Australia: What to Expect / Highlights

Arnhemland

A vast sub-tropical savannah, this national treasure trove depicts ancient human occupation and is a pristine wilderness area. Aboriginal rock paintings depict events of the distant past.

The Cradle Mountain Wilderness in Tasmania

The jagged contours of Cradle Mountain combined with ancient rainforests create a wild landscape to explore. Visitors find icy streams cascading out of rugged mountains, groves of ancient pines mirrored in the still waters of glacial lakes and a wealth of wildlife.

Kangaroo Island

In the forests and parks here you find koalas sleeping in forks of trees, ospreys nesting, kangaroos coming out late in the day to feed, Australian sea lions romping on beautiful white sandy beaches. You will also find tammar wallabies and endangered glossy black cockatoos, possums, goannas, echnidas, platypus and a variety of birds including the rare Cape Barren Geese.

Sydney

In this cosmopolitan city you find Victorian architecture, cuisine of the freshest ingredients and Australian wines in which you fall in love.

Ayers Rock

The world's biggest monolith, this huge rock, 6 miles in circumference, rises 348 meters above the plain on which it stands. As the day progresses, the rock changes color from shades of fiery reds, mauves, blues, pinks and browns.

Daintree Rainforest National Park

Among the oldest rainforests on earth this is a living museum of one of the most complete and diverse biological records in existence. Daintree is home to many rare and endemic flora and fauna, including tree-climbing kangaroos, carnivorous marsupials, white possums, yellow gliders, false vampires, forest dragons and burrowing frogs.

TIME TO GO:

Any time is a good time to be in Australia. Summer (December to February) can get uncomfortably hot but it's great beach weather. Up north, the summer wet season is very, very humid and the sea is swarming with box jellyfish. Winter (June to August) offers skiing in NSW and Victoria. In spring and autumn the weater is mild.