1. For wildlife: Mackay, Queensland

Surrounded by sugarcane and with a primary street well shaded by tropical foliage, Mackay is an excellent base for checking out Eungella National forest.

This enchanting rainforest has rivers abundant enough in platypus to make seeing one almost ensured. Your best possibility is at Broken River, where the viewing platform is surrounded by ferns and vines-- load a picnic and wait a while in silence to see them.

Afterwards, go on walking tracks through the trees, suitable for birdwatching and goanna identifying, or head back to town for a walk along the golden sands of Harbour Beach.

2. For epic sunsets: 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 assisted strolls from the visitor centre will present you to the wildlife, along with to the Aboriginal history-- and you'll learn how to rustle up some bushtucker. However the sunset-- best seen from the crater's rim-- is the centerpiece. Stick around later on and sign up with the assisted night walk to see the fauna at its most active.

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

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

Imagine them as the eponymous marbles, or as the eggs of the rainbow serpent from the regional Aboriginal story. In any case, they're perfect fodder for the eager photographer.

4. For white wine: Denmark, Western Australia

Let Margaret River keep its crowds of red wine tourers and head rather to Denmark on the south coast. Here you'll discover an easygoing cluster of store wineries and hyper-local restaurants beneath 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.

Don't miss Pepper and Salt for supper, where chef Silas uses the location's gourmet produce to produce dishes influenced by his Fijian-Indian heritage. And check out in March or April for Taste Terrific Southern, which commemorates the area's outstanding regional produce.

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

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

All that makes for one long (but impressive) drive, stressed only by lookouts http://www.thefreedictionary.com/australia over the Great Australian Bight (next stop Antarctica), dirty roadhouses and the odd pitstop to strike a golf ball, if you're so likely.

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

Freycinet might be one of Tassie's most gone to websites, but that does not indicate you'll run into anyone else on a stroll here. Go out on the 31km peninsula circuit and you'll soon http://australianbeaches.net/ get rid of 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.

Camping is at Cooks Beach and there's time to climb up Mount Freycinet (the summit is 620m above sea level). Once you're done, begin those hiking boots and dig your toes into the pristine white sands of Wineglass Bay.

7. For unbeatable hiking: New England National Forest, New South Wales

Ancient rain forest capes the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, much of it an unattainable wilderness that would quickly pass for the Amazon. New England National forest opens up this UNESCO World Heritage rainforest for visitors, using walking routes 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 trickling waterfalls, often frozen in winter season. You'll ultimately reach Point lookout for those panoramic rainforest views.