Activities in Australia

With over 7.5 million sq km of sparsely populated territory, it’s not surprising that Australia is an adventure playground. You can chew up the km with a 4WD, or explore smaller regions by foot, horseback or even on the back of a camel. You can also find some fine touring country for cycling, though only the very experienced should tackle the dry centre. There are fabulous walks for hikers in the Northern Territory’s MacDonnell Ranges, South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, New South Wales’ Blue Mountains and Snowy Mountains (straddling the border with Victoria) and Tasmania’s vast wilderness. Australia’s best skiing and snow-boarding is in the Snowy Mountains, while in the warmer months you can clip-clop along the Snowy’s excellent horse riding trails.

There are countless surfing beaches along the Australian coast, some of them in the cities (Sydney and Perth), some in beach towns (Lorne in Victoria, Byron Bay in New South Wales and the Gold Coast in Queensland) and some in remote areas (the south-west of South Australia and the north-west of West Australia). Apart from the diving mecca which is Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, diving spots include South Australia’s Kangaroo Island (where there are several accessible shipwrecks) and West Australia’s Esperance, Rottnest Island, and Carnarvon.

Whalewatching is possible at many places; the most popular are Eden in New South Wales, Warrnambool in Victoria, Albany in Western Australia and Fraser Island in Queensland. White-water rafting and/or canoeing are possible at Coffs Harbour on New South Wales’ Nymboida River, on the upper Murray near Khancoban also in New South Wales; along Queensland’s Tully and North Johnstone rivers between Townsville and Cairns; and in Tasmania.