Whether you are relocating to or on holidays in Australia, these are some sites you should not miss!
The Bungles Bungles, Western Australia
The Bungle Bungles in the Purnululu National Park make up a range of distinctively beehive-shaped sandstone formations. Over millions of years, winds and rainfall have worn on the rock to create the distinct shapes. A World Heritage Site since 2003, the formations are famous not least of all due to their unusual alternating, banding colors: Stripes of grey and orange reflect the different material-composition of the layers out of which the domes are made up of.
Daintree Rainforest, Queensland
The Daintree National Park is made up out of two different sections, the Cape Tribulation and the Mossman Gorge. It is one of the oldest existing rainforests in the world and has been around for millions of years. Visitors can marvel at clear waters and stunning waterfalls, at a multitude of different animals, and at mountainsides covered by lush rainforest vegetation. Some of the rainforest even only ends when encountering the long and sandy beaches close to the Great Barrier Reef.
Great Ocean Road, Victoria
The 243 kilometers long stretch of highway between Torquay and Allansford, the so-called Great Ocean Road, is an experience not to be missed. It passes such sites as the famous 12 Apostles rock formations and the Great Otway National Park and the drive will introduce you to a range of wonders, from stunning cliffs and rock formations to hidden beaches and stretches of lush rainforest. Along the way, you can enjoy the charm of small fishing villages or indulge in water sports at some of Australia’s most stunning beaches.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta, Central Australia
Uluru, aka Ayers Rock, is similarly known to all, no matter whether they are tourists in the outback or Australians enjoying life in Sydney. It is visited by more than a quarter of a million people every year. Standing out 348 meters high from the surrounding desert, Uluru is more than just a famous tourist destination, however! It is a sacred and important cultural site for the local, indigenous people, the Anangu, who are also its traditional owners. Urulu and Kata Tjuta, a similarly dominating rock formation about an hour’s drive to the east, as well as the surrounding were established as a national park in 1958 and declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
There can be no list of natural wonders in Australia without mentioning the Great Barrier Reef. It is world-renowned as the largest living structure in the world and, stretching around 2,300 kilometers along Queensland’s coast, even visible from space. In fact, the Great Barrier Marine Park is with a total area of 344,400 km² about the same size as Germany or Japan! The reef is a dream come true for divers and everybody else interested in marine flora and fauna: There are around 600 different types of hard and soft corals, thousands of mollusks varieties, more than 1600 different types of fish and more.
Shark Bay, Western Australia
Need a break from your job search in Perth, or simply want to get out of the city? Shark Bay has much to offer, from dramatic cliffs like the Eagle Bluff and wild dolphins, which come for daily visits to the shore of Mia Monkey, to the famed Shell Beach where you’ll find yourself walking across thousands of small shells instead of sand. Hamelin Pool at Shark Bay is furthermore one of the few places on earth where you can encounter living stromatolites. Formed by cyanobacteria, the first living things on our planet, these stromatolities may look like rock formations, but are in fact quite delicate. They grow less than 1 millimeter a year and as such, you can still see the tracks left by wagons decades ago.
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory
The Kakadu National Park is with nearly 20,000 km² the largest non-marine national park in the country. Visitors can look forward to at times very different landforms, from wetlands and Savannah woodlands, across hills and ridges, tidal flats and the coastline, as well the so-called stone country and the outliers. Declared a World Heritage in 1981, the park is famous for not only its diverse landscapes, but also its broad range of flora and fauna, including at least one-third of Australia’s bird species.
This story was written in collaboration with internations.org.
