I’m sure you are aware that you can’t go directly from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef as the latter is in the middle of the Ocean… There are different access points to the Great Barrier Reef. You can do it from Airlie Beach or Cairns for example, but there are probably other connection points. I’ll talk about my journey from Sydney to Airlie Beach cause this was my access point to the Great Barrier Reef. Airlie Beach is very far from Sydney and on my journey to the North of Australia, I stopped in several places.
From Sydney to Byron Bay
From Sydney, I took a train to Byron Bay. Not exactly to Byron Bay itself but as close as the train could go. From the train station, we had a bus waiting for us to get to Byron Bay which wasn’t that much further. The train-bus connection was at Lismore train station. I actually thought there was a train directly to Byron Bay, but is was not the case, so I would rather recommend a bus trip directly from Sydney to Byron Bay. The train is comfy and all, but even with a SIM card, I couldn’t get a connection most part of the trip that lasted all day. Hours and hours and hours on that train!! I thought at least the views would be worth it, but not really. Don’t remember any amazing landscapes along the way. At least the Greyhound buses offer wifi on board. I recommend this option instead of the train.
If you are going to do a long-distance trip on the East Coast, I truly advise you to do the Greyhound pass as it will save you a lot of money– a thing I haven’t done and purely regret.
So the journey to Byron Bay was very boring! I left Sydney early in the morning and arrived in Byron Bay already pitch night. Something like 14 hours of journey from Sydney to Byron Bay. Byron Bay at night was pretty desertic, with almost no street lights, what a ghost town it looked like haha. Absolutely nothing going on! I’m not used to this. I confess I was more scared to roam around Australia at night than in Southeast Asia. I booked this hostel called Arts Factory which wasn’t that far from the bus stop, but there was nothing around it. This never ever happened to me in Asia. Touristy spots like hostels are never completely surrounded by nothingness. There is always a convenience store within a 5 min walk or so, street stalls, lots of things going on… To find foo near this hostel I had to walk 20 minutes!! This was very very new to me. Not convenient at all.
Byron Bay
Anyway, Byron Bay is supposed to be the place where the “cool people” hang around. Hmm, hipster town… not sure. The “Cool kids” spot… campervans, etc. I didn’t stay long and I didn’t see much of Byron Bay so I can’t have a proper opinion.
I stayed in Byron Bay for 2 nights and the day I planned to explore around was a rainy one. So, you can guess that I haven’t done any exploring besides the closest beach to the hostel. I didn’t even try the sea, as the weather wasn’t very inviting. There were lots of people at the beach. Lots of surfers too and just one group of people dedicated to taking pictures- they were the only Asians haha. I was happy to see Asians- weird I know. The most exciting thing I saw in Byron Bay was a type of pigeon I had never seen in my life and that I chased for a while to snatch a picture.
So, Byron Bay has this very wide beach that didn’t show its true colors, therefore I can’t say that it amazed me. The place didn’t really catch my attention so the next day I was on the move further north.
Byron Bay to Mooloolaba
From Byron Bay, I went to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast and this was another day with many hours spent on the bus. We stopped in Brisbane before proceeding journey. I only went to Mooloolaba because I knew a friend there and it could be a pit stop on my way up north.
I ended up spending Christmas there and it was actually a fun one at the only hostel in Mooloolaba. The hostel owners prepared a Christmas dinner with sausages and beer and this was the most social I got in any hostel in Australia haha. Met some cool people here.
Mooloolaba is another spot where nothing seems to be going on. But, at least the beach was just 10 min away from the hostel and I don’t mind beach days.
All I did in Moololaba was walk by the beach to Rock Wall Mooloolaba where there is a pleasant and quiet spot to sit on the grass or even on the sand. This spot was charming, with some boats around, and a view of the lagoon and the other side of it. The water was perfect here. No waves and awesome temperature. Not the clearest water, but it did the job very well. The trees were providing some needed shade and this is how I spent my time. I found seahorse skeletons on the sand!! what a find!! As big as my forearm!! Never found such a thing before. I also saw a bird I had never seen before so I was quite amazed. Some sort of turkey with this bright redhead! Cool! It was big and was digging the dirt, a moment I took to appreciate for the first time in my life. I didn’t explore any further in Mooloolaba because the weather sucked again. It was rainy all day, ruining any possible day plans.
From Mooloolaba to Bundaberg
My next stop was Bundaberg where apparently there are lots of backpackers working in farms or fruit picking jobs. For that reason, there were some accessible hostels. These are no hostels like Asian ones. People live here. They have massive kitchens and everybody cooks in there. The place is filled with working outfits and neon jackets. No one here is traveling. I took my chance to wander around to the river that has a calming nice view. I also visited Alexandra Park Zoo, a free zoo that is tiny but has some animals I have never seen, like the Dingo for instance. I actually saw zoo staff walking a few Dingos on the streets near this zoo. I also saw emus and wallabies I spent some time admiring the birds, and some turtles, and there were also some cute tiny monkeys. I wouldn’t pay to go to a zoo, but this one was free, and there was nothing else to do, so why not?
On another day I walked all the way to Bundaberg Botanic Gardens. There is a cute bridge to be crossed and the walk was fine, but, no one walks here so I was approached. This old guy stopped next to me asking if I wanted a ride. The gardens were actually quite far, and as the man was willing to take me there, I accepted his ride. It was so nice of him. He spared me a 45 min walk which was great.
I thought the botanical gardens would have a lot to see, but not really. There is an enclosure with lots of birds, many scaredy lizards crawling around and enormous spiders hanging on their webs. There weren’t a lot of people there so I decided just to chill and enjoy the sounds of the birds around me. On the way back to town I had to walk which was fine because the path is good and quiet. Just a little awkward to walk because no one is walking in the area that is very depleted of life on the streets.
Bundaberg to Airlie Beach
The Greyhound bus arrived late in Bundaberg but it is possible to track it on the website which calmed me down because there is no one and nothing around this bus stop. At least there was a toilet…
Airlie Beach was the northest I have been in Australia and it was definitely my favorite spot I have visited during this month in Australia. I always chose hostels near the Greyhound bus stops so I wouldn’t need to walk long distances with my backpack on. There are no moto taxis, or even taxis alluring you at bus stations in Australia. And I’m sure they would be expensive options so I always walked from the bus stops to my sleeping spots. I’ve spent New Year’s Eve in Airlie Beach and I have spent quite a few days in this town. I didn’t miss the chance to fly over the Great Barrier Reef and see the famous Whitsunday beach. Those were the reasons why this Australian trip was worth it!!
Buy bus tickets within Australia HERE!
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