Australia’s best natural landmarks
Sarah Pollok discovers Australia’s biggest and best natural landmarks to put on the wishlist for when the bubble begins on April 19
They were talking about lovers when they said distance makes the heart grow fonder, but make no mistake, the same goes for our beloved travel plans. If we had any doubts of the power a little separation can wield, they were well and truly dashed when the borders shut and even “across the Ditch” became a trip too far.
Fast forward a few months and Australia quickly developed an overpowering allure, becoming the destination of countless daydreams. However, as it turns out, the vast continent is full of otherworldly attractions and recordbreaking sites, if you know where to look.
As we prepare for Monday’s start of the transtasman bubble, we can let our hesitant hopes snowball into fully-fledged travel plans. Now the time has come and we can finally make it over, we will realise Australia really is as otherworldly and exotic as we had dreamed, with majestic sights and world-record attractions waiting to be found.
ICONIC LANDMARKS
Visit the world’s biggest and most famous rock
Taller than the Eiffel Tower, Uluru towers 348m above the surrounding desert plains. Around 550 million years old, it’s easy to see why the Northern Territory’s mighty rock was deemed spiritually sacred by the Aboriginal people when you watch its colour transform at sunrise and sunset. Turn the visit into an epic road trip when you take the Red Centre Way loop from
Alice Springs all the way to Uluru.
Swim through the world’s largest ecosystem
Explore the world hidden under water when you dive into the Great Barrier Reef. Stretched 2300km along Queensland’s coast, the gigantic reef is home to more than 1500 fish species and six different species of marine turtles. Take your adventure to the next level and book a tour at Adrenalin Snorkel and Dive. Departing from Townsville, you’ll explore bustling reefs and visit the Southern Hemisphere’s first underwater museum.
Wander the world’s oldest rainforest
When Sir David Attenborough calls something “the most extraordinary place on Earth”, you know it’s worth a visit. At 180 million years old, Daintree Rainforest in Northern Queensland is a storybook kind of paradise, with lush canopies, emeraldgreen ferns and twisting vines. Take a trek through the ancient forest or see it from the treetops with a zipline trip.
Take in the beauty of Sydney Harbour from the top of the city
Sydney’s harbour is now full of man-made attractions but there’s no denying the beauty of its waters and bays in their own right. To get the best view of it all, head to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with BridgeClimb. Made up of 1621 steps, 360-degree views and 500m of vertical climb, their new “Ultimate Climb” goes where no tour has gone before, giving tourists the first chance ever to scale the entire bridge.
UNMISSABLE LANDMARKS
Drive the Great Ocean Road
For those who love ocean views and scenic drives, make sure to cruise along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Best known for the dramatic rock formation, the 12 Apostles (a misleading name given four have been toppled by raging tides), the 243km stretch is full of sweeping panoramas of rugged coastline, with even the odd koala to be spotted in roadside trees. Make the most of the trip and take your time journeying down the coast, staying at the totally self-sufficient Great Eco Lodge.
Explore the Blue Mountains
Drive just two hours out of Sydney and you’ll find more than a million hectares of forest, sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and bushland known
as the Blue Mountains National Park. Here is the home of the Three Sisters, an ancient rock formation with a rich Aboriginal legend behind it. Tour through the park on foot, by mountainbike, or take the world’s steepest railway down the valley with Scenic World.
See dramatic landscapes in the Kimberley
Triple the size of England with fewer than 40,000 inhabitants, Western Australia’s Kimberley region is one of the world’s final corners of real wilderness. From pristine beaches and majestic canyons to swimming holes and flourishing wildlife, the remote region is full of opportunities to connect with Aussie’s unique natural landscapes and Aboriginal culture. Be sure to pay a visit to the remarkable Horizontal Falls at Talbot Bay, one of the world’s most unusual waterfalls, created by tidal flows.
Choose your own adventure in the Scenic Rim
If you have a heart for rugged adventure and thrilling escapades, Queensland’s Scenic Rim is definitely worth the trip. Just one hour from Brisbane, the region boasts dozens of activities to suit every kind of traveller, with hundreds of kilometres of walking tracks, hang-gliding, hot air ballooning, kayaking or fishing. Want to take it a little slower? Check out the area’s awardwinning wineries and gourmet restaurants, regional art galleries and village markets.
Visit Australia’s underground town
On its unassuming surface, Coober Pedy seems like any other Outback town, set in the heart of the South Australian desert. Yet venture underground and you’ll find a trove of attractions in what is the opal capital of the world. Learn about the rich mining history at the Umoona Opal Museum, wander the world’s first underground Catholic Church and check out the vast Painted Desert, which features in films like Mad Max.
See South Australia’s iconic pink lakes
If algae aren’t high on your list of “must-see” phenomena, you’re not alone. But pay a visit to Lake MacDonnell in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula and you may reconsider. The result of algae and bacteria reacting together, the vibrantly pink lakes seem like something out of a Disney movie, made all the more dramatic by a contrasting bright blue lake separated by a stretch of white gravel road. Time your visit for mid-morning or sunset to catch the best spectrum of colour.
Swim under waterfalls at the Top End
Nothing helps you reconnect with the wilderness like swimming in a forest waterfall, and Litchfield National Park boasts some of the best. Less than a two-hour drive south of Darwin, the lush park is home to several waterfalls that are perfect for taking a dip. With an accessible ramp, Wangi Falls is the most popular and you can splash between twin waterfalls at Florence Falls or enjoy a chain of shallow, spalike pools at Bluey Rockhole.
Walk in the world’s largest dinosaur footsteps
Step back in time (around 130 million years, to be exact), when you visit Broome, WA to see the world’s largest dinosaur footprints. A staggering 1.7m in size, these gigantic footsteps were supposedly made by a curious sauropod who travelled 80km along the Western Australian coast. Continue the archaeological adventure down in ACT with the interactive dinosaurs, skeletons and fossils at Canberra’s National Dinosaur Museum.
Watch the sky light up at the bottom of the country
Norway may be off the travel cards but lucky for anyone who has the polar lights on their bucket list, you can see an equally stunning show just across the Ditch. Make your way to Tasmania’s Bruny Island or Cradle Mountain during the winter months of May and August or September’s spring equinox to see the majestic green, blue, purple and red lights illuminate the inky sky.
Please check the latest border restrictions in each state and territory before travelling. For more information visit australia.com