1. For wildlife: Mackay, Queensland

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

This enchanting jungle has rivers rich enough in platypus to make seeing one practically guaranteed. Your best chance is at Broken River, where the seeing platform is surrounded by ferns and vines-- pack a picnic and wait a while in silence to see them.

Later on, go on strolling tracks through the trees, perfect for birdwatching and goanna finding, or head back to town for a stroll along the golden sands of Harbour Beach.

2. For legendary sunsets: Tower Hill, Victoria

Continue just a little further west from the Great Ocean Roadway and you'll discover this volcanic crater. Surrounded by beds of ash, it's a fertile green http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action...mit&pgtype=Homepage#/australia sanctuary that is house to koalas and kangaroos aplenty.

The directed strolls from the visitor centre will introduce you to the wildlife, along with to the Aboriginal history-- and you'll learn how to rustle up some bushtucker. But the sundown-- finest seen from the crater's rim-- is the centerpiece. Remain later on and join the directed night walk to see the fauna at its most active.

3. For amazing photos: Devil's Marbles, Northern Area

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

Envision them as the eponymous marbles, or as the eggs of the rainbow snake from the local Aboriginal story. Either way, 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 rather to Denmark on the south coast. Here you'll discover an easygoing cluster of store wineries and hyper-local restaurants underneath a karri tree canopy. Head for the hills inland and check out Castelli Estate for great destinations Pinot Noir and Shiraz or hit Howard Park for white wines that combine the very best of both Denmark and Margaret River grapes.

Don't miss out on Pepper and Salt for dinner, where chef Silas utilizes the location's premium produce to produce dishes inspired by his Fijian-Indian heritage. And visit in March or April for Taste Fantastic Southern, which celebrates the area's superb regional produce.

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

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

All that produces one long (however epic) drive, punctuated only by lookouts over the Great Australian Bight (next stop Antarctica), dirty roadhouses and the odd pitstop to hit a golf ball, if you're so inclined.

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

Freycinet might be one of Tassie's the majority of gone to websites, however that does not mean you'll bump into anybody else on a stroll here. Go out on the 31km peninsula circuit and you'll soon shake off any fellow visitors (so bring plenty 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 sea level). Once you're done, kick off those hiking boots and dig your toes into the pristine white sands of Wineglass Bay.

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

Ancient jungle cloaks the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, much of it an unattainable wilderness that would easily pass for the Amazon. New England National Park opens this UNESCO World Heritage rain forest for visitors, providing strolling tracks through the snow gums and lookouts from which the view stretches 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, typically frozen in winter season. You'll ultimately reach Point lookout for those scenic rainforest views.