phase two.

I've walked from -

Cape Byron, Byron Bay, NSW to Miriam Vale QLD.

This journey took 4 Months and three days, from the 3rd of May to the 6th of September 2023.

Phil 4:13

'Phase Two' will summarise my time and route, trekking from Cape Byron, New South Wales, toward Cape York, Queensland.

Even though I have yet to make it to Cape York, I would like to keep a record of the places I have trekked through up to this point, from Byron Bay on the New South Wales north coast to Miriam Vale in the Gladstone region, where I have paused my trek through Queensland and am focusing south to Tasmania this April.

It's relevant to note that while trekking through the Sunshine State, there were a few moments I had to wander off-trail to attend various family commitments such as weddings & funerals.

Catching flights and buses and driving when necessary, I would travel back to Canberra and further south to Victoria. Once the event was over, I would return to my last location in Queensland to continue hiking.

Truthfully, although these events caused a disruption in my northward momentum, they were also a necessary reminder that this project is not a means to escape reality or go on a vacation. And I've never viewed this project as such. Being alone at night with many kilometres left to trek is far from leisurely.

These interludes emphasised this point and taught me that the burdens and blessings of this journey are all part of the same story, whether I am on the road or at home.

It's all the same reality.

That said, Queensland, oh Queensland, you pretty thing.

As someone who's called our Green 'n' Gold continent home for some time, I've only recently been acquainted with her appeal and have been mesmerised so much so that the following opinion may sound premature, as I've still got so much of Australia ahead to witness.

However, I am convinced that you only know Australia once you know Queensland, and until you've seen Queensland, you have yet to see Australia.

I'm sure this sentiment can be applied to any iconic location in our 'Land Down Under'. But days spent intimately navigating and getting to know Queensland, from the lights of Surfers Paradise to the sandy highways on K'gari (Fraser Island), have only cemented this view.

As I spent four months last year trekking through her cities, suburbs, beaches and bush, mixing with patriotic locals who call the Sunshine State home and tourists eager to see Australia, I've noticed the ingredients of a place that charms and disarms. And, if you ask any foreign backpacker about their time travelling around Australia, I can guarantee they can support my claim as they highlight their time in Queensland.

Whether they boast about the sandy lifestyle found in the south or the wilder tropical regions further North, with a laidback attitude and an accent to match it, attractive natural features, and a constantly warm climate, the Maroon State is truly a playground for those seeking one.

The Route -

📍Cape Byron, New South Wales—Easternmost point of the Australian Mainland -

Brunswick Heads - Ocean Shores - New Brighton - South Golden Beach - Pottsville - Hastings Point - Cabarita Beach - Casuarina - Kingscliff - Chinderah - Tweed Heads South - Tweed Heads -

*NEW SOUTH WALES // QUEENSLAND BORDER*

Coolangatta - Bilinga - Tugun - Currumbin - Palm Beach - Burleigh Heads - Miami - Mermaid Beach - Broadbeach - Surfers Paradise - Main Beach - Southport - Biggera Waters - Helensvale - Upper Coomera - Pimpama - Ormeau - Eagleby - Loganholme - Eight Mile Plains - Mount Gravatt - Camp Hill - Seven Hills - Hawthorne - Bulimba

*FERRY*

Hamilton

*FERRY*

Teneriffe - Ashgrove - Chermside - Aspley - Strathpine - North Lakes - Deception Bay - Burpengary - Caboolture - Beeburrum - Glass House Mountains - Baringa - Caloundra - Mooloolaba - Maroochydore - Marcoola - Coolum Beach - Noosa Heads

*FERRY*

Noosa North Shore - Double Island - Rainbow Beach - Inskip

*FERRY*

K'gari ( Fraser Island ) visit.

Eurong - Kingfisher Bay Resort

*FERRY*

River Heads - Hervey Bay

I bused south to Canberra from Hervey Bay to attend a family event, then returned to Noosa. Because I don't count my detour to K'gari as part of my route up the Australian East Coast, I returned to Noosa to “reconnect the dots”.

Noosa Heads - Tewantin - Boreen Point - Goomboorian - Wallu - Tuan Forest - Maryborough - Howard - Childers - South Bingera - Bundaberg - Avondale - Rosedale - Lowmead - Miriam Vale.

Miriam Vale is where I decided to pause my time in Queensland after encountering issues.

As I'm now going to Tasmania, I'll resume trekking up Queensland back from Miriam Vale once I finish my time in Tassy.