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THERE’S NOWHERE LIKE AUSTRALIA

Australia is one of the most diverse countries on earth. Wherever you choose to travel, and choice is essential in a country that’s as big as a continent, you can experience remarkably different landscapes. In Queensland you can explore the Daintree, the world’s oldest rainforest and a World Heritage site. In the Northern Territory you can experience the immense, fire-coloured Australian Outback

and the vast wetlands of the Kakadu National Park. In Western Australia there are the remarkable gorges and waterfalls of the Kimberley, in South Australia you can visit the rugged Flinders ranges, then hop across to inspect the wildlife on Kangaroo Island, while the heart of Tasmania is a vast temperate wilderness.

 Beaches are deeply engrained in the Aussie culture. The country has more than 10,000 at the official count, from wild and surf-pounded to gently-lapped shores where the waves would barely tickle a toddler. Whatever time of year you choose to visit you can find beaches basking in the very best of Australia’s weather. Two magnificent coral reefs are also on the hit list of natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast, where you’ll also find such superb island resorts as Lizard and Bedarra, and the Ningaloo Reef just off the coast of Western Australia.

 Australia is a world of wine, its vineyards - in the Margaret River, the Barossa, Clare Valley, the Hunter Valley, McLaren Vale and the Yarra  - having even knocked the French wine makers off the prize winners’ plinths.

 Australia will also introduce you to the most ancient culture on earth, including Aboriginal rock art dating back more than 40 millennia.

 Australia’s wild wonders stand in sharp contrast to its world class cities, with their designer stores, sophisticated restaurants and luxurious hotels. Sydney is the beauty queen but Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane are each packed with interest. You might want to consider a scenic drive between them, say from Adelaide to Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road perhaps, or Melbourne to Sydney and on up the Pacific coast to Brisbane. Or think about a memorable journey by train, from Perth to Sydney on the Indian Pacific for example, or the legendary Ghan which links Adelaide in South Australia with Darwin in the North via Alice Springs and the Red Centre.

 Wherever you decide to pause for breath you’ll be able to choose from a diverse stock of interesting places to stay, from boutique town houses to working ranches, five star island resorts to top-end tented camps. Not bad for a country where Brits were once dispatched as a punishment.