Queensland Coast Areas Of Interest ?

[Paulpen]

Bit of an odd one but thought id ask the people in the know

From November 3rd to the 20th ill be leaving England behind and flying into Sydney then roadtripping up to Cairns and then back down to Townsville

I was wondering if there are any motoring events, shops, meets or just cool things to do on the trip that I may not know of from all the usual tourist information !

Any ideas will be helpful guys

Paul

[Nee-san]

Do all the beaches, gold and sunshine coast, there are some pretty big shopping areas in bris and the gold coast as well.

[mad082]

the sunshine coast (mooloolabah, alex heads. maroochydore and all the way up to noosa) is a good place to go. great beaches, great weather (most of the time) and plenty of things to look at (including the locals).

just watch out when you head through gympie. can't trust them shady f**kers.........

[GTR-N1]

If you're using a GPS all the way up north, set it to "YES" when it asks you if you wish to opt for Toll Roads...

otherwise you end up going through Gympie 3x

* Any smoke that time of year is sugar cane fires > dramatic Pics at night.

* Atherton Tableland (via train) and Treetop Walk near Cairns is worthwhile.

* Bushwalk to Babinda Boulders takes you through rainforest since you're not going as far north as Daintree

* Drive up to Castle Hill above Townsville gives you a nice view

* Airlie Beach and a sail is a good side trip from Proserpine

Geez it's been so long since I've seen my folks in Cairns - naughty naughty TT

[Paulpen]

Beaches will be big on the list but also want to see things that are special to Aus seeing as it will be a once of a lifetime trip !

GPS will be a must im assuming as although im good with maps 1200 miles in another country could be pushing the luck although you do have the steering wheel on the correct side

Its all the little places that im starting to hear about that are not well publicised over here that are great so keep them coming

Whats the story with the Gympie place though - reputation or genreally dodgy ?

As far as Sydney goes ive been told to avoid :

Carlingford Dundas

Redfern

Blacktown

Eveleigh Street

Hyde Park

Kingscross

How true any of it is about those parts I dont knwo as im a tad too far away lol

[mafia]

dont go to gympie, full stop. shit of a place and nothing there.

if you got a chance, go to byron bay and the north coast of NSW.nice chilled place

I highly recommended the sunshine coast and gold coast.if u got questions on the Sunshine coast, let me know im from there

[mad082]

Beaches will be big on the list but also want to see things that are special to Aus seeing as it will be a once of a lifetime trip !

GPS will be a must im assuming as although im good with maps 1200 miles in another country could be pushing the luck although you do have the steering wheel on the correct side

Its all the little places that im starting to hear about that are not well publicised over here that are great so keep them coming

Whats the story with the Gympie place though - reputation or genreally dodgy ?

As far as Sydney goes ive been told to avoid :

Carlingford Dundas

Redfern

Blacktown

Eveleigh Street

Hyde Park

Kingscross

How true any of it is about those parts I dont knwo as im a tad too far away lol

nothing really dodgy about it, except for the fact that it's where i live, lol. if you are driving north on the highway you will go through it (highway runs through the centre of town). but yeah, there's pretty much nothing there worth stopping for. save your time for the sunny coast and noosa (an hour south of gympie)

[GTR-N1]

Sydney

To do list...

* Sydney Harbour with walk on foreshore along Circular Quay and Opera House + Red Tourist Bus to Bondi Beach

* Blue Mountains for a day by getting out of train at Wentworth Falls > walk south along Falls Rd to lookout > National Pass Walk (circular)

2 days for the above are a must!

[warps]

From sydney you can detour via the Hunter Valley and try some of the wineries. You can stop overnight at places like Cessnock / Pokolbin etc (clost to the wineries). Don't bother trying to get accommodation in Singleton or Muswellbrook - they're usually booked out with contractors and reps for the coal mines (and you've gone past most of the good wineries anyway)

Then you can head back up towards Brisbane via the NEw England Hwy (inland) or head back out to Newcastle and make your way up the coast. Personally I take the NE hwy to Armidale then head back out to the coast to Grafton (or you can go to Coffs). Beautiful drive over the mountain, and can be fun if there's no traffic. Just watch some of the corners as they're not all sign posted, and a couple of them tighten unexpectedly.

If you're into theme parks, then Gold Coast has plenty of them. That will be in the tourist guides anyway, so no need to go into detail about that.

The drive north of Brisbane up to Mackay and beyond is just a shit of a run. I do it about once a year, and absolutely loathe it (used to live up that way and made regular trips to Brisbane. If I never have to drive the Bruce Hwy again it will be too soon).

As for interesting things to see on the way - if you can swing an invite to the Bowdens motoring museum just north of Brisbane (Buderim), it's well worth the visit. They have many of the old race cars from the 60's through to 90's (mainly iconic Australian race cars). I'm not sure if it's open to the public these days, but worth finding out more and trying to get in for a look see.

In rockhampton you can have a steak ayny way you like it, as Rocky is the beef capital of Australia. Nothing else going for the place through, so have your steak and get the hell out of there.

Fromrockhampton, you can head inland 2-3 hrs and check out the coal mining areas. If you make it to Emerald, there are gem fields where you can buy gemstones for your mrs (we bought my wife's engagement ring sapphire from there, and had it set by a friend who was a jeweller - but I digress). From there you can head straight to Mackay via the Peak Downs Hwy - nothing to see apart from lots more coal mines (but then again the "coast" run from Rockhampton to Mackay is 343km and there's nothing much to look at there, either)

From Mackay you head up to Airlie Beach and that's where a lot of the back packers go, as well as being the gateway to the whitsinday islands. It's well worth a look and heading out for a couple fo day cruises, or even book a few nights at one of the island resorts. Beautiful blue water and white beaches. Mackay / Whitsunday area also has great seafood, so check out some of the seafood restaurants in the area.

When you get to Bowen, stop off at Joccheims bakery and order a carrot cake with a coffee. I guarantee it will be the best carrot cake you've ever tasted (even if you're not a fan of carrot cake you'll like it). Their pies etc. aren't too bad, either.

If you like surf beaches, then most of them are in the southern part of QLD (and obviously in NSW too). Once you get much further north than about Bundaberg -4 hours north of Brisbane (oh, forgot to say - stop at the Bundy Rum distillery - another aussie icon and worth it if you're a rum drinker) there isn't much in the way of surf at any of the beaches, as the islands and great barier reef kills the surf.

Plenty of other stuff I'm sure, but that gives you therecouple of other options to consider.

One last thing - pack plenty of 30+ sunscreen, and apply it every time you're outdoors. Seriously. Your pommie skin will fry in 3 minutes in the Australian sun - even on a cloudy day. We have the highest skin cancer rate in the world.

Edited May 9, 2012 by warps

[hamiltonau]

The tourism board should really think about hiring some of you guys..

[Paulpen]

The time is ticking down so a rought plan has been made on trip route - obv it will change as we go along but what we thinking so far ?

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=sydney&daddr=-33.40653,151.35095+to:-32.06419+152.532394+to:-31.55188,152.75492+to:-29.983227+153.229248+to:-28.646923+153.610687+to:-27.7323015,153.2363126+to:-26.8573,153.02081+to:-26.39571+153.073395+to:-23.955017+151.376831+to:-23.54173,148.19243+to:-21.454166+149.289993+to:-20.281567+148.729385+to:-17.865141+146.108093+to:-16.9259775+145.6963428&hl=en&ll=-17.355882,146.134644&spn=4.062663,4.938354&sll=-31.546064,152.770042&sspn=0.113377,0.154324&geocode=FSE5-_0dTjwDCSk_dJrzOJgSazFQqDIWaH0BAw%3BFb5BAv4dpm4FCSn5zTIE6spyazHgDHTmZ30BEw%3Bf*k9Fv4dqnUXCQ%3BFXiOHv4d6NoaCSnBhBm-Z_x1azHw_cNytAkGEw%3BFQV-Nv4dwBciCQ%3BFfXhSv4dv-knCQ%3BFbPWWP4dWDMiCSklexHp8GqRazHwclfMWqMCEw%3BFawwZv4diukeCSl7MbhjAZCTazFDo76nzMIM6g%3BFcI7bf4d87YfCQ%3BFbd5kv4dv9MFCQ%3BFR7ImP4drjzVCCnHM6k_7FLPazEh9exY8e4AEw%3BFaqiuP4dCfzlCA%3BFSGHyv4dKW7dCA%3BFUtm7_4dvW61CA%3BFea6_f4dVyavCA&t=h&doflg=ptm&mra=dpe&mrsp=3&sz=13&via=1,3,6,7,10&z=8

Thanks for all the info again

[v spec mat]

Bring your patience. There will be plenty of road works.

Cairns sky rail is good. Get out to an island or too and snorkel or fish.

Tully has good white water rafting.

Airlie beach and hamilton island are worth a look.

Steal the nuts off the bull in Rockhampton and order a reef and beef to eat.

If you decide to stay in bundaberg, bagara beach is a nice area.

Check to see if it's whale watching season. If so Harvey Bay is a good launching point. There is cheap dolphin feeding nearby too.

Auto One Kawana is hosting a car meet on the night of the 16th they get a good turn out. Check Noosa out on your way. Check out Bowdens car museum.

See if Queensland Raceways are hosting any events when in Brisbane.

Go to the Gold Coast hinterland.

[v spec mat]

In central Qld watch out for kangaroos from dust till mid morning.

Oh I forgot

Innisfail. Check Paronella Park

Townsville. Castle hill is good. Have an ice cream on the esplanade. Check Magnetic island.

Townsvill

[Carbon 34]

Gold coast

Go on a whale watching boat , amazing when they surface right near you and give you the eyeball look , plus nice photos of the highrises from the boat

Go to the top of QM1 tower on a clear day , some killer views and photos up and down the coast /river

seaworld if your keen ?

some good food on the spit ( check gps its a block or two off the beach)

Near the GC airport the bird shows are cool if your into that , link below

http://www.cws.org.au/

the tree walk is cool as well mt tamborine I think it was

Night life is pretty good in sydney and GC just use care around kings cross late

China town in sydney for some yum lol

Western sydney can get rough

[Paulpen]

Ideal

Many things noted and getting researched - might stay off the Roakhampton balls though - dont want to go over my luggage allowance on the way back

Cannot wait to get there now - 11 days and counting !