5 Epic places to visit on your East Coast Trip
Since forever we have always had in mind to travel the East Coast of Australia with its lush rainforests, abundant wildlife, pristine beaches and chill surfer vibes. When planning your ultimate bucket list trip on the East Coast of Australia it can be quite overwhelming to pick the best places you want to visit.
But no worries, we got you covered! To make it easier for you we picked 5 epic places to see. Why exactly these places? Some of these are lesser known spots and not on everybody's East Coast Trip list but we highly recommend checking them out if you have time to do so.
Let's start:
Noosa National Park
Spectacular national park at the coast
This national park is one of the highlights when being in Noosa. You can see seemingly untouched beaches, spectacular cliffs, amazing lookouts and a green eucalyptus forest. The most popular thing to do is the coastal hike to the Fairy Pools and Hell’s Gates.
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Watch the pro surfers riding the waves at the Boiling Pot Lookout. We could have watched them for hours. Or get in the ocean yourself if you are an experienced surfer and keen on riding probably some of the best (and powerful) waves you will ever witness.
Be aware that the Noosa National Park Carpark is very small, so you might need to park your vehicle at Noosa Heads.
Fraser Island / K’gari
World Heritage-listed largest sand island in the world
Fraser Island or respectfully K’gari, is another must-visit destination when traveling the East coast. It is the largest sand island in the world and a major tourist attraction. The highlights of K’gari are driving on the beach highway (75 Mile Beach) with your 4-wheel-drive car, the Maheno Shipwreck, Champagne Pools (natural rock pools), Lake Mackenzie (an inner lake with snow-white sand) and Eli Creek (where you can wading, tubing, or swimming through this pure water creek).
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How to explore K’gari? You have several options depending on your budget and time: You can do a multi-day group tour where you stay in a hostel or camp, you can do a 1 day tour or your can rent a 4-wheel-drive car with camping equipment and drive on your own. You can visit the island only by ferry. Be aware that only 4-wheel-drive cars can drive on this island.
Considering the price, we only did a one day tour which we felt was enough to experience the highlights of this amazing island.
Keep your eyes open for dingoes, wild dog-like animals which live on the island. Be warned, keep your distance and don't approach them. Did you know that dingoes are the largest predators on land of Australia?
Eungella National Park
Best place to see wild platypus
The Eungella National Park is covered by dense rainforest and is famous for spotting wild platypus. It offers a visitor center and various hikes through the rainforest along the rivers where you can also spot turtles, Australian brushturkeys and leeches.
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Have you heard of the rare animal platypus?
Platypus are definitely among the most fascinating and unusual animals we have ever seen.
3 Facts about platypus:
- They are mammals but lay eggs
- Males have a venomous gland
- Platypus don't have a stomach
The best time to spot them is either dusk or dawn, therefore we recommend staying overnight at the Broken River Camping Area.
Wallaman Falls
Australia’s tallest single-drop waterfall
The Wallaman Falls are Australia’s tallest waterfall where water is falling down 268 meters (879 feet) to the ground. You can drive to the lookout platform which is 2-wheel-drive (2WD) accessible and from there you have a stunning view over the waterfalls. On the drive through the Girringun National Park you may even see cassowaries (huge flightless bird similar to an emu) on the road, unfortunately we did not see any.
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We can highly recommend going to the stunning Wallaman Falls. Even the drive to the falls through the national park is adventurous.
Keep in mind that driving from highway 1 (Bruce Highway), you need to drive from Ingham 1 hour in each direction to reach the Wallaman Falls. So you need to decide if you want to spend that much driving time to go to the waterfall lookout.
After enjoying the view from the lookout the best thing to do is hiking down to the base of the Wallaman Falls.
Daintree Rainforest
Oldest rainforest in the world
Sir David Attenborough has described the Daintree Rainforest as “the most extraordinary place on earth”. With over 135 million years old, the Daintree Rainforest it the oldest rainforest in the world. We loved it a lot and had a Jurassic Park like feeling when visiting.
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We recommend you to go to Cape Tribulation and spend 1-2 nights at Safari Lodge and Campground to explore the Daintree Forest. If you don’t have enough time, visit Mossman Gorge or go on a day tour with Uncle Brian's if you do not want to drive up to Cape Tribulation yourself.
Keep your eyes open for cassowaries (huge flightless birds similar to an emu)!