Other exotic places

You probably know about the red monolith in Australia’s Red Centre.

You may know it’s sacred to the Aboriginal people here, and that it turns some spectacular colours at sunrise and sunset. You might not know that you can experience it through Aboriginal eyes, or that there are many other sacred and breathtaking sites here in Australia’s vast centre. Uluru’s cousin Kata Tjuta is just 40 kilometres away and you’ll find the awe-inspiring Kings Canyon not far from Alice Springs. You might not realise that this landscape has green vegetation and lush waterholes as well as dusty red roads and huge slabs of rock. And what you won’t really understand until you get here is the magic, majesty, silence and splendid isolation of Australia’s Red Centre.

Five places you must visit in the Red Centre”

1. Alice Springs and surrounds

Stay in the famous outback town of Alice Springs, which sits in Australia’s red heart just 200 kilometres south of its geographic centre. From here you can bushwalk, four wheel drive or join a camel trek across the rolling sand dunes of the Simpson Desert.

Welcome to World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island.

Four wheel drive next to the coloured sand cliffs of The Cathedrals or planes making joy flights on Seventy-Five Mile Beach. Bushwalk through rainforest growing from the sand and heathlands full of wild flowers and swim in mirrored lakes ringed with gold. Visit Lake McKenzie, picnic next to turtles at Lake Allom and spot whales from Indian Head. Discover the historic Maheno shipwreck in Happy Valley and see kangaroos, wallabies and possums on a bushwalk into the interior. Learn how the island was formed, and about its fascinating Aboriginal and pioneering history. It’s easy to see why the Aboriginal owners called Fraser Island ‘K’gari’ or paradise.

Five ways to have fun on Fraser Island:

1. On four wheels or in flight

From the moment you hit the sandy highway of Seventy-Five Mile Beach, the island is strictly four wheel drive territory. Head off on one of the hundreds of sand tracks linking lakes, rainforest and other natural attractions. Drive to mighty sand blows and the towering multi-coloured sand cliffs of The Cathedrals. Or stop to float in fast-flowing Eli Creek straight to the ocean. Stroll the boardwalk next to Wanggoolba Creek, which carries clear water through tranquil rainforest at Central Station, once a forestry township.

You can swim, snorkel, dive and sail the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, a living masterpiece so big it can be seen from outer space.

It stretches more than 2,000 kilometres along the Queensland coast, from the mainland towns of Port Douglas to Bundaberg. Hop between the pristine, palm-fringed islands on top, then explore the rainbow-coloured coral islands and marine life below.

Five ways to explore the Great Barrier Reef:

1. From the top, island hop

Party in Airlie Beach, hit the water sports on Hamilton, honeymoon on luxurious Hayman or just chill out on the soft, white sand of Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. For accommodation, you’ll find everything from five-star resorts to the back-to-nature simplicity of tents in natural settings.