Australia – the best bucket list things to see and do

Vast, sunlit, untamed yet disarmingly friendly – Australia casts a particular kind of spell. From red centre to turquoise reef, it’s a place of seemingly endless open space. The people reflect that openness: easy going, irreverent, quick with a laugh. Welcome to Oz, where strangers can easily become mates before the sun sets.

Slicing dramatically through ancient sandstone in the Northern Territory’s Nitmiluk National Park, this is actually a series of 13 gorges linked by the Katherine River. Take a boat trip beneath towering cliffs and keep an eye out for cockatoos and eagles.

Uluru

This massive monolith (formerly known as Ayers Rock) is a sacred site to indigenous Australians and rises 1,141 feet above the desert floor in the Red Centre, with a six-mile girth. It’s the iron oxide in the sandstone that makes it glow at sunset.

Valley of the Winds, Kata Tjuta

More than a mere sideshow to Uluru, Kata Tjuta or The Olgas is a spectacular group of 36 domed rocks spread over 11 square miles of land. The narrow Walpa Gorge between two of the largest rocks is a haven for wallabies and wildflowers.

12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road

There were never 12 of them, and they weren’t originally known as apostles, but these seven limestone stacks off the Great Ocean Road are one of Australia’s most iconic views. At sunset, their yellow colour changes and glows orangey-red.

Float above the forest canopy on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, then wind your way back down through Barron Gorge on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which passes through 15 tunnels and over no fewer than 55 bridges.

Grab a selfie with a quokka, the pint-sized marsupial with a cheeky grin that’s endemic to a tiny slice of southwest Australia and thrives on Rottnest. Their stubby tails double as fat stores, letting them survive for weeks without food.

Turtle at the Great Barrier Reef

The world’s largest coral reef system stretches more than 1,250 miles, with plenty of opportunities to see marine life, including a kaleidoscope of fish, sea turtles, manta rays and giant clams, not to mention coral. And yes, you can see the Great Barrier Reef from space.

Nearly half the size of Switzerland, Kakadu is home to 10,000 crocodiles plus their hatchlings. If prey gets too close, the crocs can use their muscular tails to propel themselves out of the water to snatch it.

Little penguins

Every evening on Phillip Island, hundreds of little penguins waddle ashore in the “Penguin Parade”, a nightly commute that’s part adorable, part slapstick. The world’s smallest penguins – formerly known as fairy penguins – are just 12 inches high.

At this sanctuary near Brisbane, you can get up close to a koala, feed kangaroos and watch wombats and possums going about their business (ie sleeping and eating). Opened in 1927, it’s the world’s oldest and largest koala sanctuary.

Sydney’s iconic architecture needs no introduction. See it from a different angle by climbing one of the world’s largest steel arch bridges to gaze down onto Jorn Utzon’s Opera House, with more than a million roof tiles covering the sail-like exterior.

The 18,000 works in the Art Gallery of Western Australia include many created by Aboriginal artists and Torres Strait Islanders. Enjoy an open-air sculpture walk on the rooftop with views of the city skyline along with Christopher Pease’s 115-foot long artwork.

In February 1942, the Japanese dropped more bombs on Darwin than they had on Pearl Harbour just weeks earlier. Find out about the devastating air raids at the Darwin Military Museum.

Some 10,000 convicts passed through Fremantle Prison, which was originally called The Convict Establishment, between 1850 and 1868. After becoming a general prison from 1868, it was de-commissioned in 1991.

The cottage that was built in Yorkshire by Captain James Cook’s parents was taken apart, shipped to Australia, and rebuilt in Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens in 1934. However, the famous explorer never lived in the cottage.

There’s no better place to see the day break than at Australia’s easternmost point, complete with a lighthouse. Afterwards, head off for an early-morning swim and breakfast at one of the beachside cafes; hire kayaks to spot dolphins, turtles and whales.

Manly Beach, New South Wales

Jump on the ferry from Sydney’s Circular Quay and enjoy the harbour views en route to Manly Beach, where you can hire bikes to ride along the pine-tree-lined shore before tucking into barramundi and chips on the seafront.

It’s not called Surfers Paradise for nothing – the beach is a great place to catch a wave. Take lessons or watch the experts do their thing on this beach backed by high rises, where thoroughbred horses gallop down the sands in the Magic Millions Carnival each January.

The first stretch of urban sand in Oz to be granted a liquor licence, Fremantle’s Bathers Beach has a fun vibe. Order a beer (which the locals call a tinny) and drink it with your toes in the water.

Bondi Beach, Sydney

Sydney’s buzziest beach, Bondi is a great place for people watching, as well as surfing. Be sure to take a dip in the Icebergs Pool, a public saltwater pool that makes a great photographic contrast against the ocean.

This isolated corner of Western Australia bordered by both the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean produces elegant cabernet sauvignons and crisp chardonnays. Some 80 per cent of the plant species are unique to the area.

The birthplace of Australian wine, the Hunter Valley in New South Wales is famed for its classic white semillon, with citrus and apple notes. It’s also known for its bold, rich shiraz produced from some of the oldest vines in the world.

They say it’s attitude as well as altitude that’s behind the sparkling wines made from chardonnay and pinot noir in South Australia. Although they use the méthode champenoise, the resulting alcohol is very different from French bubbly, with more fruity flavour.

Famed for its fortified wines, this region of north-east Victoria is home to family-run wineries such as Morris of Rutherford, which has been operating since 1859. The sticky muscats and topaques are made from grapes left to shrivel on the vine.

Produced in Queensland’s Granite Belt Wine Country, Australia’s highest wine region, these cool-climate wines embrace unusual grape varieties rarely used elsewhere in Oz. You can even follow a Strange Bird wine trail.

A firm, mild fish, whose name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘large-scaled river fish’, Barramundi is a staple on restaurant menus Down Under. Fish can weigh up to nine stone.

Australians and New Zealanders have long argued about where this meringue dessert with whipped cream and fresh fruit was invented. Australia’s version of ‘pav’ was created by Herbert Sachse in 1935 at Perth’s Esplanade Hotel.

Just as the Brits have Cornish pasties, the Aussies have meat pies, often eaten one-handed at the footie and filled with meat and gravy. Australians eat about 270 million of them annually – an average of 12 per person.

Whether it’s steaks or skewers, roo burgers or jerky, kangaroo meat is high in protein and low in fat. A staple among the indigenous people for 40,000 years, it was only legalised for human consumption throughout the entire country in 1993.

Australia’s national breakfast spread hit the grocery shelves in 1923; it was invented to make good on a post-war shortage of Marmite. To mark its centenary, the Royal Australian Mint issued a special coin featuring Vegemite on toast with a bite taken out of it.

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