Australia is a wild and beautiful place, a land whose colour palette of red outback sands and Technicolor reefs frames sophisticated cities and soulful Indigenous stories.

Australia's most populous state is home to its largest city: glitzy, vibrant, intoxicating Sydney, an unforgettable metropolis in a privileged natural setting.

Let it all hang out in Queensland: Australia's holiday haven offers beaches, reefs, jungles, uptempo locals and a laid-back tropical pace of life. Big Adventures Outdoor Queensland is truly 'great'. Take the Great Barrier Reef for starters: slip on some goggles and ogle one of the most amazing underwater landscapes on earth.

If you subscribe to the 'life's a beach' school of thought, you'll fall in love with Western Australia (WA) and its 12,500km of spectacular coastline. Action Stations WA has plenty for the active traveller. Traverse the 963km Bibbulmun Track or focus on spectacular day walks including sections of the Cape to Cape Track around stunning Cape Naturaliste.

Revelling in isolation, Tasmania is busting out with fab festivals and sensational food and drink, riding a tourism-fuelled economic boom that’s the envy of all Australia. Why I Love Tasmania By Charles Rawlings-Way, Writer I spent my childhood in Hobart, wheeling my bike between the beach and the bush.