Wendy Kennedy - Australia — 14 July 2005
My family and I have just completed the Brisbane to Cairns leg of the Strewth pass and had a great time. The smaller buses are excellent and create a nice dynamic between passengers. The drivers were professional and all very different in personality type which helps make the trip interesting. One suggestion…..as Cairns is popular and beds are sometimes hard to find, it would be a good idea to advise passengers to start making their bookings from about Mission Beach onwards. The fact that a list of accommodation contacts is available on the earlier legs lulls the passenger into thinking they will also have the same service available enroute to Cairns on the last day. Unfortunately mobile service and the internet are not readily available on this final leg of the tour and we found that we had to contact more hostels than included in the Oz Experience guide before finding accommodation.
Please don’t dispense with the list of accommodation on the bus as this is a strong feature of the personalized service we experienced and were extremely happy with. I have completed similar trips with the Blarney Bus in Ireland and the Haggis Tour in Scotland and Oz Experience new approach is very much on par in terms of quality with these two tours.
I understand also that you used to visit Kuranda Backpacker Hostel and I can appreciate why you would not include this stop given its proximity to Cairns. This is a tad unfortunate as the location is unique and the hostel has a special vibe about it. Perhaps you could drive past and point it out to passengers as a place to return during their stay in Cairns.
