Beaches, Pools, adventure and amazing animals; Magnetic Island offers them all. But to get to this stunning part of Queensland, everyone has to take a ferry from Townsville. I arrived in Townsville the day before I’d take my ferry and thus had some time to explore this city as well. Some four hours under Cairns, you can already feel that the humidity has dropped. After checking into my hostel I took a stroll along the Strand, a popular walk along the beach with views on Magnetic Island. There are stinger-free nets for swimming in the ocean, pools, playgrounds and a lot of ice cream places. After doing some groceries I was a little in doubt of what to do, but then eventually decided that the hostel wasn’t worth a full night and headed to Castle Hill. This 286 meter high hill, in Aboriginal language known as Cootharinga, has several popular walking tracks that bring you stunning views of the surrounding areas. I watched the sun set while having an easy dinner and then headed back to my hostel for a hot night without air conditioning.

The next day I was ready to go to Magnetic Island. Carrying all my stuff onto the ferry, the breeze was a cool relief. 8 kilometres and 25 minutes later the ferry had brought us across the sea and onto the lush island. Locally known as Maggie Isle, Magnetic Island got its name due to its apparent magnetic effect on Captain Cook’s compass when sailing past. 54% of the island is a national park and the many walking tracks give you the option to explore its beautiful nature. That is exactly what I did when I arrived, after dropping my stuff at the hostel I hiked towards the nearby Hawkings Point for a beautiful view all the way back to Townsville.

Chilling by the pool I met a German girl, Julia, and together we headed for our free cocktail and participated in the Christmas Quiz the hostel had organized as it was Christmas Eve. A very nice first day at Maggie Island!

The first stop of my 38 day East Coast ‘real backpackers’ trip is Cairns! Travelling with all my stuff this time, as I will not return to my new hometown Melbourne, it means that my backpack is full of unnecessary winter clothes. But nevertheless, carrying around 18 kilos on my bag is worth it, even in 31 degrees Cairns is thus my first stop and from there I will travel down towards Sydney from where I will eventually fly home. From the moment you step off the airport you understand why this region is known as Tropical Far North Queensland, as the humidity clings to you from the first second. Luckily, monsoon season had not started yet (it can start any day now) so I could enjoy the city and its surroundings in beautiful weather.

I did not choose Cairns just randomly, actually it is a very popular tourist destination in Australia. However, despite its beautiful weather and stunning beaches, you will not find many people swimming in the ocean here. Next to the well-known sharks in Australia, Cairns' beaches are also plagued by crocodiles and jelly fish. Being more deadly than the sharks, people are really advised against swimming in the ocean from November to May due to 'stinger season' and there are warnings all year round for the crocs. Luckily though, Cairns has a very nice (free) lagoon for the tourists that want to cool down a little. I visited it on my first day in Cairns and really enjoyed the view of the lagoon on the ocean. Optionally, there are big nets in the ocean to keep out the stingers from that area, however, it is not guaranteed to be crocodile-free...

What makes Cairns so popular then if you cannot even swim in the ocean? Cairns is unique because it is the only place on Earth where two World Heritage Sites meet. The Daintree Rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef just above Cairns, and naturally I had to visit both.

So on my second day in Cairns I booked one of the best day-tours I have ever done: the Rainforest Spirit which brought me and some 15 others around the rainforest. We took some pretty pictures at a lookout and a dive in one of the streams (crocodile free) after which we set off to spot crocodiles in the nearby river. The saltwater crocodiles in Cairns have saline linings around their body openings which enables them to also swim in fresh water rivers; so be careful in rivers as well! Many upstream parts are safe, as crocodiles do not like higher altitudes. Unfortunately for us, the water had already warmed up so much that the biggest crocs stayed under water, but we did see a small baby crocodile of around 6-8 months.


It was then finally time to see the two World Heritage Sites meet: Cape Tribulation. Not only is the lookout very pretty, but the beach itself is stunning as well. Too bad that swimming there is potentially deadly. We then though we had finished with the tour after taking another swim in a croc-free stream, however, our amazing tour guide Luke had another surprise for us: a Aboriginal didgeridoo performance! A great way to end an amazing day in the rainforest!



The next day, my tour guide Luke invited me and Hollie, another girl on the tour, for a drive to several waterfalls around Cairns. We had no other plans and as he is much fun we enjoyed cooling down in these fresh streams. We watched the sun set over Cairns and had pizza with cider and went to the Cairns night market. It was definitely another amazing day in the forest (many thanks to our awsome Luke)! Naturally, it was then time to move on from the forest to the reef.

So on my last day in Cairns I got up early to get on board of the Pearl Lugger with Falla Reef Tours, a very good decision. Compared to the other snorkeling tours, this boat is very small with around 25 people (the next smallest one carrying around 85), which made it easier for me to connect to the other passengers. After 1.5 hours of sailing, we arrived at the Great Barrier Reef for our first session. With my stinger suit to protect me from the jelly fish, sun and cold, I jumped into the water. Immediately I was amazed by the amount of fish species we saw (including Nemo) and the colourful reefs. Though the photoshopped images on Google give people a different expectation, I was still surprised by the size and colourfulness of the reef. The second snorkeling session after lunch, however, was the highlight of the day. I finally saw what I had been waiting for since Sri Lanka: a huge turtle! Swimming around as casually as the turtles in Finding Nemo it was easy to follow the turtle around for a bit and really observe its size and behaviour! I was so happy! Finishing off with fruit, cheese and wine, Cairns really showed me how beautiful and diverse our planet Earth can be in such a small region!

Four days in Tasmania, that's all there was. Was it worth it? Oh definitely! Should you spend more time there if you can? Without a doubt!

Unfortunately for us, four days was all we had to explore this Australian state. With an early morning flight of about an hour, me and René, my friend from Leiden uni who did a semester abroad in Perth, arrived in Hobart. At the airport we got picked up by two of René's friends by car and we immediately set off to one of Tassie's many national parks: Freycinet National Park. This national park covers around 125 squared km and is situated on a peninsula on the east of the island. It is home to one of the world's ten prettiest beaches: Wineglass bay. A 1.5 hour hike mostly down hill not only gives you stunning views but also brings you onto the white beach. And it is definitely worth the climb up afterwards!




 Near Freycinet we stayed the night in Bicheno, a tiny town with just over 850 residents. At the recommendation of the hostel owner, we walked down to the shore to see the spectacular workings of a blowhole. Essentially, the sea created a hole in the rocks through which the waves blow out large amounts of water.

On our second day we drove back to Hobart, the main city in Tasmania, to drive up Mount Wellington. After hiking up so many mountains in New Zealand, I wasn't quite sure how rewarding the view would be with the idea in mind that we just drove there. However, it turned out the be awesome. Don't get me wrong, hiking in New Zealand was spectacular and also personally rewarding, but the views were usually on other mountain ranges. Being 1271 metres in height, you can have views of up to 100km far! We had lunch with this amazing view and could feel our ears pop on the away down. A must-do! Around Mount Wellington, in the Wellington Park Reserve, there are many short walks and hikes you can do. We chose to do one to a small but very pretty waterfall before heading to the city.



Hobart itself is not very big, but definitely worth a visit. Our first stop was the Cascade Brewery, where we bought ice cream and beer. It is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia and opened in 1832. You can do tours, but we decided that we'd rather spend our money on the final product and enjoy the beer's taste in the pretty gardens surrounding the brewery.

Another highlight in Hobart is the Salamanca market, a weekly market on Saturdays that consists of over 300 stalls, many of which sell local produce and souvenirs. The vibe was really nice and we even spotted some oliebollen! The Salamanca district itself is also very pretty to see, it is a very artsy neighbourhood with loads of cute shops and galleries. This artsiness is also visible when you do the self-guided street art tour in Hobart. Though it might not have as many artworks as Melbourne, some of them are really worth a visit!



To end your time in Hobart, you can indulge yourself in some more nature by walking along the Rivulets track. Following the rivulets, you can walk all the way from the city to the foot of Mount Wellington, while on your way grabbing a beer at the Cascade brewery!

In Hobart, René and I said goodbye to our two fellow travellers who went off to explore another part of Australia. Rene and I continued our trip for a last stop in Launceston. It is the only inland city in Tasmania and only the architecture of this city is already worth a short visit. However, the city offers more. Upon arrival the tourist information centre advised us to do the boardwalk walk along the river for nice views and to bring a short visit to Penny Royal. Penny Royal is a tourist attraction in Launceston for rock climbing, gold panning and local Tasmanian food and drinks. After a short stop we walked futher to the Cataract Gorge, Launceston's main attraction. This gorge, some 1.5km from the city centre, is part of the South Esk River and a loop walk with connecting bridge and gondola brings tourists all around the gorge. There is also a public swimming pool, cafés, restaurants and one can do boat cruises on the river. A very pretty spot in so close to the city!



With a very early flight the next day, the gorge marked the end of our four days in Tasmania, a very pretty and underestimated part of Australia!