East Coast of Aus - 12 days

[lord-of-creation]

I've got 12 days to go from Coffs Harbour to Townsville which i'll be doing on the Greyhound (hop on and off as you like).

With little time, I want to make sure I don't spend time at places not worth seeing. At the moment, there is only Byron Bay that is set in stone as being one of the stops. The other places where I can stop are:

Surfers Paradise
Brisbane
Noosa
Rainbow Beach
Hervey Bay
Bundaberg
Rockhampton
1770
Mackay
Airlie Beach
Bowers

Now I'm over seeing big cities so have no interest in stopping in Brisbane. I'm also not really drawn to Surfers Paradise. Of the others, which places are must see

[v15ben]

My favourites from when I did Greyhound would be:

Noosa
Hervey Bay
Airlie Beach

Get out to the Whitsundays and Fraser Island from those and both Hervey and Airlie are good places to spend some time in when you get back on land

I did the Whitsundays aboard the British Defender (ex-racing boat) and it was absolutely fantastic. I'm sure they still run the boat.

[GrumpyOldWesty]

Yes, make sure you do the Whitsundays, we did them from Airlie Beach. Personally thought Surfers was a bit tacky, I do like Bris, but what it's like currently after the floods earlier this year I'm not sure. Noosa was good, but very busy. If you have the time carry on beyond Townsville, up to Port Douglas, and make sure to get out to the Reef. Cape Tribulation, north of the Daintree River is also well worth a visit.

Enjoy!

[firman]

lord-of-creation said:

I've got 12 days to go from Coffs Harbour to Townsville which i'll be doing on the Greyhound (hop on and off as you like).

With little time, I want to make sure I don't spend time at places not worth seeing. At the moment, there is only Byron Bay that is set in stone as being one of the stops. The other places where I can stop are:

Surfers Paradise (Not a bad spot if a little built up)
Brisbane (Good city worth a visit)
Noosa (Beautiful spot would happily spend more time there)
Rainbow Beach (Tiny place but pretty laid back)
Hervey Bay (another not bad place, big sand shelve we swam with a turtle)
Bundaberg (run down industrial town wouldnt bother)
Rockhampton (Stopped for a couple of days not all that)
1770 (very small town nothing there)
Mackay (Another industrial town)
Airlie Beach (only stopped breifly as werent doing whitsundays)
Bowers (??)

Now I'm over seeing big cities so have no interest in stopping in Brisbane. I'm also not really drawn to Surfers Paradise. Of the others, which places are must see

In my opinion

See my mapvivo page for some write ups and pics http://mapvivo.com/journey/11229

Hope this helps

[Wanchaiwarrior]

lord-of-creation said:

Now I'm over seeing big cities so have no interest in stopping in Brisbane. I'm also not really drawn to Surfers Paradise.

Living in Brisbane myself, that first bit made be laugh. Its not a big city, really. "Nothing to see here, move along" is more like it. Sydney is big.
Also, the middle of Surfers is like the entertainment areas of Blackpool or Brighton, noisy, busy and full of pi$$ed up people in the evening, so yeah, maybe worth avoiding.

[dienamic]

Definitely Airlie beach, and not just for trips to the Whitsundays. Hervey Bay for Frazer Island and whale watching.