Australia Is A Vast Country, Though Most Visitors Stay On The Same Tried And Tested Track, Ticking Off Well-touristed Pitstops Along The Way. But, Of Course, There's Plenty More To See Beyond The Usual Sydney, Rock And Reef Holiday Triangle. Here’s Our Pi

1. For wildlife: Mackay, Queensland

Surrounded by sugarcane and with a primary street well shaded by tropical foliage, Mackay is a fantastic base for going to Eungella National Park.

This charming jungle has rivers abundant enough in platypus to make seeing one nearly guaranteed. Your best http://www.thefreedictionary.com/australia chance is at Broken River, where the viewing platform is surrounded by ferns and vines-- pack a picnic and wait a while in silence to see them.

Afterwards, take a hike on walking tracks through the trees, ideal for birdwatching and goanna spotting, or head back to town for a walk along the golden sands of Harbour Beach.

2. For legendary sundowns: Tower Hill, Victoria

Continue just a little further west from the Great Ocean Road and you'll find this volcanic crater. Surrounded by beds of ash, it's a fertile green sanctuary that is home to koalas and kangaroos aplenty.

The guided walks from the visitor centre will present you to the wildlife, in addition to to the Aboriginal history-- and you'll discover how to rustle up some bushtucker. However the sundown-- best seen from the crater's rim-- is the centerpiece. Stick around afterwards and join the directed night walk to see the fauna at its most active.

3. For awesome images: Devil's Marbles, Northern Territory

You'll need to commit to a long drive for this one-- however it's well worth it. Some 130km south of Tennant Creek, en path to Alice Springs, you'll discover a geological phenomenon: a fistful of rock marbles flung throughout the Wilderness.

Envision them as the eponymous marbles, or as the eggs of the rainbow snake from the regional Aboriginal story. In any case, they're best fodder for the keen photographer.

4. For wine: Denmark, Western Australia

Let Margaret River keep its crowds of red wine tourers and head instead to Denmark on the south coast. Here you'll find an easygoing cluster of shop wineries and hyper-local dining establishments below a karri tree canopy. Head for the hills inland and go to Castelli Estate for fantastic Pinot Noir and Shiraz or hit Howard Park for red wines that combine the best of both Denmark and Margaret River grapes.

Do not miss Pepper and Salt for dinner, where chef Silas utilizes the area's premium produce to create dishes inspired by his Fijian-Indian heritage. And go to in March or April for Taste Fantastic Southern, which commemorates the region's outstanding regional fruit and vegetables.

5. For an unbelievable journey: The Nullarbor Plain, South Australia

Superlatives abound on the Nullarbor-- it's the world's largest single piece of limestone, the world's longest stretch of straight railway track and even the universe's longest golf course.

All that produces one long (but legendary) drive, punctuated just by lookouts over the Great Australian Bight (next stop Antarctica), dusty roadhouses and the odd pitstop to hit a golf ball, if you're so likely.

6. For camping and climbs: Freycinet National forest, Tasmania

Freycinet may be one of Tassie's a lot of checked out websites, however that does not indicate you'll bump into anyone else on a walk here. Go out on the 31km peninsula circuit and you'll soon shake off any fellow visitors (so bring lots of water) as you tramp anti-clockwise around the peninsula from the Hazards Beach Track to the Wineglass Bay lookout.

Outdoor camping is at Cooks Beach and there's time to climb Mount Freycinet (the summit is 620m above water level). Once you're done, start those treking boots and dig your toes into the unspoiled white sands of Wineglass Bay.

7. For unequalled hiking: New England National Park, New South Wales

Ancient rain forest capes the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, much of it an inaccessible wilderness that would easily pass for the Amazon. New England National forest opens this UNESCO World Heritage rain forest for visitors, providing strolling tracks through the snow gums and lookouts from which the view extends all the way to the coast.

Take the Eagles Nest track, a 2.2 km loop, and you'll see Antarctic beech trees covered in fungus, endemic beech orchids and dripping waterfalls, often frozen undiscover australia in winter. You'll ultimately reach Point lookout for those breathtaking rain forest views.