Travel Guides and Stories

5-Day, 4-Night Self-Drive Trip from Brisbane to Sydney

This travel journal covers highlights including: Opera House, Darling Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, Blue Mountains, Circular Quay, Chinatown, Three Sisters Rock Formation

When I first signed up on Mafengwo and filled out my travel experience, I checked boxes for achievements like going above 4000m elevation and self-driving over 1000km, but they weren't approved. Later I learned these experiences needed to be documented in travel journals. Even though I wrote about my Melbourne trip where the rental car showed 2500km driven, and took photos at 4659m elevation during the Daocheng trip, they still weren't approved. Regardless of their approval process, what matters most is whether I enjoyed myself. So I'll recount my self-drive journey from Brisbane to Sydney. Living in Brisbane for several years, I always saw the "980km to Sydney" sign on the Gold Coast highway. I kept thinking we should drive there someday - otherwise we'd miss all the interesting stops along the way. Finally, during the kids' holiday break, our family of five plus my nephew hit the road for a planned 5-day, 4-night Sydney trip. We got travel info from RACQ first, mapped out places we wanted to visit, and calculated drive times since fatigued driving over 2 hours is illegal in Australia. Byron Bay was our first destination, about 90km south of Gold Coast just past the Queensland-New South Wales border, about an hour from home. We left at 5am planning to catch the sunrise there - it's Australia's easternmost point and first place to see the sunrise. From the parking lot below you have to walk up to the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was built in 1901 and has over 100 years of history. On this cloudy day, we didn't see the spectacular ocean sunrise, but standing at Australia's easternmost point looking out at the sea was still a wonderful experience.

Looking down at the coastline from the lighthouse - pristine beaches stretching endlessly.

Further south, we arrived at Bangalow. For Australia with only 200 years of history, this is considered a historic town. This building was constructed in 1922, nearly a century old, telling stories of this "historic town's" former glory.

The historic town's church

The streets of the historic town. Though it's a well-known historic site, in this country of just over 20 million people with vast land but sparse population, it's normal not to see many people in this small town.

We heard that in the town of Maclean, utility poles were painted with local Aboriginal totems. We made a special detour to see it, and it was truly impressive, as evidenced by the photos.

Continuing south, the drive was smooth. We saw a mosque in a small roadside park, stopped to take photos and rest.

At another rest stop - the Big Banana. Yes, a huge banana indeed. In Australia, they mark product origins with big things - there's the Big Apple, Big Custard Apple, Big Pineapple... basically, they make oversized versions of whatever they're selling to help you identify it. The food here is also good, not just typical fast food.

From leaving home until reaching Sydney, including sightseeing and driving, it took 16 hours total. Traffic was smooth without any congestion until we hit this long queue. We thought there was an accident, but it turned out the bridge ahead could open sideways (the raised part ahead is the bridge deck) to let ships pass through. So we had to wait - quite an interesting experience. Cars giving way to ships.

We arrived at Coffs Harbour, just in time for lunch. We brought out sandwiches made by my wife last night, along with Taiwanese high mountain tea and toasted cheese - quite a feast. I often see people having cola and chocolate for breakfast, then chocolate and cola for lunch. They keep it simple here - Australians generally put more emphasis on dinner, while breakfast and lunch are quite casual.

Coffs Harbour is filled with yachts. In Australia, quite a few people own boats - from large ones with multiple cabins for overnight trips, to small ones that can be towed home, even tiny 2-3 meter boats.

Further south, Port Macquarie is another nice stop. Along the riverbank, every rock has been painted with detailed artwork - seems to be part of a planned project or open to passionate artists.

On the other side of the embankment is a camping ground with hundreds of RVs parked. In Taiwan, RV owners are usually wealthy, but that's not necessarily the case here. While many people do use RVs for holidays, some live in them because they can't afford to rent houses. The campsite fees are quite reasonable, around 10-20 AUD per day including utilities (the RVs have bathrooms and toilets).

When you see Newcastle, you're not far from Sydney - about 160km away. The latter part is mostly good highway conditions, taking about 2 hours to reach Sydney.

The clock tower of Newcastle.

We were lucky not to take any wrong turns. We reached our hotel at 9pm, located in Chinatown, not far from Darling Harbour. A short walk gets you there, and we couldn't miss the beautiful Darling Harbour night view. Without hesitation, we took out our map and headed there.

Another night view of Sydney. After a brief walk around, we returned to the hotel to rest, planning to explore more tomorrow.

On the second day, we began our city tour. Sydney is essentially made up of countless small harbors forming one large harbor bay. This is Circular Quay in the central district.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a famous landmark. You can climb to the top, but it's quite expensive. No one in the family was interested, which saved me quite a bit of money.

The Sydney Opera House - a famous landmark that I'm sure everyone has seen in photos before.

A different angle looking at the Harbour Bridge from the Opera House.

This angle is less commonly seen - the front of the Opera House. However, it doesn't look as impressive or grand as the side view.

Further east is the famous Rose Bay. This is a wealthy area with various yachts moored in the bay. I heard that the famous Taiwanese singer Jiali Bai used to live in this area.

After leaving Rose Bay, the small hillside offers the best view of the entire Sydney CBD, including the Opera House and most of the city buildings.

The famous Suicide Cliff. However, to prevent further suicides and for safety reasons, it has now been fenced off.

To the left of Suicide Cliff is the famous "ultra-expensive residential area." I heard the property prices are extremely high due to the exceptional views.

Coming down from Suicide Cliff, we reached the famous Bondi Beach. It's known to be a nude beach, but since it was October and not hot enough, we didn't see any nudists. While this might be curious to Asians, it's quite normal in Australia.

Another view of Bondi Beach.

It would be a shame to visit Sydney without taking a harbor cruise to see the city from different angles. The boat offered lunch, advertised as a seafood feast, but it was just some shellfish and shrimp - no oysters, lobster, or sashimi as we'd hoped. However, there was definitely enough to fill us up.

City view from the harbor.

The Opera House from the water - this is its back side, offering a different kind of charm.

Past the Opera House, we sailed under the Harbour Bridge.

On the second afternoon, we returned to the city center for shopping. This is the Chinese Garden of Friendship. We took a family photo here - unlike typical tourists who "sleep on the bus, get off to pee, shop for medicine, chat loudly in restaurants, and forget everything when they get home."

On the third day, we headed to the suburbs. Once you leave the city center, Australia is mostly uninhabited wilderness. Some areas are used for grazing, and roadside water holes are basically for livestock use.

Our destination was the Blue Mountains - not to be confused with the coffee-producing Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains was originally a coal mining area, and some of the original mining tunnels still remain.

This is a simulated coal mine.

We needed to take a very steep mountain railway to reach our destination - the Three Sisters.

Sitting in the car, you can't really see or feel how steep it is. But when you get out and look - wow, it's really steep!

Shortly after we got off, the next car came rushing down.

The platform where we got off is the perfect spot to view the Three Sisters.

This is the famous Three Sisters rock formation.

Afterwards, we took a cable car going up.

Sitting in the cable car, looking down at other cars following us up.

They say the Blue Mountains got their name because eucalyptus trees release a vapor that stays in the valleys, giving the whole mountain range a bluish haze. That's why it's called the Blue Mountains.

The view after getting off the cable car.

Bronze sculpture at the "Scenic World Plaza" outside the cable car station.

The landscape of inland Australia.

After leaving the Blue Mountains, we headed to Jenolan Caves, a limestone cave system. This is the entrance to the attraction.

They have guided tours at fixed times daily.

The cave entrance is a huge opening large enough for vehicles to pass through, with the actual entrance on the side wall.

After entering the cave, we first descended underground. Like other cave formations in the country, parts have been modified for tourism - adding lights, building stairs, leveling the ground for walking, etc. Here are some photos to share:

Stalactites on the ceiling.

A dreamlike space created by the lighting.

Some parts of the cave are still connected to the outside, allowing natural light to enter.

Moving up and down in the cave, the higher areas have stairs with railings for safety.

The view from the top. These features are common in most caves, just varying in scale. Although I took many photos, I won't share too many here.

On the fourth day, we headed to Canberra. Passing by a wildlife park, I'll share some photos of the more interesting animals. In Australia, koalas are iconic. Due to their eucalyptus diet containing sleep-inducing compounds, koalas sleep nearly two-thirds of the day. These two look like stuffed toys hanging in the tree, but they're alive.

A hedgehog, which is less commonly seen.

Kangaroos are also iconic to Australia. When British colonists first saw these animals jumping on two legs, they didn't know what to call them. They asked the local aboriginals, who didn't understand English and replied "kangaroo" meaning "I don't know" in their language. The British thought this was the animal's name, and that's how kangaroos got their English name.

While kangaroos use their front paws when playing, they use their powerful hind legs to kick opponents when fighting.

They also have penguins here. These are a small species, only about 30cm tall.

A white kangaroo, a rare variety - perhaps an albino genetic mutation?

Even the peacocks here come in white.

In the suburbs, we came across a flower show. It was worth the detour - the mass display of flowers was truly a feast for the eyes.

Various flowers arranged in different sections, competing in beauty.

A world of tulips in vibrant colors.

A sea of single-variety tulips is also impressive.

Stretching as far as the eye can see.

We came to Australia's capital with high expectations, but ended up a bit disappointed. As a political center without much commerce, it doesn't feel like a capital at all. Originally, Sydney and Melbourne both competed to be the capital, but when they couldn't agree, they chose Canberra as a compromise between the two major cities. When passing through the city center, we saw a "City Center" sign (didn't have time to photograph it). Apparently, it was put up because tourists often argued with taxi drivers - they'd ask to go to the city center, but upon arrival, with no shops or residences and no crowds, they couldn't believe they were actually in the center. The government had to put up signs to confirm it really was the city center. This gives you an idea of how un-city-like this "street" was. Here's Australia's Parliament House.

The interior setup of Parliament, with the central position being where the Australian Prime Minister addresses Parliament.

The War Memorial is opposite Parliament, facing each other across the avenue.

The War Memorial houses materials about various battles Australia has participated in.

There's also an embassy district - this is the Chinese Embassy in Australia.

On the fifth day, we headed home. Originally planned to take the mountain route for different scenery, but a friend warned me about kangaroos being attracted to car lights and causing accidents. Considering how big they are - standing taller than humans - a collision would definitely damage the car. So we took the same route back. The attractions were covered in our first day's itinerary (to avoid confusion, Day 1's route was arranged north to south, though some spots were actually visited on the return trip). The first day took 16 hours from Brisbane to Sydney with sightseeing, while the return journey took 14 hours. On the way back, we saw this seafood restaurant with a giant prawn sign, so I took a photo.