Sydney &New South Wales

p62

Melbourne &Victoria

p473

Queensland &the Great Barrier Reef

p274

Darwin toUlurup807

Perth &Western Australia

p901Adelaide &

South Australiap710

Tasmaniap618

Canberra &Aroundp256

Australia

THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY

Charles Rawlings-Way, Meg Worby, Brett Atkinson, Lindsay Brown, Jayne D’Arcy, Anthony Ham, Paul Harding,

Shawn Low, Virginia Maxwell, Tom Spurling, Steve Waters

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Australia. . . . .6

Australia Map . . . . . . . . . . .8

Australia’s Top 25 . . . . . . .10

Need to Know . . . . . . . . . 22

What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . 24

If You Like . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Month by Month . . . . . . . 29

Itineraries . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Your Reef Trip . . . . . . . . . .37

Your Outback Trip . . . . . . 43

Australia Outdoors . . . . . .51

Regions at a Glance . . . . 58

SYDNEY & NEW SOUTH WALES . . . . . 62Sydney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Around Sydney . . . . . . . 133Hawkesbury River . . . . . . 134Blue Mountains . . . . . . . . 136Hunter Valley . . . . . . . . . 143Newcastle . . . . . . . . . . . 149Mid-North Coast . . . . . . 154Port Macquarie . . . . . . . . . 161Dorrigo National Park . . . 172Coffs Harbour . . . . . . . . . . 173North Coast . . . . . . . . . . 179Byron Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Far North Coast Hinterland . . . . . . . . . . . 193Lismore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Nimbin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194Murwillumbah . . . . . . . . . . 196New England . . . . . . . . . 197Tamworth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Northwest . . . . . . . . . . . 202Central West . . . . . . . . . 204Bathurst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206Cowra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209Parkes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Dubbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Snowy Mountains . . . . . 215Cooma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Jindabyne . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Kosciuszko National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Thredbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Perisher Blue . . . . . . . . . .220Southwest & the Murray . . . . . . . . . . . 222Goulburn & Around . . . . . 224Yass & Around . . . . . . . . . . 224Gundagai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224Albury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225Wagga Wagga . . . . . . . . . . 227

Griffith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Deniliquin & Around . . . . .230Wentworth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Outback . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Mungo National Park . . . . 232Broken Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Bourke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239South Coast . . . . . . . . . 240Wollongong . . . . . . . . . . . .240Nowra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Jervis Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Batemans Bay . . . . . . . . . 248Bermagui . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

CANBERRA & AROUND . . . . . . . . . 256Canberra . . . . . . . . . . . . 258Around Canberra . . . . . 272Tidbinbilla & Namadgi . . . 273

QUEENSLAND & THE GREAT BARRIER REEF . . . . 274Brisbane . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282Moreton Bay . . . . . . . . . .311North Stradbroke Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312Moreton Island . . . . . . . . . 314Bribie Island . . . . . . . . . . . 316Gold Coast . . . . . . . . . . . 316Southport & Main Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . 318Surfers Paradise & Broadbeach . . . . . . . . . . . .320Burleigh Heads . . . . . . . . . 324Coolangatta . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Gold Coast Hinterland . . . . . . . . . . . 327Noosa & the Sunshine Coast . . . 329Noosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331Glass House Mountains . . 336

ON THE ROAD

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Contents

Maroochy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338Darling Downs . . . . . . . . 342Fraser Island & the Fraser Coast . . . . . . 346Fraser Island . . . . . . . . . . . 347Hervey Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . 354Bundaberg . . . . . . . . . . . . .360Capricorn Coast . . . . . . 362Southern Reef Islands . . . 362Rockhampton . . . . . . . . . .366Great Keppel Island . . . . . 370Outback . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372Cloncurry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373Mt Isa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374Charleville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378The Channel Country . . . 379Whitsunday Coast . . . . 381Mackay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381Airlie Beach . . . . . . . . . . . .386Whitsunday Islands . . . . . 392Townsville to Mission Beach . . . . . . . . 395Townsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395Magnetic Island . . . . . . . . 401Mission Beach . . . . . . . . .408Dunk Island . . . . . . . . . . . . 411Cairns & Around . . . . . . 413Cairns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413Islands off Cairns . . . . . . . 433Cairns’ Northern Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435Atherton Tableland . . . . 437Kuranda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437Atherton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441Crater Lakes National Park & Around . . . . . . . . .443Port Douglas to Cooktown . . . . . . . . . . . . 446Port Douglas . . . . . . . . . . .446Mossman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451Daintree Village . . . . . . . . 451Cape Tribulation . . . . . . . . 456

Cooktown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458Lizard Island . . . . . . . . . . .460Gulf Savannah. . . . . . . . 460The Savannah Way . . . . . . 461Cape York Peninsula . . 464Thursday Island & Torres Strait Islands . . . . 471

MELBOURNE & VICTORIA . . . . . . . . . 473Melbourne . . . . . . . . . . . 478Queenscliff & the Bellarine Peninsula . . . 522Queenscliff . . . . . . . . . . . . 523Point Lonsdale . . . . . . . . . 525Barwon Heads . . . . . . . . . 526The Yarra Valley . . . . . . 526Healesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527Marysville & Lake Mountain . . . . . . . . . 528The Dandenongs . . . . . . 528Mornington Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . 529Sorrento & Portsea . . . . .530Phillip Island . . . . . . . . . 531Great Ocean Road . . . . 535Geelong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535Torquay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538Anglesea . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540Aireys Inlet . . . . . . . . . . . . 541Lorne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541Cumberland River . . . . . . 542Wye River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542Kennett River . . . . . . . . . . 542Apollo Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542Cape Otway . . . . . . . . . . . .544Port Campbell National Park . . . . . . . . . . 545Port Campbell . . . . . . . . . . 545Warrnambool . . . . . . . . . . 547Port Fairy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .548Portland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .550

Grampians & the Western Districts . . . . . 551Grampians National Park . . . . . . . . . . 551Horsham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555Mt Arapiles State Park . . 555Little Desert National Park . . . . . . . . . . 556Murray River . . . . . . . . . 557Mildura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557Swan Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562Echuca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563Rutherglen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567Wodonga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569Goldfields . . . . . . . . . . . 569Ballarat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569Bendigo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574Castlemaine . . . . . . . . . . . 579Daylesford & Hepburn Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581Goulburn Valley & Hume Highway Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584Shepparton . . . . . . . . . . . . 585Nagambie . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585Glenrowan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586Wangaratta . . . . . . . . . . . . 586High Country . . . . . . . . . 587Lake Eildon National Park . . . . . . . . . . 587Mansfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . .590Mt Buller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592King Valley & the Snow Road . . . . . . . . . 593Milawa Gourmet Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594Beechworth . . . . . . . . . . . . 594Mt Buffalo National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596Bright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597Falls Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . .600Mt Hotham & Dinner Plain . . . . . . . . . . . . 601Gippsland . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Wilsons Promontory National Park . . . . . . . . . . 607Gippsland Lakes . . . . . . . . 610East Gippsland & the Wilderness Coast . . . . . . . 613

TASMANIA . . . . . . . . 618Hobart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626Around Hobart . . . . . . . 644Richmond . . . . . . . . . . . . .644Mt Field National Park . . . 645The Southeast . . . . . . . 646Bruny Island . . . . . . . . . . . 647Hartz Mountains National Park . . . . . . . . . . 651Dover & Around . . . . . . . . 652Hastings Caves & Thermal Springs . . . . . . . . 652Cockle Creek . . . . . . . . . . . 652Tasman Peninsula . . . . 653Port Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 655The Midlands . . . . . . . . . 657East Coast . . . . . . . . . . . 659Coles Bay & Freycinet National Park . . . . . . . . . .663Bicheno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665St Marys . . . . . . . . . . . . . .666The Northeast . . . . . . . . 667St Helens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667Bay of Fires . . . . . . . . . . . .668Mt William National Park 668Launceston . . . . . . . . . . 669Around Launceston . . . 677Tamar Valley . . . . . . . . . . . 677Ben Lomond National Park . . . . . . . . . .680The North. . . . . . . . . . . . 680Devonport . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681Deloraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682Walls of Jerusalem National Park . . . . . . . . . .684King Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685The Northwest . . . . . . . 688

Burnie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .688Stanley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693The West . . . . . . . . . . . . 695Queenstown . . . . . . . . . . .696Strahan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park . . . .700Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park . . . 701Flinders Island . . . . . . . . . 705The Southwest . . . . . . . 708Southwest National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708Lake Pedder & Strathgordon . . . . . . . . . . . 708

ADELAIDE & SOUTH AUSTRALIA . . . . . . . 710Adelaide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716Adelaide Hills . . . . . . . . 740Hahndorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740Fleurieu Peninsula . . . . 744McLaren Vale . . . . . . . . . . 744Victor Harbor . . . . . . . . . . 748Kangaroo Island . . . . . . 752Flinders Chase National Park . . . . . . . . . . 760Limestone Coast . . . . . 761Coorong National Park . . 761Robe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762Beachport . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764Mount Gambier . . . . . . . . 764Penola & the Coonawarra Wine Region . . . . . . . . . 766Naracoorte Caves National Park . . . . . . . . 767Murray River . . . . . . . . . 768Barossa Valley . . . . . . . . 774Clare Valley . . . . . . . . . . 779Yorke Peninsula . . . . . . 783Eyre Peninsula & the West Coast . . . . . . . 786

Port Augusta . . . . . . . . . . . 786Port Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . 788Ceduna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791Flinders Ranges . . . . . . 793Mt Remarkable National Park . . . . . . . . . . 794Flinders Ranges National Park . . . . . . . . . . 797Outback . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800Woomera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801Coober Pedy . . . . . . . . . . . 801Oodnadatta Track . . . . . . .805Birdsville Track . . . . . . . . .806Strzelecki Track . . . . . . . .806

DARWIN TO ULURU . . . . . . . . . . . 807Darwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813Around Darwin . . . . . . . 833Tiwi Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . 833Litchfield National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .838Kakadu & Arnhem Land . . . . . . . . . 841Kakadu National Park . . . 841Arnhem Land . . . . . . . . . . 855Katherine to Alice Springs . . . . . . . . . 856Katherine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857Tennant Creek . . . . . . . . . . 867The Tanami Road . . . . . . . 870Alice Springs . . . . . . . . . 870MacDonnell Ranges . . . 884Red Centre Way (Mereenie Loop) . . . . . . 887Kings Canyon & Watarrka National Park . . . . . . . . . .888South of Alice Springs . . . . . . . . . 889Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park . . . 891Uluru (Ayers Rock) . . . . . 895

ON THE ROAD

Contents

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) . .896Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort) . . . . .896

PERTH & WESTERN AUSTRALIA . . . . . . . 901Perth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907Fremantle . . . . . . . . . . . . 925Around Perth . . . . . . . . . 932Rottnest Island (Wadjemup) . . . . . . . . . . . 932The Southwest . . . . . . . 939Geographe Bay . . . . . . . . .940Margaret River Wine Region . . . . . . . . . . .943Southern Forests . . . . . . .948South Coast . . . . . . . . . 951Walpole & Nornalup . . . . . 952Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . .954Albany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .956Mt Barker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959Porongurup National Park . . . . . . . . . . 959Stirling Range National Park . . . . . . . . . .960Fitzgerald River National Park . . . . . . . . . .960Esperance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961Southern Outback . . . . 963Kalgoorlie-Boulder . . . . . .966Dryandra to Hyden . . . . 971Sunset & Turquoise Coasts . . . . . 972Yanchep National Park . . 972Guilderton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972Lancelin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972Cervantes & Pinnacles Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973Jurien Bay, Green Head & Leeman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 974Great Northern Highway . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975New Norcia . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

Batavia Coast . . . . . . . . 976Geraldton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977Kalbarri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .980Shark Bay . . . . . . . . . . . 983Denham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .983François Peron National Park . . . . . . . . . . 985Monkey Mia . . . . . . . . . . . . 985Gascoyne Coast . . . . . . 986Carnarvon . . . . . . . . . . . . .986Coral Coast & the Pilbara . . . . . . . . . . . 988Coral Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . .989Exmouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993Ningaloo Marine Park . . .996Cape Range National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997Millstream-Chichester National Park . . . . . . . . . .999Karijini National Park . .1000Port Hedland . . . . . . . . . . 1003Broome & the Kimberley . . . . . . . 1004Broome . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1008Dampier Peninsula . . . . . 1014Derby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015Gibb River Road . . . . . . . 1017Devonian Reef National Parks . . . . . . . . 1019Kununurra . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021The Tanami Road . . . . . . 1025

Australia Today . . . . . . 1028

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1031

Aboriginal Australia . . 1042

Environment . . . . . . . . 1048

Food & Wine . . . . . . . . 1056

Sport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060

Deadly & Dangerous . .1064

Directory A−Z . . . . . . . 1066

Transport . . . . . . . . . . . .1081

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095

Map Legend . . . . . . . . . .1109

SURVIVAL GUIDE

UNDERSTAND

SPECIAL FEATURES

This Is Sydney . . . . . . . . 115

The Great Barrier Reef . . . . . . . . . 419

Outback Journeys . . . . 845

Sydney Harbour It’s called the Harbour City for good rea-son. Few places on earth are as defined by their geographical form as Sydney, and even fewer incorporate such a spectacular water feature.

Visitors have been writing odes to the harbour’s beauty ever since the First Fleet landed here on 26 January 1788. Few have done it justice, though. After all, how can any writing match the exultation of a ferry trip across shimmering blue waters or the satisfaction of an afternoon spent lazing in a sheltered sandy cove?

Everything here revolves around the water – suburbs, recreation, traffic, even the collective consciousness.

At the heart of the city is Circular Quay, from where the city’s famous flotilla of green-and-yellow ferries do five-minute dashes across to Milsons Point and Kirribilli, speedy sails to the Middle Harbour and majestic processions past the Opera House, Fort Denison and the Heads to the popular day-tripper destination of Manly.

To the east of Circular Quay, a genteel ribbon of suburbs unfurls, characterised by mansions, money and conservative mindsets. Harking west are former working-class neighbourhoods such as Balmain and Birchgrove that have been reinvented as arty residential enclaves.

Across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge is the somewhat stolid North Shore, residential location of choice for the city’s conservative middle classes, whose leafy villas stretch from Neutral Bay to Manly. Traffic snarls are the norm here, as is the aspiration to own a yacht for weekend jaunts on the harbour.

An altogether different Sydney is found to the south, where a ring of trendy inner-city neighbourhoods surround the central business district and give the harbour a buzzing urban edge.

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MelbourneArts, sports and

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Cradle MountainPhotogenic peak in

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Great Ocean RoadWorld-class road trip(great surf!) (p535)

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Sydney Opera HouseArchitectural opera in the

Harbour City (p74)

Bondi BeachThe definitive Australian

beach (p92)

Great Barrier ReefSnorkel over kaleidoscopic

coral (p419)

Daintree RainforestButterflies, beaches andtropical jungle (p452)

Byron BayHippies, surf and

music festivals (p184)

Gold CoastParty-prone theme park

wonderland (p316)

Contributing Authors Michael Cathcart Michael teaches history at the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. He is well known as a broadcaster on ABC Radio National and has presented history programs on ABC TV. Michael wrote the History chapter.

Cathy Craigie Cathy is a Gamilaroi/Anaiwon woman from northern New South Wales. She is a free-lance writer and cultural consultant and has extensive experience in Aboriginal Affairs. Cathy wrote the Aboriginal Australia chapter.

Tim Flannery Tim is a scientist, explorer and writer. He has written several award-winning books including The Future Eaters, Throwim Way Leg (an account of his work as a biologist in New Guin-ea) and The Weather Makers. He lives in Sydney where he is a professor in the faculty of science at Macquarie University. Tim wrote the Environment chapter.

Jayne D’ArcyMelbourne & Victoria Melbourne strikes a new pose every day and Jayne does her best to snap it in words and photos. A fan of cycling around the city, she’s learnt that you can’t look at anything in Melbourne at face value, you’ve got to look up (for the rooftop bars) down (for the graffiti) and along that grimy laneway (for the glitzy restaurant). Jayne’s lived on the Mornington Peninsula and Great Ocean Road but is now happier than ever in Melbourne.

Anthony HamSydney & New South Wales Anthony was born in Melbourne, grew up in Sydney and spent much of his adult life travelling the world. He recently returned to Aus-tralia after 10 years living in Madrid. In NSW he found a perfect fit for his passion for wild landscapes – coastal rainforests, vast sweeps of sand and the endless outback horizon reminded him just how much he missed the land of his birth. He brings to the book the unique perspective of knowing the land intimately and yet

seeing it anew as if through the eyes of an outsider.

Paul HardingMelbourne & Victoria Growing up in Victorian goldrush town, Castlemaine, Paul was nicely placed to explore his home state, spending childhood summer holi-days in the Gippsland Lakes, and later camping trips to the Murray River and winter skiing in the High Country. As a freelance travel writer he has since seen a good part of the world but now lives in Melbourne, where he’s again well placed to explore Victoria. Paul has contributed to more than 40 Lonely Planet guidebooks,

including many Australian titles.

Shawn LowQueensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Your Reef Trip Good things come to those who wait. So the cliché goes. After missing out on a chance to work on the previ-ous edition of the Australia guide, Shawn filled in his time with research trips to Singapore, Korea and China instead. His patience was rewarded and aside from a wicked tan, Shawn’s now got a new bag load of travel stories to enthral (or bore) his mates with at the next pub session. Find out where he’s currently travelling

viaTwitter @shawnlow.

Virginia MaxwellSydney & New South Wales, Canberra & Around Despite being born, bred and based in Melbourne, Virginia knows Sydney well and loves it to bits. Having lived there in the past and visited frequently ever since, she has a good grasp of where to swim, sightsee, sleep and party. She resolutely refuses to engage in the age-old Sydney vs Melbourne rivalry – both are wonderful cities, especially now that Sydney has finally added a vibrant coffee culture to its many charms.

Tom SpurlingQueensland & the Great Barrier Reef Tom Spurling has written 10 guidebooks for Lonely Planet on five continents. He lives dangerously close to a trotting track in Perth, Western Australia. For this book he returned to Queensland with his wife and two children, driving 3000km of near-coastal highway and nonstop nursery rhymes. He escaped just days before mass floods. Tom also drove through the Outback with his dad who snored a lot but bought most of the beer.

Steve WatersPerth & Western Australia From the corrugations of the Tanami to Nambung’s ghostly Pinnacles, Steve covered 15,000km in Ezy, his Subaru L-series. Driving-lights dropped off, shockers, tyres, drive-shafts all shattered and they both almost drowned entering Purnululu. It only caught fire once. Slept in, eaten on, buried in Dampier Peninsula pindan, covered in Pilbara dust, pulled over by Cer-vantes cops, Ezy kept going. Steve’s also co-authored previous editions of Aus-

tralia, Indonesia and Great Adventures, and while not on the road, frequents LP’s Melbourne office.

Charles Rawlings-WayCoordinating Author, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Adelaide & South Australia As a likely lad, Charles suffered in shorts through Tasmanian winters, and in summer counted the days til he visited his grandparents in Adelaide. With desert-hot days, cool swimming pools, pasties with tomato sauce squirted into the middle and four TV stations, this flat South Australian city held paradisiacal status. Little did he know that southeast Queensland was just as alluring – a

fact confirmed by more recent encounters with Brisbane’s bookshops, bars and band rooms. An underrated rock guitarist and proud father of daughters, Charles has penned 20-something guide-books for Lonely Planet.

Meg WorbyCoordinating Author, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Adelaide & South Australia Meg’s first foray into Queensland introduced her to a green turtle, face-to-face underwater. Twenty-eight years and six trips later, Queensland’s inhabitants are still as naturally charming and a shell-load more cosmopolitan. Meanwhile, writing about South Australia was an honour as always. A former member of Lonely Planet’s languages, editorial and publishing teams, this is

Meg’s seventh Australian guidebook for Lonely Planet.

Brett AtkinsonTasmania, Perth & Western Australia Brett’s previous visits to Western Australia involved museum- and bar-hopping in Fremantle, and taking on the mighty Nullarbor Plain. This time he expanded his WA horizons by immersing himself in Perth’s restaurants and cafes, ‘researching’ craft breweries in the Swan Valley, and jumping from beach to forest and back to beach throughout Margaret River and the southwest. Brett’s covered more than 45 countries as a guidebook au-

thor and travel and food writer. See www.brett-atkinson.net for where he’s travelling to next.

Lindsay BrownDarwin to Uluru, Your Outback Trip A former conservation biologist and publish-ing manager of outdoor activity guides at Lonely Planet, Lindsay enjoys nothing more than heading into the outback in his trusty old 4WD to explore and pho-tograph Australia’s heartland. As a Lonely Planet author, Lindsay has contrib-uted to several titles including Australia, Central Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, East Coast Australia, Sydney & New

South Wales and Walking in Australia.

OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

OUR WRITERS

Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN 36 005 607 98317th edition – Nov 2013ISBN 978 1 74220 423 9© Lonely Planet 2013 Photographs © as indicated 201310 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Printed in SingaporeAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher. Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trademarks of Lonely Planet and are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated by commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please let us know of any misuses: lonelyplanet.com/ip.

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Hugging the east coast between Sydney and Cairns for 2864km, this is the most well-trodden path in Australia. You could do it in two weeks, but why not take four and really chill out.

Start with a few days immersed in the bright lights and glitz of Sydney, then meander north along the Pacific Hwy through central and northern New South Wales (NSW). Hang out in the Hunter Valley for some fine vino-quaffing, and stop to splash in the sea at family-friendly Port Stephens and Coffs Harbour, home of the iconic/kitsch ‘Big Banana’). Skip up to Byron Bay for New Age awakenings and superb beaches, then head over the Queensland border to the party-prone, surf-addled Gold Coast. Pause in hip Brisbane then amble up to affluent Noosa on the glorious Sunshine Coast.

The Bruce Hwy traces the stunning coast into Far North Queensland. Spot some pass-ing whales off the coast of Hervey Bay and track further north to the blissful Whit-sunday Islands, the coral charms of the Great Barrier Reef and the scuba-diving nexus of Cairns.

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Bid a fond au revoir to the bright lights, bars and boutiques of Sydney and hop on a flight to Alice Springs in central Australia. Check out the outstanding Alice Springs Desert Park, then take a tour south to the astonishing Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru gets all the press, but the big boulders at Kata Tjuta are actually higher.

Back in Alice, pick up a hire car and scoot north along the Stuart Hwy to emerging, rough-and-ready Darwin. En route you can go canoeing or take a cruise at gorgeous Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park, and check out some crocodiles and an-cient Aboriginal rock-art galleries at Kakadu National Park.

From Darwin, hop on a flight to Perth – a confident city that sets its own agenda – and the soulful old port town of Fremantle, not far down the road. Continuing south, wine away some hours around Margaret River until you’re ready to tackle the flat im-mensity of the Nullarbor Plain − if you’re not up for the epic drive to festival-frenzied Adelaide, the Indian Pacific train ride is unforgettable.

Check out the world-class wine regions around Adelaide (the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale are both just an hour away), or traverse the impossibly scenic Great Ocean Road to sports-mad Melbourne. Don’t miss a game of Australian Rules football or cricket at the cauldron-like Melbourne Cricket Ground.

If you have a few extra days, take the car ferry across to Tasmania − as ‘English’ as Australia gets. Australia’s divine island state preserves some of the country’s oldest forests and World Heritage–listed mountain ranges: Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park is accessible and absolutely beautiful.

From Melbourne, continue along the Victorian coast to the penguins and koalas on Phillip Island and white-sand seclusion of Wilsons Promontory National Park. Spend a couple of days somewhere along Ninety Mile Beach then cruise up the south-ern NSW coast to idyllic Jervis Bay (spot any whales?). Back in Sydney, there are so many beaches you’re sure to find a patch of sand with your name on it.

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This classic 3000km dash up the Stuart Hwy takes you into Australia’s desert heart.

From the eat-streets and old stone pubs of Adelaide, head north to the Barossa Valley for world-class red wines. Next stop is rust-coloured Flinders Ranges Na-tional Park, with Ikara (Wilpena Pound) jagging up from the semidesert.

Just off the Stuart Hwy are the opal-tinted dugouts of Coober Pedy. Continu-ing north into the Simpson Desert, the Lasseter Hwy delivers you to iconic Ulu-ru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The desert chasm of Watarrka (Kings Canyon) National Park is 300km further north.

Overnight in the desert oasis of Alice Springs, then continue north to the waterfalls and swimming holes of Litch-field National Park and the wetlands and rock-scapes of World Heritage–listed Kakadu National Park.

Gone are the days when Darwin was just a redneck frontier town: now the city is multicultural, as a visit to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market will confirm. Don’t miss the Deckchair Cinema and Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Perth, the Pilbara & the Kimberley

3 WEEKS

Feeling adventurous? Purge your urban urges in progressive Perth, then steer your 4WD north into Western Australia’s re-mote Pilbara and Kimberley regions.

First stop is the otherworldly Nambung National Park, followed by Kalbarri with its gorges and seacliffs. Meet dolphins at Monkey Mia, then hug the coast for superb snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef.

Inland are the red-iron hues of the Pil-bara. Cool-off at Millstream-Chichester National Park then down a beer at Mar-ble Bar, Australia’s hottest town, before watching turtles at Eighty Mile Beach.

The Big Empty stretches north to Broome, a multicultural town with ritzy resorts along Cable Beach. Nearby Dampi-er Peninsula beckons with pristine beach-es and laid-back camping. From here, veer east into the rough heart of the Kimberley and tackle the legendary Gibb River Road.

Restock in Kununurra before tracking south to the sandstone domes of Purnu-lulu National Park. Take the exquisitely lonely Duncan Road into the Northern Territory: once you hit the asphalt, party-town Darwin isn’t far away.

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Most people fly into Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, but just under 1000km south is Melbourne, Sydney’s arty rival.

Check out Sydney from its sparkling harbour: the gorgeous Sydney Opera House and colossal Sydney Harbour Bridge are unmissable. For a bird’s-eye view, tackle the Bridge Climb over the great grey arch. Feel like a swim? The backpackers, beach breaks and bikinis make Bondi Beach a quintessential Australian experience.

Heading south, zip along the elevated Grand Pacific Drive, through Wollon-gong to the lovely coastal town of Kiama. Nearby, the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk jags through the rainforest canopy.

Continuing south, meander through Ul-ladulla, Narooma and the aptly named Eden near the Victorian border. The road from here to Melbourne is low-key: spice things up with bushwalks and beaches at Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Melbourne is a burgeoning bayside city famous for the arts, Australian Rules football and coffee. Wander the laneways, mooch around the galleries, grab a pub dinner and catch a live band.

Brisbane to Byron Bay

Strap a surfboard to the roof rack and cruise into your very own Endless Sum-mer: this stretch of Australia’s east coast is famous for its surf.

Once a sleepy river town, Brisbane is booming, growing so fast that it can be dif-ficult to navigate. Its urban charms (great restaurants, arts scene, coffee and bars) meld seamlessly with the natural environ-ment (cliffs, parklands and the serpentine Brisbane River).

Heading south to the Gold Coast, the cityscape of Surfers Paradise appears on the horizon. There are as many apartment towers here as shades of fake tan: check it out if you like casinos, theme parks and boozy backpackers. More low-key are the surfie town of Burleigh Heads and the surf life-saving mecca Coolangatta.

Despite big summer crowds and big development money, Byron Bay in north-ern NSW remains a happy hippie town with great pubs, restaurants, beaches and the famous Pass point break. Don’t miss inland day-trips to pretty Bangalow and Australia’s almost mythical alternative-lifestyle hangout, Nimbin.

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