of sunsets, lots of waterfalls and many evenings playing card games. Our waterfall collection includes the infamous Milaa Milaa waterfall known for being the waterfall used in the herbal essence adverts! I have been nominated as chef, which i enjoy. Even though we have minimal room and the smallest pans in the world where i was having to cook for four hungry mouths! But now it's just as easy as cooking in a normal kitchen, though i still cannot seem to get the correct amount of rice and end up with tonnes of the stuff! But somehow we have gone down to two meals a day and eating rather healthy, due to buying mountains of fruit and veg from little stalls along the road where everything is as cheap as chips. Our stomachs have seemed to have shrunk a lot in the past months since leaving the city life.

Now it is back to the job hunting. We are currently in a little place called Ingham staying at a free campsite 20km west, near to Wallaman Falls. (Australia's tallest single drop waterfall, a stunning place) Trying to find farm work is seemingly harder then it seems, although we are at an advantage with our own transport and accommodation. We are thinking of heading down south any time soon, as that's where the promising phone calls seem to come from. But we'll see.

Lots of driving, and being in the middle of nowhere means that i have had the opportunity to read again and therefore since leaving Brisbane i have got back into books. The Girl On The Train, Dracula and now i am currently reading Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton, the man who built the Hilton Hotel empire! It's actually an interesting read and has given me many more facts to add to my random fact collection in my brain!

Oh, before i leave i would like to inform to the fact that i still haven't gotten my laptop fixed and have basically been carrying a dead wait with me for over 3 months. I also ended up braking my phone so had to purchase a new one, and have also been given the crown for most clumsiest and messiest person people have ever met. Saying that though, i have become a much more confident person and can speak to people! Hallelujah!

Anyway, the job searching awaits and i have taken a half an hour brake to finally get round to updating you all, so i must get back!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Check out my Instagram for photos of all my travels! @wanderlustandfree and give me a follow if you so wish!

MADE IT TO CAIRNS

Hello!

Finally we have made it to Cairns, concluding our East Coast adventure! Not that it's fully over yet because this city has so much to do!

Since Brisbane we have visited ... towns and seen some incredible sights and met some lovely people. My highlights include Fraser Island and The Whitsundays. I think one of the main reasons I loved these two places the most is because they were both tours, meaning we were with a group of 20+ people and both groups were awesome!

But everywhere we have visited has been nice in its own way.

Starting from Brisbane, my first stop was Mooloolaba. Home to the largest aquarium in Queensland. Which I found to be a disappointment because it was exactly the same as my nearest one in Great Yarmouth. The town itself was beautiful, and felt like a typical holiday destination.

From here I went to Noosa to meet with the person I am traveling with. Noosa is a lovely place, especially the national park, which we were lucky enough to see a koala in. Also it was a clear sunny day so the sunset was stunning over the beach.
Our next stop was Hervey Bay which we only visited due to it being our gateway to Fraser Island, and this is were we began our tour. We went with Palace Adventures which is a tag-along 4WD tour, meaning we were able to drive our own cars behind our guide. We camped for two nights on the island and saw plenty of dingos, due to then constantly coming up to the barbecue or sitting and waiting next to a car.

From here we went up to Bundaberg, which has been by far the worst hostel I have stayed in but nevertheless we had a good time on our one night there... We went to the rum distillery!

After drinking two free rums we headed to the coach to make our way to Agnes Water and Town of 1770. Aptly named after the year that Captain Cook landed in Australia. Here we stayed at a little hostel called Cool Bananas, which has so far been the best hostel I've ever stayed in! One day we hired bikes and cycled the 14km round trip to 1770.

Rockhampton was our next port of call, arriving at half past midnight and checking out by 10am. It was a full on day. First of all we visited the heritage village before ending the day chomping on steaks whilst watching the rodeo.

After a night of traveling we arrived at Airlie Beach early in the morning. The day was spent chilling at the lagoon and then getting ready to go on the Whitsundays the following day. I fell in love with Airlie and will 100% be back at some point! If you see my previous post, this talks about the tour I did here with Wings.

After this place we caught the bus to Townsville to get a boat across to Magnetic Island. This place is stunning! One day we decided to hire "Barbie" cars with a couple from our sailing boat and drove to the Koala Sanctuary and then to a walking track which took us to a couple of old WWII forts with an amazing view of the island and surroundings.

From here we went to Mission Beach, our last stop before Cairns, so that George could do his long anticipated skydive.

Now finally we are in Cairns where we will be staying just over a week. Leaving on Sunday to fly to Darwin, where we begin our last trip before seeking out work!

I will talk about my plans and about what we've done in Cairns before we leave Darwin, but until then ciao!