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[zzz_chi]

Hi,

I be travelling from brisbane to sydney. Intending to stop over at surfers, byron bay on the way. Anyone can suggest any other places worth stopping over along the way? i have slightly less that w 2 weeks fot this journey. I have never driven in aus b4. Should i drive or take a bus?

chi

[Barry]

Driving oz is by far the best way to do it, check out Nimbim while your in Byron Bay and try the cookies! Also the most eaterly point in Oz can be found up by the lighthouse in Byron, Have a wicked time

[whereshegoes]

I can tell you that taking the bus is super easy if you dont want to drive. It is the backpacker trail and is very very well worn. I really liked Bryon Bay...I stayed at teh Arts Factory and had an amazing time. The Nimbin tour is pretty cool too.

Try to get up to the lighthouse as there are nice views of Byron Bay.

Good luck and have fun!

[andrea]

The East coast is definitely super easy to travel. The bus line Oz Experience is a great choice if you want to party and meet a lot of the backpacker crowd. Grey Hound bus passes are another more laid back alternative.

Nimbin is a great, chilled out hippie town. I LOVED Byron Bay but found Surfers ways too commercial (tall skyscraper hotels line the beach.)

Bellingen is a great place to chill out for a day or two. It's a small town with an amazing YHA - there's a treehouse in the back with a hammock for hanging out in. There is also a huge flying fox (bat) colony living in this town. Doesn't sound too exciting but it is amazing to see the sky go black at dusk as they all fly off for food. You can walk in the woods in the day time and see thousands of them hanging upside down sleeping.

Bellingen is a great place to stay to visit Dorrigo National Park.

Near Sydney, I also suggest heading out to the blue mountains. It's beautiful and there is great hiking, climing, biking and any other adventure sport you'd like to try.

Happy trails!

[zzz_chi]

Hi guys,
thks for the input, will make plans for nimbin and bellingen.
chi

[balmain_girl]

Stop of in Coffs Harbour and a definitely try Yamba. Yamba is a great surfing spot. Further down, try Myrall Lakes, Port Stephens and Nelson Bay - these are popular spots for Sydney people to spend the weekend.

I would also stopover in Newcastle, its a great party town and then take the old Pacific Highway into Sydney which will take you through a more scenic part of the National Park.

Regards,
Kristy

[Guest]

hey hey. i realize that whoever was planing this south moving easter coast trip has already completed the trip by now but for anyone else who reads this. I have found that lennox head australia is the best place in the world i have found so far. often too small for maps. lennox is the town just south of byron by about 30 min. one pub. a few hostels. one main strip. no structure higher than 4 stories.

[Jamie]

2 years ago I rented a camper van and drove from Cape Tribulation to Sydney and here's what I think. Sydney is beautiful but quite honestly it's a big city and once you get away from the harbour I find all big cities to be the same. Brisbane kind of bored me personally although again, it's a beautiful place. Toronto should send every politican in the freaking city to Australia to see how harbours are done right. Australian museums are really bad. There's a weird hodge podge of stuff thrown in (like Crepe paper captain's outfits of some guy who immigrated from Italy) and it's not very well organized. The Sydney aquarium is fun, but again once you've done a couple of aquariums around the world they're all the same. I liked The Australian Zoo (The Crocodile Hunter's place). Yes, it's VERY commercial but quite honestly it was the only time we saw an actual Kangaroo until we got up into the Blue Mountains (not counting road kill).
You have to stop by Surfer's Paradise just because it's so freaking tacky. It's like Vegas. Spend a day here and you'll really appreciate the unspoiled beaches when you leave. Visit the indoor shooting range right next door to glow in the dark bowling and then eat at Dracula's Castle... lol. For incredible natural beauty drive further down and spend the day at Burleigh Heads. That's where the REAL surfers go. We stopped off at Newcastle which is a pretty industrial town. Some nice pubs but that's about it. Make sure you spend a day or two in the Blue Mountains. I much prefered it to Sydney itself. In Sydney we visited a pub in King's Cross (which is a bit seedy) and caught some live music. Fantastic!! Check out the live bands if you can. Also, try to find Triple J on the radio. It changes position on the dial as you drive but it's the best radio station in the world in my opinion. Finally... never EVER rent a camper van. You can't park them anywhere in the cities. The campsites are outside and if you plan on drinking then forget it. Plus, trying to find parking for a van (can't fit in underground lots) is a pain. As well... the insurance is a freaking fraud. We got the best insurance you could buy and when a tree branch damaged the awning, we had to fork over $1000!!! We asked what the insurance covered and they told us "It covers you if someone ELSE hits you." In other words, it doesn't cover anything (since their insurance would cover it eh?). My advice to you is to rent a car and stay in a hostel or rent a cabin at a campsite. Campsites always had nice cabins available and once you're in a city you want to be in a car anyway.
Next time you go... start further north, The Whitsunday Islands and Byron Bay are must sees!!

If you want any more in depth answers feel free to e-mail me: ottawajamie@hotmail.com

BTW... the bats in Sydney are HUGE. Go to the harbour at night and look up. They're the size of crows.

Jamie