Ways to travel
Nature & National Parks
Reef, rainforest, gorge country and the Outback
Australia has more than 500 national parks and 20 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the range is extreme: the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree (the world's oldest living rainforest), Purnululu's beehive domes, Karijini's two-billion-year-old gorges, Tasmania's Gondwanan wilderness and the vast red Outback in between. Most of the icons sit within a couple of hours of a capital city.
Mirrors Tourism Australia's own theme Nature and national parks.
Where to find it
The states and territories this theme is strongest in — tap through to the full state guide.
© OpenFreeMap · OpenMapTiles · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn
Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef, rainforest and endless beaches
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Great Barrier Reef The world's largest coral reef system — 2,300 km of it, and the only living structure visible from space. -
Daintree Rainforest The world's oldest living rainforest, and the only place it runs straight down to the Great Barrier Reef. -
K'gari (Fraser Island) The world's largest sand island — rainforest growing on dunes, perched freshwater lakes and a 75-mile beach highway. -
The Scenic Rim Gondwana rainforest, farm-gate food and volcanic peaks an hour inland from the Gold Coast. -
Kuranda A rainforest village reached by heritage railway up and Skyrail gondola back. -
Outback Queensland Dinosaur trackways at Winton, the Stockman's Hall of Fame at Longreach and pub-to-pub red dirt. -
Glass House Mountains Volcanic plugs rising out of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, sacred to the Jinibara and Kabi Kabi peoples.
New South Wales
Sydney Harbour, surf coast, vineyards and the Blue Mountains
Victoria
Melbourne laneways, the Great Ocean Road and cool-climate wine
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Great Ocean Road 243 km of cliff-edge driving past the Twelve Apostles, built by returned soldiers as a war memorial. -
Twelve Apostles Limestone stacks standing off the Shipwreck Coast — best at sunrise, before the coaches. -
Grampians (Gariwerd) Sandstone ranges holding the richest concentration of Aboriginal rock art in southern Australia. -
Wilsons Promontory Mainland Australia's southernmost point — granite headlands, wombats and Squeaky Beach. -
Gippsland Ninety Mile Beach, alpine country and dairy-farm food east of Melbourne. -
Victoria's High Country Alpine huts, mountain-bike trails and Australia's snow season within reach of Melbourne.
Western Australia
Ningaloo, the Kimberley and a third of a continent
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Ningaloo Reef A World Heritage fringing reef you can snorkel straight off the beach — and swim with whale sharks Mar–Aug. -
Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) Orange-and-black beehive domes unknown to the wider world until 1983 — now World Heritage. -
The Kimberley Three times the size of England with fewer than 40,000 people — gorges, waterfalls and ancient rock art. -
Karijini National Park Iron-red gorges cut two billion years deep, with swimming holes at the bottom. - Coral Coast Perth to Exmouth — pink lakes, Shark Bay, the Pinnacles and Ningaloo at the end of it.
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Albany & Denmark The Great Southern — tingle forests, a treetop walk and the Southern Ocean's whale coast.
South Australia
Wine regions, wildlife islands and the Flinders Ranges
Tasmania
Wilderness, wild food and the cleanest air in the world
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Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair Dove Lake, button grass and the start of the six-day Overland Track. -
Freycinet & Wineglass Bay Pink granite peaks above a perfect crescent of white sand on Tasmania's east coast. -
Tasman Peninsula Australia's highest sea cliffs, the Three Capes Track and the Port Arthur convict site. -
Tasmania's Wild West Coast Rainforest, the Gordon River and Strahan — the wettest, wildest edge of the island.
Northern Territory
Uluṟu, Kakadu and the world's oldest living culture
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Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa A 348 m monolith on Aṉangu Country, handed back to its Traditional Owners in 1985 — and the spiritual heart of Australia. -
Kakadu National Park Nearly 20,000 km² of wetlands, escarpment and rock art galleries painted over tens of thousands of years. -
Kings Canyon (Watarrka) 300 m sandstone walls and the Rim Walk down into the Garden of Eden. -
Litchfield National Park Waterfalls you can swim under, magnetic termite mounds and an easy day trip from Darwin. -
Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) Thirteen sandstone gorges on Jawoyn Country, paddled by canoe or walked on the Jatbula Trail. -
The Red Centre The West MacDonnell Ranges, the Larapinta Trail and desert nights with no light pollution at all.
Australian Capital Territory
The national capital — museums, galleries and cool-climate wine
External Territories
Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) and Norfolk Island
Best bases for this
Gateway hubs that put the most of this theme within reach.
- Cairns and surrounds The reef-and-rainforest base — Great Barrier Reef boats out the front, the Daintree and Kuranda behind.
- Coming soon Hobart and surrounds Mount Wellington above, Salamanca and MONA below, and Bruny Island a ferry ride away.
- Coming soon Alice Springs and surrounds The Red Centre's town — West MacDonnell gorges, the Larapinta Trail and the road to Uluṟu.
Other ways to travel
- Aboriginal Australia The world's oldest continuing culture, shared on Country
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Beaches & Islands More than 10,000 beaches and 8,000 islands -
Wildlife Animals you will not see anywhere else -
Food & Drink 65 wine regions, world-class coffee and native ingredients - Road Trips & Drives The Great Ocean Road, the Gibb River Road and everything between
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Walks & Hikes Great Walks, coastal tracks and city-edge escapes -
Adventure & Sports Dive, surf, sail, climb and sandboard - Arts & Culture Galleries, laneways, festivals and convict history
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Luxury Wilderness lodges, private islands and long-distance trains -
Health & Wellness Hot springs, retreats and slow coastal days -
Family Travel Wildlife parks, theme parks and safe swimming -
Eco-friendly Travel Low-impact islands, eco-lodges and travel that gives back
Photography
Images on this page are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licences (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA) and are photographs of the places named. Author, licence and source for each:
- K'gari (Fraser Island) — UrbanDruid · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Great Barrier Reef — Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Daintree Rainforest — Mwarnes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Scenic Rim — John Robert McPherson · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kuranda — Kgbo · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Outback Queensland — Josselin Berger · CC BY 2.0
- Glass House Mountains — Lucbruna · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Blue Mountains — Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mungo National Park — Kevinzoo45 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Great Ocean Road — Bob Tan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Twelve Apostles — Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Grampians (Gariwerd) — Joshua Tagicakibau · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wilsons Promontory — Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gippsland — Julie Constable · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Victoria's High Country — Matt from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- Ningaloo Reef — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Kimberley — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Karijini National Park — Iktoh · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Albany & Denmark — Gypsy Denise · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kangaroo Island — Dualiti Photos from Brisbane, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- Flinders Ranges — Faj2323 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair — Ryan Wilkes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Freycinet & Wineglass Bay — Mikeybear · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Tasman Peninsula — JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Tasmania's Wild West Coast — Magic lyrebird · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa — Emily Cox · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kakadu National Park — Emily Cox · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kings Canyon (Watarrka) — Toby Hudson · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Litchfield National Park — Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) — Ovico · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Red Centre — Murray Foubister · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Namadgi National Park — Dhx1 · CC0
- Christmas Island — ChrisBrayPhotography · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Norfolk Island — Inas · CC BY-SA 4.0