Ideas for a trip in April/May on the Eastcoast wanted

Lots from Brisbane - in three weeks you could either head west to take in Carnarvon Gorge, Cania Gorge, Winton/Longreach/Mt Isa area, Cobbold Gorge, Lawn Hill etc. Or if you like the beach, a detour to Moreton Island, Cooloola coloured sands, Double Island Point, Fraser Island etc is nice & relaxing. Might be a bit warm out west at that time of year though, so I'd probably go beach (but my opinion only!).

Chris

Up the New England, down the Pacific Highway or visa versa is an easy trip. Start either Brisbane or Sydney. Lots of variety between the two not only in scenery but also in temperature. Could drive either in one day. Comfortably in two. That would give you time to stop at or near a town and explore the hinterland. LOTS of National Parks, World Heritage areas and state forest near both. Lots of roads that join the two are a scenic adventures in themselves i.e. Thunderbolts Way, Waterfalls way, Bruxner Highway, Gwyder highway.

April/ May will be scenic driving through the New England ranges but be prepared for some cold nights below 10 degrees C or even 0degrees C up there. Check out http://www.new-england-hway.com.au/

The Pacific will be more crowded traffic wise so may be the one to tackle first. You need to be careful when driving on this road but LOTS to see and do. Check out The Legendary Pacific Coast drive at http://pacificcoast.com.au/

as mentioned above, along the New England Hwy area it will be cold that time of year, but if you can brave the cold you'll be rewarded with some spectacular scenery. The Waterfall Way around Dorrigo is a fantastic area to explore, drive the Old Grafton Rd to Glen Innes and i guarantee you won't be disappointed with that drive, then go visit Bald Rock National Park and Girraween National Parks a touch further North. climb Bald Rock and The Pyramid, the views are absolutely spectacular from atop both locations in those parks.
goggle the names of places i've mentioned to see what i'm talking about. there's other places like Sawn Rocks at Mount Kaputar National Park you could add into the trip also, just make sure you pack for very cold temperatures or you won't enjoy the trip at all.

Hi,

Plenty of options, and one way to flesh out ideas might be to use the Places facility on this site - find it in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Here is a suggested route,trip from Brisbane that you could just do in your timeframe that gets you out west at a comfortable time of year:

Brisbane, Toowoomba, Miles, Roma, Carnarvon Gorge, Emerald, Barcaldine (Tree of Knowledge) Longreach (Stockmans Hall of fame, Qantas Museum) Winton (Min Min lights) Kynuna, Cloncurry, Mt Isa (mining and fossils) Boulia, Birdsville, Innaminka, Dig Tree, (maybe out to Coongie lakes) Cameron Corner, Tibooburra, Wanaaring, Bourke, Walgett, Lightning Ridge (opal mining) St Geaorge, Dalby and back to Brisbane.

I have just hinted at some of the things to see along the way but if you have a look through our blogs (2011, 2001, 2002) you will find a bit more detail. Also every underlined word here is clickable and will take you to its listing in the Places database for more info. Once in the main places page remember to also look at the "nearby places" to get more info.

Cheers,

Val

Hi,

As you now have many suggestions for places to visit I urge you to buy a good quality road atlas to check exactly where they are and take careful note of the distances and road surfaces involved.

Another suggestion is to camp in the Stuart NP in the north-western corner of NSW. There you will find lots of roads to explore the park, see some of the early settlers' dwellings/sheering shed and plenty of red kangaroos and blue flyers.

I have not checked the distances but you could possibly include this with a visit to Carnarvon Gorge if starting from Brisbane. You would then see two beautiful and dramatically different places.

Have a wonderful holiday with your brother but don't try to pack too much in.