Wildlife
Animals you will not see anywhere else
About 80% of Australia's mammals, reptiles and frogs are found nowhere else. Kangaroos on the beach at Lucky Bay, quokkas on Rottnest, koalas on Kangaroo Island and in the Adelaide Hills, little penguins on Phillip Island, wild dolphins at Monkey Mia, whale sharks on Ningaloo, and Tasmanian devils in the island's wildlife sanctuaries. Whales migrate the whole east and west coast between May and November.
Mirrors Tourism Australia's own theme Wildlife.
The states and territories this theme is strongest in — tap through to the full state guide.
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. -
Lady Elliot Island A coral cay on the reef's southern tip, inside a Green Zone — manta rays year-round. -
Heron Island Step off the beach straight onto the reef; turtles nest here from November. -
Magnetic Island A 20-minute ferry from Townsville to koalas, granite boulders and 23 bays. -
Moreton Island Sand dunes, the Tangalooma wrecks and wild dolphin feeding, 75 minutes from Brisbane. -
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) Quandamooka Country — the North Gorge walk, whales offshore and freshwater lakes inland. - Southern Great Barrier Reef The quiet end of the reef — coral cays, turtle nesting and barely a crowd.
New South Wales
Sydney Harbour, surf coast, vineyards and the Blue Mountains
Victoria
Melbourne laneways, the Great Ocean Road and cool-climate wine
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. -
Rottnest Island (Wadjemup) Car-free, 63 beaches and the quokka — a 30-minute ferry from Perth or Fremantle. -
Monkey Mia Wild bottlenose dolphins visiting the shallows most mornings, in World Heritage Shark Bay. - Esperance Lucky Bay, where the sand is blinding white and kangaroos sunbathe on the beach.
South Australia
Wine regions, wildlife islands and the Flinders Ranges
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Kangaroo Island A third of it national park — sea lions on the beach, koalas in the trees and Remarkable Rocks on the cliff. -
Eyre Peninsula Oysters straight off the rack, sea lions to swim with and great whites to cage-dive. -
Adelaide Hills Cool-climate cellar doors, Hahndorf's German heritage and Cleland's koalas, 20 minutes from the city. - Fleurieu Peninsula Victor Harbor whales, Granite Island and the ferry jump-off for Kangaroo Island.
Tasmania
Wilderness, wild food and the cleanest air in the world
Northern Territory
Uluṟu, Kakadu and the world's oldest living culture
External Territories
Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) and Norfolk Island
Best bases for this
Gateway hubs that put the most of this theme within reach.
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Coming soon Adelaide and surrounds A festival city ringed by parkland, within an hour of the Barossa, McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. -
Coming soon Perth and surrounds Sunset city on the Indian Ocean, with Rottnest offshore, Fremantle downriver and Margaret River south. - Coming soon Hobart and surrounds Mount Wellington above, Salamanca and MONA below, and Bruny Island a ferry ride away.
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 -
Nature & National Parks Reef, rainforest, gorge country and the Outback -
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 -
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 -
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:
- Rottnest Island (Wadjemup) — RaucusG · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Great Barrier Reef — Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Daintree Rainforest — Mwarnes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lady Elliot Island — Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA · CC BY 2.0
- Heron Island — LBM1948 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Magnetic Island — Hagai Agmon-Snir حچاي اچمون-سنير חגי אגמון-שניר · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Moreton Island — Lenny K Photography from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) — S. Newrick · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Port Stephens — Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand · CC0
- Jervis Bay — Maksym Kozlenko · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Phillip Island — Shuicai · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wilsons Promontory — Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ningaloo Reef — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Monkey Mia — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kangaroo Island — Dualiti Photos from Brisbane, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- Eyre Peninsula — Murray Foubister · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Adelaide Hills — RegionVisitor90 · CC0
- Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair — Ryan Wilkes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bruny Island — Takver from Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Kakadu National Park — Emily Cox · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Christmas Island — ChrisBrayPhotography · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Adelaide — Lasse B. from Deutschland · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Perth — Samuel Wiki · CC BY 4.0