🇦🇺 Australia: a nature travel guide
An island continent of ancient rock and unique life — from the largest living structure on Earth off its tropical coast to the red sandstone heart of its outback and the wave-carved cliffs of its wild south.
🗓️ Best time for nature: Varies by region: the Great Barrier Reef is best June–October; the outback (Uluru) is comfortable May–September; the southern coast is scenic year-round.
The lay of the land
Australia is one of the oldest, flattest, and most weathered landmasses on the planet, and its long isolation produced flora and fauna found nowhere else. Off the tropical northeast lies the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral system on Earth; in the arid centre, Uluru rises from the red plains as the exposed edge of a vast sandstone formation and a living Aboriginal cultural landscape; and along the wild southern coast, the Southern Ocean carves limestone cliffs into sea stacks like the Twelve Apostles.
Where to begin
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Great Barrier Reef
The largest living structure on Earth, visible from space.
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Uluru
A vast red sandstone monolith rising alone from the red heart of the outback.
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The Twelve Apostles
Limestone sea stacks carved by the Southern Ocean along the Great Ocean Road.
A taste of the place
Australian food spans tropical seafood (barramundi, prawns, Moreton Bay bugs), native bush tucker (bush tomato, quandong, wattleseed) with deep Aboriginal roots, game like kangaroo, and multicultural city cooking, alongside the ritual of the backyard barbecue.
Traveling responsibly
- Respect Aboriginal country — for example, please don't climb Uluru.
- On the reef, use eco-certified operators and reef-safe sunscreen.
- Distances are huge; plan regional trips separately.
Australia is an ancient, isolated continent, and that history shows in landscapes and life found nowhere else. This atlas opens the country’s chapter with three of its greatest natural icons: the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living structure on Earth; Uluru, the red monolith at the centre of the outback; and the Twelve Apostles, where the Southern Ocean is still carving the coastline into towers of stone. Reef, rock, and wild coast — three faces of a singular continent.
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Looking for the list?
This page covers when to go, what the landscape is doing and what to eat. For the places themselves — all 8 of them, ranked and described — see the 8 most beautiful places to visit in Australia.