After spending five months as a student in Brisbane, I decided to splurge and enjoy my last month in this wonderful country, discovering the richness of its natural wonders. (the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of nature).
I was not sure where to go or with whom to leave. I only had in mind the famous Ayers Rock or the Great Barrier Reef, but no specific itinerary and I had the choice to travel alone or with some friends from the university who also wanted to travel in Australia.
Finally, I decided that I will travel alone – mainly for the freedom to travel anywhere I want with the budget which suits me, something that is far from easy when travelling as a group (and which can become a real-brainer, after having experienced it). I had the choice between scheduling everything in advance or just plan on a daily basis. The problem is that I only had one month to see as many wonders of Australia, so planning my trip on a daily basis was not practical, especially for transportation (including the flight that was much more expensive if booked at the last moment). Thus, to book everything in advance was the best choice as i can plan and spend within my budget when travelling.
Once the decision was made, I headed to the very much recommended Peter Pan (a travel agency for young people,especially backpackers). I arrived at the place; and as i ascended the stairs, the Reggae, Electro, Club music was blasting off the stereo and pictures of extraordinary landscapes seemed to be promising me a good vacation on the way. As i got up to the office, there were plenty of young people who use computers to go online. The business seems to be working well. I sat, a cute tanned blonde lady with the friendliest smile attended to me. I told her what i was looking for – one month travel, with maximum of stuff to do and see on an average budget. She took a calendar of July, and began proposing PeterPan’s holiday packages by following a route on the map of Australia on the table. Apparently we will go up the east coast, stopping a few times, and then flew to Darwin, some adventures in the outback, then another flight, a mountain, another coast, a few days in one of the largest cities and a final flight returning to Brisbane.
It sounded pretty good. We made some adjustments, one more free day here, one less there … I liked it, I told her I’m good, she checked to see if my plan was indeed feasible and showed me the final itinerary. Perfect! I paid my deposit and was to come a week later to have time to make reservations and to pay for the rest.
A week later I had my final itinerary (and a lot less money in my account). The route was:
- 3 days 4×4 and Camping on Fraser Island
- 3 days cruising in the Islands Whitesundays
- 3 days in Cairns with a day of diving in the Great Barrier Reef
- Flight Cairns – Darwin
- 9 days between Darwin and Alice Springs 3 days Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks, three days journey Darwin – Alice Springs, 3 days Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon
- Flights Alice Springs – Adelaide
- 3 days Great Ocean Road and Grampians
- 3 days with one day Melbourne to Philip Island
- Flight Melbourne – Brisbane
Greyhound bus ride between points and backpackers accommodation (Hostels ala Australian).
Itinerary
This was a month full of adrenaline pumping feelings, excitement, exhaustion, meeting people and discovering beautiful scenery … Was definitely one of the best experiences of my life!
