Groups looking for outdoor adventures and spectacular scenery should look no further than these four best places to visit in Australia
If you’re thinking of taking your group Down Under this year, you’re going to want to plan your itinerary in advance. The vast country has so much to explore, particularly when it comes to outdoor adventure. It can be hard to narrow down all the amazing activities, but we think these four locales top the best places to visit in Australia for outdoor enthusiasts.
Great Barrier Reef
Let’s start with the fact that the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list – why wouldn’t this be on your itinerary? Dive into the warm waters and explore the breath-taking aquatic world below, admiring the beautiful tropical fish, turtles, manta rays, dolphins and maybe even some sharks! If you’re lucky, you might even glimpse a humpback whale. The stunning marine life is just one of the reasons that the Great Barrier Reef is a natural wonder; you can also unwind on the award-winning Whitehaven Beach, located on the Whitsunday Islands, which is just one of the 900 islands in the Great Barrier Reef. If you want to explore the Great Barrier Reef in style, you can travel with Windstar Cruises on ‘The Great Barrier Reef & Beyond’ cruise.
Great Ocean Road
If you love the feeling of the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, then you’ll love taking in the Australian scenery on a coastal road trip. And the best way to enjoy a road trip in Oz is to explore the Great Ocean Road, famously noted as one of the best road trips in the world. The road stretches over 250 kilometers from Torquay to Warrnambool and includes some amazing attractions, such as:
- Bells Beach
- Great Otway National Park
- Apollo Bay
- The Twelve Apostles
- Loch Ard Gorge
- The Grotto
- Bay Of Islands
It takes around three days to complete the route, so if this sounds up your ally, you’ll find this to be one of the best places to visit in Australia.
Daintree Rainforest
Located on the northeast coast of Queensland, the Daintree Rainforest has one of the most complex ecosystems on the planet. Named after the Australian geologist and photographer Richard Daintree, this now privately-owned rainforest is believed to be 180 million years old, with thousands of species of wildlife and untouched plant life. Renowned for its natural beauty, this ancient rainforest was apparently the inspiration for James Cameron’s Avatar. You will certainly feel as though you have stepped into another world, as you explore this unspoiled land and all its lush greenery.
Blue Mountains
This is a must for any self-proclaimed explorer; the Blue Mountains has everything from bushwalking trails with Aboriginal guides, to glistening waterfalls, cliffside views and even a resort and spa! The Blue Mountains were named due to the natural blue tinge, which was created by oil droplets being released from the trees in the eucalypt forests; when mixed with water vapor and sunlight, this created the distinctive blue haze over the mountains.
You can learn more about the mountains’ Aboriginal heritage, and the two tribes who now inhabit the mountains: the Gundungurra and Darug tribes. There are also several rock paintings and engravings that detail the rich history of the mountains, which tourists can view up close. One of the Blue Mountains’ most notable landmarks is The Three Sisters, an unusual rock formation, which, according to legend, represents three sisters from the Katoomba tribe who were turned to stone by a witchdoctor.
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