Earlier this year, we asked the Australian Traveller community to vote for their favourite things to do in Australia. We received hundreds upon hundreds of nominations, from local secrets to stumbled-upon surprises and well-tramped icons of The Outback. From that list, we asked a panel of ten well-respected and well-travelled Australians to help us vote on the final 100 – they rated each from 1 to 10 based on their personal knowledge or interest in the experience and thus we created the top 100 things we feel every Australian traveller must do before they die.
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Australian Traveller's 100 Things To Do Before You Die
Lord Howe Island is a small island in the Tasman Sea 600 kilometres (370 mi) east of the Australian mainland. The Lord Howe Island Group, including nearby Balls Pyramid, is administered by the Lord Howe Island Board, and is part of the Mid-North Coast Statistical Division of New South Wales, Australia. It is not considered a Local Government Area and is therefore unincorporated (as is the Unincorporated Far West Region), but is self-governed by the Lord Howe Island Board.
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National Park, and a population of 16,230. The region was named by Matthew Flinders after the Dutch ship Arnhem which explored the coast in 1623.
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The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometre (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I.
Monkey Mia is a popular tourist resort located about 800 km north of Perth, Western Australia. The resort is 25 km northeast of the town of Denham in the Shark Bay Marine Park and World Heritage Site. The main attraction is the daily feeding of the bottlenose Dolphins that have been coming close to shore for more than forty years. Rangers from the Department of Environment and Conservation carefully supervise the process.
King Island is one of the islands that make up the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is by far the largest of a group known as New Year Islands, comprising King Island, New Year Island and Christmas Island to the northwest and smaller Councillor Island to the east. The southernmost point is called Stokes Point and the northernmost point is called Cape Wickham. It is located in Bass Strait, off the north-western tip of the main island of Tasmania, about half way between Tasmania and Victoria.
The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory. The region was named after the Kimberley diamond fields in South Africa. This was due to the two areas sharing a similar landscape.
Ningaloo Reef is a fringing coral reef located off the west coast of Australia, approximately 1200 km north of Perth. The reef is 260 km long and is Australia's largest fringing coral reef and the only large reef positioned very close to a landmass. It is known for its seasonal feeding concentrations of the whale shark, and the conservation debate surrounding its potential tourism development. In 1987 the reef and surrounding waters were designated as the Ningaloo Marine Park.
Manly ferry services connect the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD by commuter ferry. The services are provided by Sydney Ferries Corporation, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. The route is coloured light blue on the current Sydney Ferries network map. Vessels in the Freshwater class generally operate these services.
Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in Northern Territory, Australia. Sitting at the western end of the George Gill Range, it is 323 km southwest of Alice Springs and 1,316 km south of Darwin.
Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings.
Lady Musgrave Island is a 14 hectares (35 acres) coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef, with a 1,192 hectares (2,950 acres) surrounding reef. The island is the second island in the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands (with the first being Lady Elliot Island), and is most easily reached from the town of 1770, Queensland, located on approximately 5 hours north of Brisbane.
Phillip Island is an Australian island located about 140 km south-southeast from Melbourne, Victoria. Named after the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, Phillip Island forms a natural breakwater for the shallow waters of Western Port. The island area is approximately 10,000 hectares. It is 26 kilometres long and 9 kilometres at its widest. It has 97 km of coastline and is part of the Bass Coast Shire.
The Great Barrier Reef is home to over 1,500 species of fish, making it a diver's paradise.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.
Hervey Bay is a city in Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately 290 kilometres (180 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane, and lies on the coast of a natural bay between the Queensland mainland and nearby Fraser Island. The local economy relies on tourism, for which whale watching, Fraser Island and Lady Elliot Island and Hervey Bay's calm beaches are the major drawcards. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia.
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 2200 km north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season. Broome International Airport provides transport to several regional and domestic towns and cities.
Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. Port Arthur is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and the open air museum is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. It is located approximately 60 km south east of the state capital, Hobart. In 1996 it was the scene of the worst mass murder event in post-colonial Australian history.
Lamington is a national park in Queensland, Australia, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is 85 km to the southwest and Brisbane is 110 km north. Lamington National Park is known for its natural beauty, rainforests, birdlife, ancient trees, waterfalls, walking tracks and mountain views.
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is 112 kilometres (70 mi) southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. At its closest point to the mainland, it is 13 kilometres (8 mi) offshore from Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is 150 km (93 mi) long and between 900 m (980 yd) and 57 km (35 mi) wide, its area covering 4,405 km (1,701 sq mi).
Steep Point is the westernmost point of the Australian mainland. It is located within the Shark Bay World Heritage site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
Kosciuszko National Park covers 690,000 hectares and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko for which it is named, and Cabramurra the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers.
Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. At the 2006 census its population was 1,916 (1,084 males, 832 females, including 268 indigenous Australians). The town is known as the opal capital of the world because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. It is also famous for most of the residents living below ground, mostly in old mines refurbished, due to the scorching daytime heat.
Coles Bay, the hub of Tourism on Tasmania's east coast, is an Australian town on the east Coast of Tasmania located 192 km (2hrs 20min drive) north east of Hobart and 209 km (2hrs 30min drive) south east of Launceston, being the main entrance point for visitors to the Freycinet National Park.
The Barossa Valley is a major wine-producing region and tourist destination of South Australia, located 60 km northeast of Adelaide. It is the valley formed by the North Para River, and the Barossa Valley Way is the main road through the valley, connecting the main towns on the valley floor of Nuriootpa, Tanunda, Rowland Flat and Lyndoch.
The Gibb River Road is a former cattle route that stretches almost 660 kilometres (410 mi) through The Kimberley between the Western Australian town of Derby and the Kununurra and Wyndham junction of the Great Northern Highway. Like its namesake, which does not actually cross the road but runs nearby at 16°06.108′S 126°31.075′E / 16.1018°S 126.517917°E / -16.1018; 126.517917, it is named after geologist and explorer Andrew Gibb Maitland.
Whitehaven Beach is a 6 km stretch along Whitsunday Island. The island is accessible by boat from the mainland tourist ports of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour. The beach was award Queensland's Cleanest Beach in Keep Australia Beautiful's 2008 Clean Beach Challenge State Awards. In July 2010, Whitehaven Beach was named the top Eco Friendly Beach in the world by CNN. com. Dogs are not permitted on the beach and cigarette smoking is prohibited.
Sydney Harbour's New Year's Eve fireworks display is one of the largest in the world, attracting over a million spectators annually.
Sydney New Year's Eve is an annual multi-tiered event held every New Year's Eve over Sydney Harbour, centering on the Harbour Bridge. Its main features are the two pyrotechnic displays, the 9pm Family Fireworks and the Midnight Fireworks, both of which are televised nationally by current broadcaster the Nine Network. Each year the event takes on a new theme and is regularly viewed by more than one million people at the harbour and one billion worldwide for the televised Midnight Fireworks.
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They are mostly part of Queensland, a constituent State of the Commonwealth of Australia, with a special status fitting the native land rights, administered by the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. The bridge is locally nicknamed "The Coat Hanger" because of its arch-based design.
Cable Beach is a 22 kilometres (14 mi) stretch of beach near Broome, Western Australia. Cable Beach was named after the telegraph cable laid between Broome and Java in 1889.
Karijini National Park is a National Park centred in the Hamersley Ranges of the Pilbara region in northwestern Western Australia. It is just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, approximately 1055 km from the State's capital city, Perth. It was formerly known as Hamersley National Park. At 6274 km², it is the second largest national park in Western Australia.
The Trial (1947) is a painting by the Australian painter Sidney Nolan. This painting depicts Ned Kelly's trial, where Kelly is depicted in handcuffs. A judge and several people look at him in the court. The painting is one of a number by Nolan to use enamel paint, usually Ripolin, a commercial paint not intended for art (and nothing to do with true vitreous enamel). Nolan painted the picture at Heide at Bulleen, Victoria, the home of John Reed and his wife, Sunday.
The Melbourne Cup is known as "the race that stops a nation" and attracts over 100,000 spectators each year.
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Billed as The race that stops a nation, it is a race for three-year-olds and over, over a distance of 3,200 metres. It is the richest and most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races in the world. The event is held at around 3 pm on the first Tuesday in November by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne; home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the largest stadium in Australia, and holds the world record for the highest light towers at any sporting venue. The MCG is within walking distance of the city centre, and is serviced by Richmond railway station, Richmond and Jolimont railway station, East Melbourne. It is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct.
Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. The entire island is a National Park. Maria Island National Park has a total area of 115.50 km² which includes a marine area of 18.78 km², off the island's north-west coast. The island is about 20 km in length from north to south and, at its widest, is about 13 km west to east. At its closest point (Point Lesueur), the island lies four kilometres off the east coast of Tasmania. Tasmanians pronounce the name /məˈraɪ.
The Larapinta Trail is an extended walking track in the Northern Territory, Australia. Its total length covers 223 kilometres (139 mi) from East to West, with one end at Alice Springs and the other at Mount Sonder, one of the territory's highest mountains. It follows the West MacDonnell Ranges, sometimes along the ridge line, other times on the plain below, in the West MacDonnell National Park.
The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is a celebration of country music culture and heritage, in particular the national Australian country music scene, with numerous concerts and live performances at various venues. During the festival the city of Tamworth comes alive with visitors from all across the country and worldwide.
Robe is a town and fishing port on the South East Limestone Coast of South Australia. The town's distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush is widely appreciated. Robe lies on the southern shore of Guichen Bay, just off the Princes Highway. At the 2006 census, Robe had a population of 1,246. Guichen Bay was named by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin after Admiral De Guichen in 1802, as he was charting the south coast of Australia.
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about 200,000 square kilometres (77,000 sq mi). At its widest point, it stretches about 1,100 kilometres (684 mi) from east to west between South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA).
The Pinnacles are limestone formations contained within Nambung National Park, near the town of Cervantes, Western Australia.
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who, in 2003, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour. The Pritzker Prize citation stated: “ There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece.
The Great Barrier Reef is home to over 1,500 species of fish, making it a diver's paradise.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.
Cape Tribulation is a headland and locality in northern Queensland, Australia 110 km north of Cairns. It is located within the Daintree National Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. The locality contains a small number of tourism resorts and backpacker hostels. A sealed road provides access to the area from the south via the Daintree River Ferry.
The Mary River is a river system in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises at Booroobin in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, west of Caloundra. From its source, the Mary River flows north through the towns of Kenilworth, Gympie, Tiaro and Maryborough before emptying into the Great Sandy Strait, a passage of water between the mainland and Fraser Island, near the town of River Heads, 17 km south of Hervey Bay.
Mount Isa is a city in North-West Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc. With a population of 23,000 in the city and 31,000 in the surrounding district, Mount Isa is the administrative, commercial and industrial centre for the state's vast north-western region.
Hill End is a former gold mining town in New South Wales, Australia, in Bathurst Regional Council. It owes its existence to the New South Wales gold rush of the 1850s, and at its peak in the early 1870s it had a population estimated at 8,000 served by two newspapers, five banks, eight churches, and twenty-eight pubs. Its decline when the gold gave out was dramatic: by 1945 the population was 700. At the 2006 census, Hill End had a population of 166 people.
Daintree is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1,502 km (933 mi) northwest of Brisbane and 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Cairns. It was founded in 1981 and is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. In 1988 it was granted listing as a World Heritage List. The park consists of two sections, with a settled agricultural area between them which includes the towns of Mossman and Daintree Village. Daintree National Park is valued because of its exception biodiversity.
Macquarie Harbour is a large, shallow, but navigable by shallow draft vessels inlet on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.
The Tiwi Islands are part of Australia's Northern Territory, north of Darwin where the Arafura Sea joins the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island and Bathurst Island, with a combined area of 8,320 square kilometres (3,212 sq mi). Inhabited before European settlement by the Tiwi indigenous Australians, there are approximately 2500 people on the islands. The Tiwi Land Council is one of four in the Northern Territory.
Wilson Island is one of eight vegetated coral cays in the Capricornia Cays National Park. It is located north of the Tropic of Capricorn, approximately 72 kilometres north east off the coast of Gladstone, Queensland and 15 kilometres from nearby Heron Island. It is also part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
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