Touring Australia

Ask anyone who has visited Australia what they remember and many will list the icons: the Sydney Opera House, Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Ocean Road, sunshine, kangaroos, koalas and wombats. But in between these Aussie icons, there is a surprising breadth of experiences on offer that are just as exhilarating.

From watching migrating whales, visiting rainforests or dusty opal-mining towns, to enjoying imaginative world-class cuisine, Australia has many fascinating corners.

And there is one thing all visitors take home with them. No, not a snow dome of Sydney Harbour; rather, the knowledge that Australia is a truly unique country. For starters, the native plants and animals set it apart from every other continent. While you are unlikely to see kangaroos hopping down the main street of major cities, nature is easily accessible, from the possum that lives in the attic and the kookaburras that roost in backyard trees, to the brightly coloured lorikeets that feed in the gardens.

In the sun-scorched Outback, kangaroos, emus, giant lizards and eagles are easily spotted.

The steamy rainforests of New South Wales and tropical North Queensland are a biological time capsule that dates from when flowering plants first appeared on the planet. Kakadu National Park, the world's largest national park, is a treasury of bird species and wildlife. The Grampians National Park, with its grand and rugged mountain ranges, has spectacular wildflower displays and a wealth of Aboriginal rock art sites.

The Great Barrier Reef is a living chain of coral that spans more than 2,000 kilometres - it's also the largest living thing on Earth. Clearly, mother nature saved some of her most wondrous creations for the world's biggest island continent.

Go to the Tourism Australia web site for further information.