The East Coast: Sydney to Cairns in 14 Days

Spend a full day in Sydney before you start driving. The harbour walk from the Opera House to Mrs Macquaries Point and the ferry to Manly are the obvious choices. Pick up the rental car the next morning.

Drive north on the Pacific Highway. Stop at Newcastle for breakfast and the Bogey Hole. Aim to be in Port Macquarie by mid-afternoon for the koala hospital and the long beach walk south to Lighthouse Beach.

Continue north past Coffs Harbour and the Big Banana, then through the dairy country south of Byron. Arrive in Byron Bay in time for an evening drink at one of the cliffside bars and the lighthouse walk at sunset.

Take the day off from driving. Surf at Wategos or the Pass, walk to the Cape Byron Lighthouse (mainland Australia's most easterly point), and explore the hinterland villages of Bangalow and Federal in the afternoon.

Cross the border into Queensland at Tweed Heads and drive up the Gold Coast. Optional stops at Burleigh Heads for the headland walk, or theme parks at Oxenford. Continue to Brisbane for the night and dinner along the South Bank river.

Spend the morning in Brisbane (Story Bridge, GOMA, Howard Smith Wharves) then drive north to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. The Noosa headland walk is the obvious afternoon activity, finishing on Hells Gates beach.

Drive north through the rainforest of the Glasshouse Mountains and on to Hervey Bay. This is the launch point for Fraser Island (K'gari). Whale watching tours run from June to October.

The longest day of the trip. 700 kilometres of mostly straight Bruce Highway through Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Mackay. Break the drive into two halves with an overnight in Rockhampton if you'd rather not push it. Otherwise arrive in Airlie Beach in the evening.

Take a full-day boat to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet. Most operators include a snorkel stop on the way back. The Whitsundays are 74 islands and you only see a handful of them on a day trip, but Whitehaven is the iconic one.

Drive north to Townsville. The town is the gateway to Magnetic Island, a 25-minute ferry across the bay. The Strand beach in Townsville is good for an evening walk.

Drive 240 kilometres north past Wallaman Falls (worth a 90 minute detour to the lookout) and through Tully to Mission Beach, the closest mainland point to the reef.

A short drive into Cairns. Spend the afternoon planning the reef and Daintree days at the Esplanade. Book reef tours for tomorrow and a Daintree day for day 14.

Full day on the outer reef from Cairns. Snorkel two or three sites, lunch on the boat, return by 5pm. The reward at the end of two weeks of driving.

Final day. Drive north to the Daintree, take the river ferry, and walk a section of the rainforest before returning to Cairns Airport for an evening flight home. Drop the rental at the airport.