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Home / Destination / Elsewhere / Australia / 8 reasons to visit Australia

8 reasons to visit Australia

February 17, 2018 by Gretta Schifano 4 Comments

Nelson Bay, Australia. Image by Matthew Kane on Unsplash

Nelson Bay, Australia. Image by Matthew Kane

Australia has always been on my travel bucket list, but it’s so very far away from the UK that I’ve not made it there yet. Australia is a continent as well as a country, and offers a myriad of marvellous experiences for travellers. Flight Centre have asked me to write about some of the many reasons to go there.

Wildlife

Australia has been isolated for millions of years and so is home to some very unusual wildlife. One of the best places in the country to see animals such as koalas, kangaroos and wallabies in their natural habitat is on Kangaroo Island, near Adelaide. There are no predators on the island and it is a haven for endangered wildlife.

Australia is a country as well as a continent and is a fantastic place to explore. From the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney Opera House to Uluru to koalas, click through for full details of the best things to see and do in Australia.

Beaches

With more than 30,000 miles of coastline, Australia is justly famous for its beautiful beaches. The one that I’d most like to visit is 75 Mile Beach in Queensland. Besides being (you guessed it) 75 miles long, this white sandy beach boasts natural Champagne Pools of bubbling white water enclosed by rocks.

Great Barrier Reef

As well as being the world’s biggest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef is actually the largest living thing on Earth. Located off the coast of Queensland, it’s around 1,400 miles long and is rated as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The reef has hundreds of types of coral and species of fish, and visitors can snorkel and dive there.

Cities

The majority of the population of Australia live in cosmopolitan coastal cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Sydney is rated as one of the top 10 most liveable cities in the world, with Melbourne and Perth not far behind, and each of these cities are fascinating destinations to explore.

Sydney Opera House from Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Image by Liam Pozz on Unsplash

Sydney Opera House from Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Image by Liam Pozz

Outback

Beyond the cities, the vast and beautiful interior of Australia is sparsely populated and is known as the Outback. Encompassing an area of more than 2.5 million square miles, the Outback covers several climate zones and is a place for proper adventures.

Uluru

Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) is one of the best-known landmarks in Australia. The giant red sandstone rock is a spiritual place which is sacred to its aboriginal people, who prefer visitors not to climb it. Rather than walking on it, I’d just like to go to see Uluru from a distance, at sunrise or sunset.

Rainforest

Australia is home to some of the oldest and largest areas of rainforest in the world. The forests are spread out across the country, from the Daintree in Queensland to pockets of dry rainforest in Western Australia.

Non-stop flights

From March 2018 it’s much easier for Brits to visit the land Down Under, because there are direct flights there from London for the first time ever. It’s around 9,000 miles from the UK to Australia and so flying there has always meant stopping off en-route at places such as Hong-Kong, Los Angeles or Dubai. Quantas are now offering direct flights from London to Perth in around 17 hours on Boeing Dreamliner planes. Dreamliners are lighter and more fuel-efficient than planes of a similar size, and so can fly further before needing to refuel.

In fact, the more I hear about Australia, the more I’d love to go there – I’m sure I’ll get there one day, probably once the kids are grown-up and independent.

Over to you

If you’ve been to Australia, what was the highlight of your trip? If you haven’t been, but you’d like to, what would you most like to see and do there?


”Brits


Brits Abroad: Tips For Visiting Australia from the UK
courtesy of Flight Centre

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Flight Centre (who provided the infographic), but all words and opinions are my own.

 

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Related

Categories: Australia
Tags: Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne, Sydney, Uluru

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Lucifer Taken says

    February 21, 2018 at 8:55 am

    Its my dream destination to visit there once. Australia is a land of dreams with rich heritage, cosmopolitan cities and extreme landscapes, it is land of extraordinarily beauty and staggering contrast. And after reading this beautiful article my lust of visiting Australia is been increased. I will visit there soon. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      February 21, 2018 at 10:12 am

      You’re very welcome!

      Reply
  2. nicola says

    February 18, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    yes Australia is amazing and I hope you get to spend a long time there. We did lots of fun things, highlights included: 1) Really enjoyed taking the train (2 nights) from Perth to Adelaide across the Nullabor Plain. It was a rather lovely train journey and helped our two daughters (then 10 and 13) see just how VAST Australia is. You certainly don’t get that feeling by taking an internal flight. 2) Another thing we did which was really fun was sign up to WWOF (willing workers on organic farms) and spend a week volunteering at a lovely place in Nannup – a few hours drive from Perth through the wine growing region. You can also stay there, gorgeous, gorgeous place, see http://www.loosegoose.com.au . 3) Kayaking in Sidney Harbour was amazing too.
    nicola recently posted…Gilbert Alaskadi: pro body builder & trainerMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      February 19, 2018 at 9:48 am

      I hope so too Nichola. Your trip sounds marvellous, and I love the idea of taking the train rather than flying.

      Reply

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