Cairns Esplanade, Boardwalk & Lagoon
Cairns
Sunseekers and fun-lovers flock to Cairns Esplanade's spectacular swimming lagoon on the city’s reclaimed foreshore. The artificial, sandy-edged, 4800-sq…
Must-see attractions in Australia & Pacific
Adelaide
A tourist sight or a shopping op? Either way, satisfy your deepest culinary cravings at the 250-odd stalls in superb Adelaide Central Market. A sliver of…
Golden Dragon Museum & Gardens
Victoria
Bendigo’s Chinese heritage sets it apart from other goldfields towns, and this fantastic museum is the place to experience it. Walk through a huge wooden…
Wellington
For an imaginative, interactive experience of Wellington’s social and maritime history, head to this bewitching little museum, inside an 1892 bond store…
Christchurch
Strolling through these 30 blissful riverside hectares of arboreal and floral splendour is a consummate Christchurch experience. Gorgeous at any time of…
Kings Cross & Potts Point
Now dwarfed by 20th-century apartments, Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay's elegant Greek Revival mansion was one of the finest houses in the colony…
Darwin
If the tourists won't go out to see the crocs, then bring the crocs to the tourists. Right in the middle of Mitchell St, Crocosaurus Cove is as close as…
Takaka
Around 14,000L of water per second bubble up from underground vents here, making it the largest freshwater spring in the southern hemisphere. It's also…
Rockhampton
The stories of the local Darumbal people and Torres Straits islanders are well-conveyed here. Self-guide through exhibits such as 'The Vanishing Culture…
Wellington
This groundbreaking ecosanctuary is nooked into a valley in the hills about 2km west of downtown Wellington. Living wild within the fenced, predator-free…
Brisbane
On South Bank, just over Victoria Bridge from the CBD, the Queensland Cultural Centre is the epicentre of Brisbane’s cultural confluence. Surrounded by…
Hobart
Standing in startling, Gothic isolation next to the clean-running Hobart Rivulet, Australia’s oldest brewery (1824) is still pumping out superb beers. The…
Fremantle
Located within an 1852 commissariat store, the Shipwrecks Museum is considered the finest display of maritime archaeology in the southern hemisphere. The…
Hastings & Around
Rising dramatically from the Heretaunga Plains 16km south of Havelock North, Te Mata Peak (399m) is part of the 1-sq-km Te Mata Trust Park. The summit…
Wellington
These hilly, 25-hectare botanic gardens can be effortlessly visited via the Wellington Cable Car (nice bit of planning, eh?), although there are several…
Brisbane
All angular glass, concrete and black metal, must-see GOMA celebrates modern and contemporary art, with a particular emphasis on Australian, Asian and…
Clare Valley
Martindale Hall is an astonishing 1880 manor 3km south of Mintaro. Built for young pastoralist Edmund Bowman Jnr, who subsequently partied away the family…
Circular Quay & The Rocks
Divided into four displays – Warrane (pre-1788), Colony (1788–1820), Port (1820–1900) and Transformations (1900 to the present) – this small, excellent…
Cairns
Cairns' multi-million-dollar aquarium is well worth a visit for its vast and gorgeously presented range of marine life, the Great Barrier Reef in…
Victoria
Housed in a superb art deco building, this gallery (established in 1913) features colonial and contemporary Australian art, including works by such well…
Byron Bay
This photogenic, 32-hectare green oasis outside Byron is shared by Three Blue Ducks restaurant, a produce store, the Bread Social bakery, an ice-creamery…
Western Australian Museum – Maritime
Fremantle
Significant West Australian boats are suspended from the rafters of this sail-shaped museum building. There's the yacht that won the America's Cup race in…
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
New Plymouth
This two-headed artistic beast is arguably NZ's best regional art gallery, presenting contemporary – and often experimental and provocative – local and…
Noosa
Noosa's unmissable national park delivers spectacular coastal views (expect to see dolphins) and ambrosial beaches like Tea Tree Bay. The most scenic way…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The guided tour of the Glowworm Cave, which is behind the visitor centre, leads past impressive stalactites and stalagmites into a large cavern known as…
Darling Harbour & Pyrmont
This piscatorial precinct on Blackwattle Bay shifts around 15 million kilograms of seafood annually, and has retail outlets, restaurants, sushi and oyster…
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Perth
Founded in 1895, this excellent gallery houses the state's preeminent art collection as well as regular international exhibitions that, increasingly, have…
Qantas Founders Outback Museum
Outback Queensland
Qantas Founders Outback Museum houses a life-size replica of an Avro 504K, the first aircraft owned by the fledgling airline. Interactive multimedia and…
Dunedin
Storytelling is the focus of this excellent interactive museum, which traces the history of human settlement i
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village
Warrnambool
The world-class Flagstaff Hill precinct is of equal interest for its shipwreck museum, heritage-listed lighthouses and garrison as for its reproduction of…
Bay of Plenty
The steep slopes of 232m-high Mauao swarm with walkers in the morning, when the Mount’s early risers perform their ritual climb to the summit. The ascent…
Fiordland & Southland
Reach one of the South Island's most jaw-dropping coastal lookouts via the 900m Nugget Point (Tokatā) walkway. Wave-thrashed cliffs give way abruptly to…
Northern Territory
One of the prettiest corners of the West MacDonnell Ranges, Simpsons Gap, 22km by road from Alice Springs and 8km off Larapinta Dr along a paved road,…
Nelson Region
This remote, dramatically beautiful beach is a magnificent introduction to the West Coast, with a seal colony at its eastern end and otherworldly rock…
Yarra Valley
One of the best places in southern Australia to see native fauna, this wildlife park is home to kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, echidnas,…
City Centre & Britomart
Auckland's premier art repository has a striking glass-and-wood atrium grafted onto its 1887 French chateau frame. It showcases the best of NZ art, along…
Lord Howe Island
The southernmost of the two magnificent peaks dominating the island, Mt Gower (875m) is a spectacular sight. Though it looks sheer at first glance, it's…
Western Australian Museum – Geraldton
West Coast Australia
At one of the state's best museums, intelligent multimedia displays relate the area's natural, cultural and Aboriginal history. The Shipwreck Gallery…
Sunshine Coast
This is one of Australia's most atmospheric artisan markets, attracting over 1.6-million visitors a year to its 600-plus stalls. Dive into a leafy,…
Christchurch
Damaged in the earthquakes, Christchurch's fantastic art gallery has reopened brighter and bolder, presenting a stimulating mix of local and international…
