After 2355 kilometers along the coast we ended our roadtrip in Cairns. As many we were mainly heading up here for the Great Barrier Reef and had an absolutely amazing time here. Cairns is much smaller than I expected it to be and if you want to do some shopping for your trip, you may want to get that out of your system before you are in Cairns. In many ways Cairns itself is not that interesting, it is so incredibly hot and so humid and there is not too much to do in the city, but the surroundings of Cairns are just absolutely incredible and gorgeous, there is so much lush, wild nature; the oldest rainforest in the world the Daintree Rainforest is a mere hour and a half a way, the Great Barrier Reef is just in reach and waterfalls surround Cairns. We maybe could have done with one less day in Cairns and one more day in Daintree, but maybe you can learn from our mistakes.

From Rainbow Beach it was only a short eleven hours or about a thousand kilometers to Airlie Beach and that´s where we headed - though not in one go. We stopped in Tin Can Bay to feed some dolphins, Seventeen Seventy and Carmila Beach (which was not as idyllic as it sounds - safe to say: Croc country starts here), but mostly it was a whole lotta driving through sugar cane fields. We had heard lots of good about Airlie, but sadly were quite disappointed. To be honest one day here would have been plenty and the city was extremely centered around drinking. Not terrible, but not really what we were after. Most people here are waiting for their boats to go on their Whitsundays cruise and since these trips can get quite boozy it felt like people were practicing. There are some nice shops and a lagoon, where you can chill and soak up some sun but again - I feel like that can all be done in a day.

While travelling with my friend we had booked two three-day trips. During the roadtrip through New South Wales and Victories with my boyfriend almost everything was accessible by yourself (or at least the stops we chose), but Queensland is slightly more touristy and some of the biggest tourist attractions are not really DIY stops. We got an amazing deal to do a three day tour to Fraser Island and three days of sailing in the Whitsundays for 700 Dollars or 440 Europs. This is actually an amazing deal since usually one of these tours alon can cost 300 Euros. We booked through Peter Pans Adventure Travel. They operate all throughout Australia and offer a bunch of different tours, bus tickets and all that jazz. We were happy with both our tours, but especially for sailing the Whitsundays there is such a variety, that I am not sure if I would have gone through Peter Pans if I would not have gotten this deal. I personally would make sure to sign up to newsletters for a bunch of different companies and compare their prices and offers well in advance of your trip.

We´ve made it all the way through my first Australia road-trip through Victoria and New South Wales  and have arrived in the hot sweaty north of Straya: Queensland. We once again started out in Brisbane and had three weeks to make our way up to Cairns in about three weeks. Our first stop was Noosa Heads, a beachy paradise not even a two hour drive from Brisbane. Noosa may have been one of my absolute favourites in Australia and it is very much like a slightly hotter and moister Byron Bay so no wonder so many Australians love it for their vacations.




This walk spans all the way from Noosa main beach to Sunshine beach. It spans across 7 kilometers and if done in full takes about two hours. The path (at least in the beginning) is extremely easy to walk on and fully paved. We only did parts of it and if you aim for hiking all of it, you may want to start early in the morning as it can get boiling hot here.
The water here is just stunning you get to spot surfers in action all along the track and there are loads of different lookouts. Here are just some of the highlights along the walk:

Sydney is famous for beaches, while Melbourne is mostly famous for its culture. But just a 40 minute drive from the city, you can find gorgeous beaches, beautiful hikes and top notch wineries all in one spot: the Mornington Peninsula. Again I am biased: but Melbourne is clearly superior.


I am super lucky since my best friend lives on the peninsula and so I got to experience this gem from my first day in Australia. It is not necessarily a secret tip, especially in summer everyone tries to get away from the blazing hot city and head to the beach and in winter the wineries are flooded, but it is oh so worth the short trip down the coast and a weekend here should always be included in your Melbourne stay.



Cape Shanck offers a relatively relaxed boardwalk along the beack, a gorgeous view over two little bays, fascinating sea life and a pretty little lighthouse with more scenic views. The walk takes about 30 minute in a circuit, but obviously you can take a little longer to check out the plants, waves and views.



This mountain was named after the one in Edinburgh and if you have climbed that one, you know it is quite some work. Luckily you can drive up the one in Australia and not to hate on Edinburgh, but the view over the turquoise water you get in reward here may be even better. On top are a number of nice walk and lookouts as well as an aboriginal garden. There is also a cable car, but according to my friend it has broken down twice before so I personally would skip out on it.


This was my first beach to ever visit in Australia, when it was actually hot and it is still one of my favourites. The rock formations here are so cool, the water colour is beyond amazing and you usually almost have it to yourself since it is a little more remote. There are popular cliff diving spots here, but my fear of heights and love for my own self have kept me far away from them.






Sorrento is the very tip of the Peninsula, but it is very well worth the trip down. This litte sea town is a holiday favourite with absolutely gorgeous water my favourite beach as mentioned above, lovely little cafés, restaurants and shops. I was lucky enough to have a lovely friend, who had a beach house here and we spent two amazing weekends down here, making platters and drinking loads of wine. It was where I spent my last weekend in Melbourne with my friends and so it has quite a special place in my heart. Being the foodie I am (and with my luck for weather and it being freezing the two times we went down to Sorrento) I mainly ate, so here are my favourite restaurants:

There are so many beautiful stops along the way so it can be a little overwhelming trying to figure out which ones to do and which ones to skip out on. These are our stops. We did some of them on the way to Wallabong and some on the way back, but I will just list these in geographical order if you go from Melbourne to Wallabong. We drove from Queenscliff to Wallabong so a little further than the Great Ocean Road in total.


This iconic beach is located right behind Torquay and even before the large sign marking the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. Every year one of the biggest surf competitions in the world is held here: The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. It was first held in 1962 making it the longest running competition world-wide. It generally takes place on Easter, but may be moved to other breaks if the conditions at the beach are not at the best. To be fair this is not the best beach for a leisurely beach day, obviously it is a famous surf beach because of the massive waves here. If you can make it for the competition I think this would be absolutely amazing (but probably also packed).


Obviously you need to stop at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch just before Lorne to snap your perfect picture. This spot is not surprisingly very busy and very touristy, but the beach just to the side of it is also super nice, so while you wait for the moment for the perfect shot you may as well check that out.




Lorne is a little seaside town, which is a super popular holiday destination. It has a beautiful beach, loads of nice cafés, restaurants and coffee shops and is perfect for a beach day. There are loads of cute cafés right at the beach like the Health and Hire café, where you can get smoothie bowls and coffee and hire boogie and surf boards at the same time. For a more substantial meal head to The Bottle of Milk and get their burgers. There are also waterfalls in the hinterland of Lorne, which are supposed to be stunning, but we sadly did not have time to visit them.


This is one of the most scenic stretches of the road and honestly left me stunned with its beauty. The steep cliffs, the gorgeous colour of the water and the mountains to your right were just amazing. Take your time for this strip and really enjoy it. Try and stop at the lookouts, you may need to pull over quite quickly for them, which can be a little daunting for foreign drivers. I can´t even remember at how many we stopped or what they were called, but each one was lovely. You also may want to stop at the beaches behind Lorne, which tend to be less busy, but also not patrolled by lifeguards and farer away from snacks. Apollo Bay had a great beach, but you could not rent Boogie Boards, which Tristan was obsessed with so we had to leave.