Western Australia

If the vast expanse of Western Australia (WA) was a separate nation, it would be the world's 10th-largest (bigger than Algeria, smaller than Kazakhstan). Most of WA's population clings to the coast, yet you can wander along a beach here without seeing another footprint, or be one of a few scattered campers stargazing in a national park.

There's something unfettered and alive about this place – a frontier spirit that's free from the baggage of east-coast concerns. This is also an ancient land and its Aboriginal cultures are more visibly present than in much of the rest of Australia.

The state's fertile southwest is a playground of white-sand coves, rampant wildflowers and lush forests abuzz with wildlife. Up north in the big-sky, red-dirt Pilbara and Kimberley you'll encounter gorgeous gorges and mesmerising waterfalls – and no one else for miles and miles. In between is 12,500km of truly spectacular coastline.