Australia's cities are some of the most livable on Earth, and its wilderness is genuinely ancient — rocks that predate the concept of continents, animals that exist nowhere else, coastline that hasn't been seen by many people at all. The travelers who get it right understand that flying over the country is how you miss it.
What to do there
- 01
The Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland — one of the oldest rainforests on Earth (180 million years, predating the Amazon). Cooper Creek Wilderness runs the best tours and employs local Kuku Yalanji guides whose knowledge of the forest has been inherited for 50,000 years.
- 02
Fremantle (20 minutes by train from Perth) — a Victorian port town with a living food and music scene, the best fish and chips at Cicerello's on the wharf, and the Fremantle Prison candlelight tunnel tours covering 150 years of colonial history honestly.
- 03
Great Ocean Road's western half (Apollo Bay to Port Campbell) — the Twelve Apostles at sunrise before tour coaches, rainforest of Otway National Park, and tiny towns where surf culture and fishing culture have always coexisted. Great Ocean Road Brewhouse in Apollo Bay for lunch.
- 04
Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory — Aboriginal Australians have lived here for 65,000 years and the rock art at Ubirr records that entire arc of human presence. Go at sunset and wait: the escarpment goes blood orange, fruit bats stream out by thousands, a Bininj ranger explains what the paintings mean.
- 05
Margaret River wine region in Western Australia — specifically the morning at Cape Leeuwin lighthouse at the corner where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean, then lunch at Vasse Felix winery (the region's oldest, 1967) with their art gallery and kitchen garden.
Best time to go
Varies by region: Daintree and Kakadu are April–September. Victoria and the Great Ocean Road are October–April. The Red Centre is only comfortable April–October.
Insider tip
The café culture in Melbourne and Fremantle is arguably the best in the world. Market Lane Coffee in Melbourne's Prahran Market has been roasting since 2009 and serves filter coffee that will ruin you for hotel breakfasts forever.
Where in the world
Sound of Australia
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