Getting a 3 month all inclusive bus pass

Australia is an immense country. So you should consider beforehand which of the many attractions of the country you would like to visit. Otherwise, you will quickly lose a lot of time and money due to the long distances you have to cover. If you have sufficient money, it is recommendable to take the plane. For me as a backpacker, the bus was the preferred means of transport. Many backpackers rent a campervan and then drive around the country in a group. I did not want that; on the one hand you have to find people with whom you can travel together for so long and then you are very dependent on them when planning your trip.

The bus company Greyhound offers different passes through which you can save some money. I decided to buy a 3-month all-inclusive pass that allowed me to take the buses of the company in any possible direction during this time. If you would book the trips separately, it will quickly become much more expensive. With the Pass I could always book a trip at short notice. Greyhound covers almost all of Australia, except the region West Australia, Tasmania and the route between Adelaide and Melbourne are not covered. It cost me nearly 600 AU$ (about 370€).

Short first bus trip

I decided to start my trip in Cairns and then go down the east coast in southern direction to Sydney and then again in western direction via Canberra to Melbourne and from there up to Darwin through the Australian outback. I always could rely on the bus. The buses have comfortable seats and WIFI, but this ceases when the bus passes through sparsely populated areas. About every 3 hours the bus makes some break where you can stretch your legs or get something small to eat.

My first trip by bus from Cairns to Mission Beach lasted a ridiculous 2.5 hours, one of my shortest bus trips in Australia. At the destination stop in Mission Beach the shuttle of my hostel picked me up and brought me to Jackaroo Treehouse Mission Beach, practically in the middle of the jungle where of course are some 6- or 8-legged animals crawling around the hostel.

Quickly bored

There is not much to do in this little village. I took a short hike to Bicton Hill and walked a little over the beach. Most people come here to jump out of the airplane with a parachute and then land on the beautiful beach. Since I had done a parachute jump only a few weeks before, I was bored later in my hostel like all the others who hung around there. There were so many in the hostel that the common rooms (the open terrace) were totally overcrowded. Walking outside wasn't really a pleasure either because you the walk to the beach was quite long (better to take the hostel own shuttle) and walking into the jungle doesn't really appeal to me. One night only I stayed here and I moved on to Townsville.

If you have more time, you can look for the Cassowary. Even though it is a bird it is the biggest land animal of Australia. Its sharp claws make it one of the most dangerous birds in the world, even deaths have been attributed to it.