Great Wonders Down Under
Sabine morgan gets out into the great outdoors to feast her eyes on the greatest natural wonders to be explored in Australia.
Like something out of a fairytale with its curtains of ivy and terraced walls, this place has to be seen to be believed. Part of a network of limestone caves collapsed by corrosion from seawater waves, the resulting sinkhole was turned into a breathtaking sunken garden in 1886 and is just begging for kids to leap down the rabbit hole into its wonderland depths.
Young explorers on the Coral Coast will love the Pinnacles Desert, an otherworldly moonscape of weathered limestone pillars formed 30,000 years ago after the oceans receded. When winds shifted the surrounding sand, the pillars were exposed in spectacular style, creating a natural habitat for native wildlife and a must-see for curious tourists.
The jaw-dropping Tessellated Pavement at Eaglehawk Neck is named for thousands of squares, stacked like ancient Lego bricks, that resemble a manmade mosaic or pavement. Formed through an extremely rare type of natural erosion, kids will love exploring the many individual rock pools filled with curious and colourful marine creatures and parents will marvel at the geological oddity.
The local Anangu people believe 348-metrehigh Uluru was created by a group of ancestral spirits who emerged from the void during The Dreamtime. Explore its circumference by camel, Segway or pushbike, watch as sunrise and sunset change its colours and listen to the enchanting Creation stories at the Uluru Cultural Centre.
South Australia is home to several of the world's prettiest milkshake-pink lakes. The site of a former salt mine, Lake Macdonnell’s hue is caused by a super-high salt concentration combined with salt-gobbling algae. With neighbouring blue-green waters, separated only by a gun-barrel-straight road, it is one of the most vibrant of all.