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Australia's East Coast: Top 10 Highlights

Updated: Mar 17

Safe to say it’s been an insane but incredible first few months in Australia. Here are my top 10 highlights of Australia’s East Coast…


grey nurse shark

1. Diving Wolf Rock

Wolf Rock Dive Centre host the most incredible double dive 2km out to sea. Before coming to Australia, I had never even heard of Wolf Rock and I’m so glad I was told about it (thank you WTT!). Dive down to 30 metres to hang out with Grey Nurse Sharks. Get up close to these incredible, majestic creatures as they swim around. If you are lucky you may see other marine life such as Eagle Rays and Humpback Whales (whale migration season is from June-November on the East Coast). I would 100% dive with Wolf Rock Dive Centre again. Read the full Diving Wolf Rock blog here.


Great Barrier Reef

2. Diving on the Great Barrier Reef

I joined Reef Encounter for a 3-day 2-night diving liveaboard. I had incredible dives on the Great Barrier Reef, even hitting the 100 dives milestone while I was there. It has always been a bucket list item and a dream to dive on the GBR and I can’t believe I’ve actually done it. I wish I could have stayed longer. I would go back in a heartbeat. Read the full GBR blog here.


up close to a kangaroo at Australia zoo

3. Australia Zoo

This was a huge bucket list item and I still can’t believe I’ve actually been to Australia Zoo. Home of The Crocodile Hunter (the legend, Steve Irwin) and the Irwin Family. The zoo is huge, covering around 700 acres and has over 1000 animals – be prepared to spend the entire day there. We arrived at the zoo around 10am and left at 4:30pm when it closed; we still didn’t see everything! We watched the Croc Show, fed kangaroos and had our photo with a koala. It was the best day! Read the full Brisbane blog here.


welcome to travel Sydney tour

4. Welcome to Sydney Tour with Welcome To Travel

I booked onto the Welcome to Sydney Tour with Welcome to Travel. Booking with the WTT Team meant that I’d have help setting up my Australian bank account, phone number, tick off some of my bucket list, having ongoing support throughout my time in Australia and meet awesome, like-minded travellers. It was an insanely busy week, but it was awesome! We did walking tours, surf camp, dolphin watching, and so much more. The incredible team help you book further travel in specific 1-to-1 meetings and I am so grateful to them for everything they do! Read the full Welcome to Travel Sydney blog here.


blue mountains

5. Blue Mountains

I booked onto the Blue Mountains and More add on trip through Welcome to Travel for after the Sydney Tour. WTT booked our hire car and accommodation and gave us an advised itinerary of what to do while on our adventure in the mountains and on the coast. The group of us that went did some amazing hikes and enjoyed incredible views. We saw sunrise and sunset and saw koalas for the first time. Read the full Road Trip blog here.


Whitsundays and Whitehaven beach

6. Sailing Whitsundays

I spent 2 days and 2 nights on board OzSail’s trimaran Avatar sailing around the incredible Whitsundays. Sailing on a trimaran was amazing! We flew through the waters, stopping off at various snorkelling spots throughout the 2 days. We also did a lot of stargazing while moored up for the night. The main, and most beautiful spot, we stopped at was Whitsunday Island and Whitehaven Beach. The views of Whitehaven Beach were insane, I still can’t get over the various shades of blue and white. I’d be confident saying the view from the lookout onto Whitehaven Beach is one of the most beautiful views in the world. Read the full Whitsundays blog here.


Josephine falls

7. Waterfalls

As part of the Best of Both Worlds tour with Uncle Brain’s, we stopped at multiple waterfalls around the Cairns area. We swam at Babinda Boulders, slid down the natural slide at Josephine Falls and did our best hair flicks at Milla Milla Falls (the most photographed waterfall in Australia). Despite the pouring rain, we had a great time and had a lot of laughs. Read the full Cairns blog here.


Daintree rainforest

8. Daintree Rainforest

As part of the Best of Both Worlds tour with Uncle Brain’s, we spent the day in various areas of the Daintree Rainforest. We did a crocodile cruise looking for Saltwater Crocodiles. We walked through the ancient rainforest looking dinosaur birds, the Cassowary. We did spot some Cassowary chicks and I see why they get called dinosaurs, they run like velociraptors. Despite the pouring rain, we had a great fun. Read the full Cairns blog here.


Byron bay lighthouse

9. Byron Bay Lighthouse Hike

We hiked up to Byron Bay Lighthouse. The hike was tough, but you are rewarded with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean. We were incredibly lucky that we saw whales migrating from the Eastern-most point of Australia. Whale migration runs along the East Coast of Australia from June to November with the whales swimming North from June to August and heading back South to Antarctica from September to November. Read the full Byron Bay blog here.


dingo on Fraser Island

10. Fraser Island

We did the Pippies Tagalong Tour to Fraser Island, a 2-night 3-day tour. We followed our lead driver as he led us through bumpy inland tracks and on the beach to various stops such as Champagne Pools, Lake Mackenzie, SS Maheno Wreck and Eli Creek. An exciting adventure in one of the most popular destinations in Australia. Read the full Fraser Island blog here.


Just a note to say thank you to those I have travelled with and thanks to everyone I’ve met along the way. It would not have been the same experience without you all. I also want to say a huge thanks to Welcome to Travel (https://welcometo.travel) and their incredible team, without them, I would not have been able to have such an amazing trip up the East Coast so thank you team, you are awesome!


Thanks for reading!

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