We drove from Brisbane straight to the Binna Burra area of Lamington National Park. The campervan park there was one of the best we’ve stayed at in Australia – right by all the hikes and amenities (not that there are a lot of amenities). The day we arrived, we did a couple short hikes with amazing views of the mountains and valley below. While enjoying the view we were lucky enough to hear the crying calls of catbirds (thought it was a crying baby at first, haha)! The following day, we hiked the Coomera circuit through forests, creeks, tons of waterfalls and ridgeline views. Our favorite hike so far in Australia!
During the hike, we passed this bee highway spot. Bees making beelines to and from water and their hive. It was like a busy airport.
After a day of hiking, we treated ourselves at the cafe. I got a carrot cake and Priscilla got a lamington, which has the same namesake as the park… we got a nice little kick out of that.
After Lamington NP we drove to Byron Bay and stopped off at Mount Warning along the way. As soon as we arrived in Byron Bay, we walked out to, and along, the beach. It was incredibly beautiful! The beach seemed to stretch forever, capped by a lighthouse and cliffs on both ends. The trail was flooded at high tide, so we took off our flip flops and waded through.
While in Byron Bay, we hiked a loop up to the lighthouse, which is also the furthest eastern point of Australia. Every step had stunning vistas to look out from. We haven’t really been feeling 100%, so we took lots of stops to watch the surfers and hang gliders. There seemed to be a festival in town that weekend, so we also spent some time watching all the hipsters and hippies dressed up for the show.
We spent 7 hours driving from Byron Bay to the Hunter Valley wine region, known for its Semillon and Shiraz wines. Of course, we did a few tastings. Our favorite was Hanging Tree, followed by Gartelmann and Pepper Tree. It’s starting to get cold in the evenings as we move south, farther from the equator.
Highlights of Lamington NP, Byron Bay, and Hunter Valley wines
- Lamington is one of the most beautiful places we’ve been to in Australia so far
- The beaches around Byron Bay (Tallow’s Beach in particular) are absolutely amazing. We could easily have stayed here awhile if it was warmer out.
- We had a great time hanging out and talking with the manager at Hanging Tree. We were there for a couple of hours doing a slow and long tasting.