{"id":273752,"date":"2025-06-05T00:04:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T00:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/pacific-coast-way-daintree-rainforest-and-great-barrier-reef\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T00:04:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T00:04:03","slug":"pacific-coast-way-daintree-rainforest-and-great-barrier-reef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=273752","title":{"rendered":"Pacific Coast Way, Daintree Rainforest, and Great Barrier Reef"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Pacific Coast Way: Off Grid Style<\/h2>\n

Our latest Errington Family Adventure saw us travelling along the East Coast of Queensland, Australia.\u00a0 We mostly followed the Pacific Coast Way but added a couple of detours; firstly heading north to the Daintree Rainforest, and of course we couldn’t miss the Great Barrier Reef!<\/p>\n

What is the Pacific Coast Way?<\/h3>\n

The Pacific Coast Way is Queensland’s ultimate coastal road trip, at almost 1800km (1100 miles) the PCW follows the Bruce Highway from Cairns in tropical North Queensland to Gold Coast just south of Brisbane in the South East. If you’re dreaming of a road trip that serves up sun-drenched beaches, rainforest walks, vibrant towns, and wildlife encounters all in one amazing stretch, this is it.<\/p>\n

\"Bruce<\/a><\/div>\n
Our family of four recently drove the\u00a0route in an awesome fully equipped 4×4 pickup, or ‘ute’ as the Aussie’s would say, with two roof tents from\u00a0overlanderadventures<\/a>\u00a0and loved every moment. As you’d expect from us, we decided to take the off grid route and camped our way along the coast. Here\u2019s our ultimate guide to a family adventure on this iconic road trip!<\/div>\n
\"Overlander<\/a><\/div>\n

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Our Route: Cairns to Cape Tribulation to Brisbane<\/span><\/h3>\n

Whilst you could cover the distance in around 20 hours, we tackled it over two weeks, and you could easily stretch it longer – there\u2019s just so much to see!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccd Our Top Stops Along the Pacific Coast Way<\/h3>\n

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1. The Daintree \u2013 Where the Rainforest meets the Reef<\/h4>\n
We picked up the truck in Cairns, and after a quick stop for supplies, headed on our first detour north towards Mossman in the lush Far North Queensland. Our first night was spent at Creek’s Edge Park<\/a>; a small private campground with space for about 5 campers in the non-powered section.\u00a0 They have a lovely croc-free creek, which made for a refreshing morning swim!<\/div>\n
We then headed to Port Douglas for a quick look around and some lunch, we highly recommend the burgers from N17 Burger Co<\/a>.<\/div>\n
In the afternoon we took a tour of Mossman Gorge<\/a> with a local indigenous guide.\u00a0 Levi talked passionately about his connection to the Daintree, the plants and animals, and the local Kuku Yalanji culture.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\"Mossman<\/a><\/div>\n

The Daintree Rainforest is over 135 million years old making it the oldest rainforest in the world, and at over 1200 square kilometres it’s also the largest in Australia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After crossing the Daintree River on the chain ferry (keep an eye out for crocs!), we headed up to Cape Tribulation Camping<\/a>.\u00a0 This is a beautiful campsite, right on the beach and with great facilities.\u00a0 We spent two nights here; wandering the white sandy beach (with virtually no-one else around), exploring the mangrove boardwalk and the rainforest, swimming at Mason’s<\/a> swimming hole (croc-free), playing pool and eating delicious pizza at the campsite bar.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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We did think about skipping it but would say not to miss a crocodile spotting cruise on the Daintree River, we went with Bruce Belcher’s\u00a0Daintree River Cruises<\/a>\u00a0and saw lots of crocs from tiny babies to big mothers with a knowledgeable guide.<\/div>\n
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\"Baby<\/a><\/div>\n

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\"Crocodile<\/a><\/div>\n


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2. Atherton Tablelands – Chasing Waterfalls<\/h4>\n

After the Daintree, we headed south, but rather than following the coast back to Cairns, we headed inland towards the Atherton Tablelands.\u00a0 This fertile plateau forms part of the Great Dividing Range, and is a rural, agricutural area.\u00a0 The green rolling hills are not what we expected to see in Australia, but make for a very scenic drive; it’s worth a diversion to visit some of the area’s many waterfalls.<\/p>\n

\"Mila<\/a><\/div>\n

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We spent the night at Henrietta Creek Campground<\/a>, where we were the only campers.\u00a0 This meant we had the creek to ourselves for a morning swim, but unfortunately we didn’t spot the reported platypus!<\/div>\n
\"Henrietta<\/a><\/div>\n
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3. Crystal Creek – Beach-side camping<\/h4>\n
Crystal Creek<\/a> was our first true off-grid camp of the trip, which we found on park4night.\u00a0 This free dispersed camping area allows you to camp right on the beach.\u00a0 There are no facilities, and it feels a bit like you shouldn’t be driving down the track, but stick with it, it is worth it!\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n

(Don’t follow the directions on park4night or Google, it will take you to a dead end in the middle of a farm!\u00a0 Take the Crystal Creek Caravan Park (Barrilgie Road) exit from the Bruce Highway and follow the track along the creek.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Beach<\/a><\/div>\n

4. The Whitsundays & Great Barrier Reef \u2013 Pure Tropical Bliss<\/h4>\n

One of the reasons we chose the East Coast of Australia was so the boys (and Ridley) could visit the Great Barrier Reef.\u00a0 Sarah actually learned to dive on the GBR way back when!\u00a0 Our Great Barrier Reef experience was certainly one of the highlights of our trip, and we’ll write more about it in another post.<\/p>\n

We launched into the\u00a0Whitsunday Islands\u00a0from\u00a0Airlie Beach with Cruise Whitsundays, and headed out to the Reef World Pontoon at Hardy Reef.\u00a0 We opted for the Reef Sleep<\/a> experience, where you spend the night in a covered bed on the deck of the pontoon, which was amazing.\u00a0 We dived and the boys snorkelled on the Reef, we also took a trip on the semi-submersible boat.\u00a0 Highly recommended!<\/p>\n

\"Reef<\/a><\/div>\n

Nomads Airlie Beach<\/a> was a great base for us, we stayed in their campsite the nights before and after the trip, and left the truck set up on a pitch for the night we were away on the reef. It worked out really well, and you can easily walk from the site to the terminal for the trip – and leaving the truck there meant we could both enjoy a few drinks with the amazing lunch we had before we left Reef Sleep.\u00a0 It doesn’t look particularly like a family site but we found it really good, and the boys liked the 2 pools for a cool down swim. Ask for a pitch out the back of the site, where it is a bit quieter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

4. Cape Hillsborough National Park – Sunrise Kangaroos<\/h4>\n
Cape Hillsborough is famous as a place to spot kangaroos on the beach at sunrise.\u00a0 The campsite at the cape was full when we visited, but we found a quiet spot at nearby Ball Bay<\/a>\u00a0 Sunrise was at about 0530, so it was a quick pack up and an early start to get to the beach in the dark.\u00a0 As the sun rose, we saw 2 kangaroos and about 8 wallabies eating the food which a park ranger had placed on the beach.\u00a0 Despite multiple requests from the ranger to turn off camera flashes and keep the noise down, the kangaroos soon got spooked by the crowds and hopped off into the surrounding forest, which was a bit disappointing.<\/div>\n

If you’re going to visit, we’d recommend getting there early!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Cape<\/a><\/div>\n

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\"Kangaroos<\/a><\/div>\n

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5. Byfield National Park – conquering Big Sandy<\/h4>\n

Byfield is a bit of a detour from the Pacific Coast Way, about 70km north east of Rockhampton, but when Ridley heard about the park, he really wanted to add it to our route.\u00a0 The park is famous for the stunning 5 Rocks and 9 Mile Beaches, but access is by 4wd only and requires conquering Big Sandy; a 1km sand dune which is pretty tricky to climb.\u00a0 After watching a few YouTube videos, Ridley was pretty sure we would make it, but it was still a bit nerve wracking, especially when the Aussie in the ute ahead of us had multiple attempts and kept getting stuck.\u00a0 We had aired down the tires to 15psi and had no problems in low range 4wd. Don’t attempt this without a high clearance 4wd vehicle and the ability to air down (or rather reinflate!) your tyres.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Airing<\/a><\/div>\n

The challenge is worth it; we camped at the 5 Rocks campground with only a couple of other campers, which meant we had the beach to ourselves. Look out for the makeshift shower to the right of the path on the way down to the beach.<\/p>\n

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The next morning we took the alternative track out which includes a beautiful drive along 9 Mile Beach, and a descent of Big Sandy.<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/div>\n

6. 1770 – Luxury Camping<\/h4>\n
Seventeen-seventy is a bit of a strange name for a town, but it’s where James Cook landed in 1770, his second landfall in Australia and the first in what is now Queensland. We camped at a great site called 1770 Eco Camp<\/a>. We were on the ‘Grass Trees’ part of the site which is right at the top of the hill and has lovely views, a great outdoor swimming pool, communal fire pits and kitchen facilities; a real treat after a couple of nights off-grid!<\/div>\n
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\n \"Camping
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7. Bundaberg – the Brewery Town<\/h4>\n

The boys had quickly gained a taste for Bundaberg (the soft drinks not the rum!), so Bundy had to be on our list of destinations.\u00a0 The tour of the ‘brewery’ is well worth it, you get to sample all of their many flavours and choose your own mix pack of bottles to take away.<\/p>\n

\"Bundaberg<\/a><\/div>\n

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We camped at Buxton Bush Camp<\/a> near Bundaberg, which is a nice site on the Burrum River.\u00a0 It was quiet when we were there, but regularly hosts music events etc, so check them out before booking.\u00a0<\/div>\n

8. Bribie Island – the Sunshine Coast?<\/h4>\n
Our last couple of nights coincided with the Anzac Day long weekend, we had planned to stay in Noosa but we really struggled to find a campsite that wasn’t full.\u00a0 In the end we found some availability at Bribie Island National Park<\/a>, which turned out to be really fortunate.\u00a0 The park is accessed along a long sandy track (4wd only again), but it is pretty flat and felt really easy after Big Sandy!\u00a0 Even before we got to the park, we spotted a family of kangaroos by the roadside, and the further into the park we got the more we saw.\u00a0 When we woke up in the morning there was a group bouncing over who sopped to graze right outside the tent, which was a pleasant surprise after the disappointing experience at Hillsborough.<\/div>\n
\"Camping<\/a><\/div>\n

Unfortunately the weather was not on our side (despite the name of the area!), and after raining pretty much all of the first night the forecast was for continuous rain for the whole of the next day.\u00a0 We made the decision to pack up camp in the morning and bailed out to an Airbnb in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 Brisbane \u2013 City fun to round out our trip<\/h4>\n

The decision to end the trip in Brisbane actually turned out really well.\u00a0 It allowed us to clear out the truck, repack our bags for the flight home and get the truck washed ready for handover.<\/p>\n

\"Brisbane<\/a><\/div>\n

We found a great Airbnb in the New Farm area of the city, which was a perfect location to explore with a lovely riverside walkway into the city. With a evening flight home, we effectively got two days of exploring the\u00a0breweries, the South Bank, riding the CityCat ferries, and enjoying riverside parks. We really liked Brisbane and it was the perfect place to relax and reset before heading home.<\/p>\n

\"Exploring<\/a><\/div>\n

\ud83e\uddf3 Family Travel Tips for the Pacific Coast Way<\/h3>\n
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  • Break up the drive:<\/strong> Aim for 2\u20134 hour segments, especially with younger kids.<\/li>\n
  • Pack for all weather:<\/strong> The climate changes as you move south.<\/li>\n
  • Stay flexible:<\/strong> Spontaneous stops became some of our favourites!<\/li>\n
  • Book popular tours in advance:<\/strong>\u00a0Mossman Gorge and the Reef Sleeps can fill quickly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \ud83d\udcf8 Final Thoughts: Why This Road Trip is a Must-Do<\/h3>\n

    From ancient rainforests to snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, this was more than a holiday\u2014it was a real adventure and taking the less obvious, off grid, approach made it even more special.<\/p>\n

    If you’re planning your next big family adventure in Australia<\/strong>, we can\u2019t recommend the Pacific Coast Way<\/strong> enough. Add it to your bucket list\u2014you won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n