Pick up your THRIFTY MEDIUM SEDAN rental car either at the Brisbane Airport Depot or Brisbane City Depot and commence drive to the Gold Coast via the Pacific Highway, where you will overnight at the AUSTRALIS SOVEREIGN HOTEL. This drive is approximately 80 kms.
SURFERS PARADISE is the centre of the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast region has one of the highest growth rates in Australia and lays claim to being the tourist capital of Australia. With a climate providing more than 300 days of sunshine per year, some of the best surfing and swimming beaches in Australia, patrolled by the largest body of lifesavers in the country, many exciting theme parks, and a lush hinterland of national parks, mountain hideaways and spectacular views, it is no wonder the area draws visitors like a magnet. Probably the greatest attraction, particularly for families, is the theme parks. You can visit Movie World for insights into movie-making, stunts and pyrotechnics; Sea World for sea lion and shark shows; Dreamworld for action rides and white tigers on Tiger Island and Wet n Wild for spectacular water rides and twisters.
LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK is dominant on the skyline behind the Gold Coast beaches and is approximately a 1 hour drive from the Gold Coast. It gets its name from Lord Lamington who was the governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1902. A wide range of vegetation can be found within the park. Huge brush box, tulip oaks, giant stinging tees and buttress-rooted Moreton Bay figs are just a few of the many species which thrive here. One interesting way of viewing the park's many wonders from above is via the rainforest canopy walk. Here visitors can stroll across a suspension bridge dangling 15 meters above the forest floor. This provides hikers with a chance of coming face-to-face with some of the brilliant birds who live in the dense canopy.

Leaving Brisbane, via the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh Heads where you join the Pacific Highway to Coolangatta. Crossing the Queensland/NSW border at the twin border towns of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta. A point of interest along the way is the Currumbin Sanctuary, a wildlife sanctuary about 4 km before Coolangatta, where you can see a fine collection of Australian parrots, which come down to be hand-fed daily.
Departing Coolangatta travel through Murwillumbah and Brunswick Heads to arrive at Byron Bay, where you overnight at the LORD BYRON RESORT MOTEL. This drive is approximately 105km via the Pacific Highway, and the Gold Coast Highway.
TWEED HEADS is bustling, busy, sometimes frantic, and is the northernmost town on the New South Wales Coast. Tweed Heads shares its main street with the Queensland town of Coolangatta - they are in fact twin towns at the mouth of the Tweed River.
BRUNSWICK HEADS maintains a maritime connection with the tidy commercial fishing fleet moored in the harbor. Brunswick is famous for its fishing and its fish - many pundits claim that the North Coast's best seafood is available at Fins, situated on the waterfront. Brunswick Heads Nature Reserve with local flora and fauna is well worth a look at.
BYRON BAY is a mix of cultures (including the alternative) and lifestyles. Byron - "where the sun first hits the sand" - has a year-round subtropical climate, with summer temperatures dominated by a cooling offshore breeze. It's idyllic, which explains it's burgeoning population, and it's attractions as a holiday destination. Cape Byron is the most easterly point of Australia, and is topped by an extremely powerful lighthouse. Located only 300 meters south of Australia's easternmost point, Cape Byron, the lighthouse was completed in 1901. Byron Bay has a number of surf beaches, and the breaks are famous all around the world. Watego's Beach, with its white sands and crystal waters, also has a break that is popular with bodysurfers and boogie boarders. It is just under the Cape Byron light. There are also some great drives in the Byron hinterland, with spectacular views of the coast.

Depart Byron Bay and travel through the pretty resort town of Lennox Head along the coast road to Baling where you join the Pacific Highway. Travel through the towns of Woodburn and Maclean. At Maclean, an interesting detour to take is to join the coast road to Yamba. Yamba is a scenic and popular surfing/beach/fishing resort. Rejoining the Pacific Highway back at Maclean, travel via South Grafton to Coffs Harbor, where you overnight at the PELICAN BEACH RESORT. This drive is approximately 240km, plus an additional 40kms if you take the coastal detour to Yamba.
LENNOX HEAD - is one of those small townships that is characterized by a large and beautiful headland to the south and a long "seven mile" beach. The Pat Morton Lookout offers excellent views from Lennox Head across Seven Mile Beach and south to Rocky Point and Skenners Head.
COFFS HARBOUR is a popular year round tourist destination. The combination of golden sand, high mountains, dense luxuriant rainforests, steep banana plantations and clear streams make it a superb holiday area. Points of interest include the Big Banana where you will find an audio-visual theatre, Aboriginal Dreamtime Cave, historic exhibits, hydroponics glasshouse and a banana packing shed. Coffs Promenade is a popular attraction, with many specialty shops and restaurants. Coffs Harbor has beautiful botanic gardens with a mangrove boardwalk; other enticements include art, crafts and antique shops.
DORRIGO NATIONAL PARK - Within an hour's drive of Coffs Harbor is the hinterland town of Bellingen and the Dorrigo National Park, which has many walking trails. Dorrigo National Park is one of Australia's most accessible rainforest areas. The Skywalk, Walk with Birds and other areas have been designed to provide easy access and impressive viewing points. The Rainforest Visitors' Centre houses a 50-seat video theatre featuring the history, ecology and beauty of rainforests in the state.