How to Adventure Light in Australia
On these eight meaningful jaunts, no previous experience is necessary. This story is part of our guide to traveling in Australia, created with support from Australia.
During the traditional Aboriginal Walkabout, teenage boys would travel on foot for months while living off the land, marking their transition into adulthood. Today, travelers down under visit the bush for a brief glimpse into Indigenous Australians’ cultures and history, all while taking in spectacular wildlife. In the Australian Outback, on the Great Barrier Reef, and beyond, soft adventures – short walkabouts, beginner waves, and patient encounters with nature – await travelers who take their activities light. Here, eight ways to experience the Australian wilderness, without any prior training or packed gear.
Snorkel a Submerged Atoll
The Great Barrier Reef covers more than 200,000 square miles of ocean floor off Australia’s northeast coast, and cruising there from Cairns affords some of the reef’s best treasures. Coral Expeditions’ seven-night sailing takes snorkelers and divers to sites teeming with wildlife, such as Osprey Reef, a submerged atoll that David Attenborough once called an “oasis for living creatures of all kinds.” Watch for towering soft corals, neon-colored anthias, multiple shark species, potato cod, and even passing manta rays. It’s an underwater sensory overload of the very best kind.
Spot Marsupials and Reptiles in the Rain Forest
More than 180 million years old, Far North Queensland’s wet tropics encompass a UNESCO World Heritage site and serve as the traditional home of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people. On a journey through Daintree National Park, travelers scout the rivers for saltwater crocodiles and look for musky rat-kangaroos and southern cassowaries during guided nature walks. Natural Habitat Adventures’ 21-day safari starts in the port city of Cairns, then takes visitors into the Daintree and all the way south to Adelaide.
Walk the Australian Galápagos
Among South Australia’s top experiences, Abercrombie & Kent's six-day wilderness safari introduces visitors to Kangaroo Island, also known as “Australia’s Galápagos.” It’s one of only a few places in the country where you can encounter endangered Australian sea lions along the shore. Observe the island’s namesake Western grey kangaroos, visit fur seals at Cape du Couedic in Flinders Chase National Park, then end the day with a proper South Australian shiraz sundowner.
Hike to a Postcard Tasmanian Beach
Hanging out with Tasmanian devils, harvesting oysters, and trying your hand at beekeeping are just a few optional activities during the Tasmania portion of The Tailor’s 15-day Australian grand tour. But hiking the island’s famed Freycinet National Park tops the tour’s light-adventure lineup. Lace up your boots for the moderately challenging climb, and you’ll be rewarded with bird’s-eye views from a lookout point over one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most spectacular stretches of sand at Wineglass Bay.
Learn to Surf in New South Wales
Some of surfing’s biggest names earned their fame catching waves in Margaret River or at local Bondi Beach breaks. For those just getting their start, stick to the kid- and beginner-safe sandbar at blissful Arrawarra Beach, two hours south of Byron Bay. G Adventures’ seven-day bushwalk and surfing tour includes morning lessons on Arrawarra, as well as free time to perfect the technique in Byron’s swells.
Swim with Whale Sharks
Take in Western Australia’s otherworldly landscapes while camping under inky skies and four-wheel-driving across the desert during Intrepid Travel’s ten-day safari from Broome to Perth. Escape to the ocean at Monkey Mia, where bottlenose dolphins swim near the shore. At UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, get close to sea turtles, rays, some 500 species of tropical fish, and of course the gentle-giant whale sharks that congregate here annually from April to July.
Take a Twilight Horseback Ride
Just an hour south of Melbourne, some of Victoria’s most spectacular scenery awaits along the Mornington Peninsula, a playground full of vineyards, golf courses that wind through rolling sand dunes, and sublime expanses of southern Australian coast. At the Jackalope Hotel, where 44 modern suites and a sprawling infinity pool overlook the surrounding vines, guests wind down with a twilight horseback ride along Saint Andrews Beach in Mornington Peninsula National Park.
Experience the Mala Walk
Considered the spiritual heart of Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a place to learn from the wisdom of the local Anangu people, whose creation stories are inextricably tied to this place, known for rock formations and ancient art. Against this backdrop, Swain Destinations invites visitors to partake in the Mala walk, just over a mile out and back. The spiritual trail follows the story of the ancient Mala people; it runs along the base of Uluru to Kantju Gorge, where a towering rock wall hosts a series of incredible waterfalls during periods of heavy rain.
During the traditional Aboriginal Walkabout, teenage boys would travel on foot for months while living off the land, marking their transition into adulthood. Today, travelers down under visit the bush for a brief glimpse into Indigenous Australians’ cultures and history, all while taking in spectacular wildlife. In the Australian Outback, on the Great Barrier Reef, and beyond, soft adventures – short walkabouts, beginner waves, and patient encounters with nature – await travelers who take their activities light. Here, eight ways to experience the Australian wilderness, without any prior training or packed gear.
Snorkel a Submerged Atoll
The Great Barrier Reef covers more than 200,000 square miles of ocean floor off Australia’s northeast coast, and cruising there from Cairns affords some of the reef’s best treasures. Coral Expeditions’ seven-night sailing takes snorkelers and divers to sites teeming with wildlife, such as Osprey Reef, a submerged atoll that David Attenborough once called an “oasis for living creatures of all kinds.” Watch for towering soft corals, neon-colored anthias, multiple shark species, potato cod, and even passing manta rays. It’s an underwater sensory overload of the very best kind.
Spot Marsupials and Reptiles in the Rain Forest
More than 180 million years old, Far North Queensland’s wet tropics encompass a UNESCO World Heritage site and serve as the traditional home of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people. On a journey through Daintree National Park, travelers scout the rivers for saltwater crocodiles and look for musky rat-kangaroos and southern cassowaries during guided nature walks. Natural Habitat Adventures’ 21-day safari starts in the port city of Cairns, then takes visitors into the Daintree and all the way south to Adelaide.
Walk the Australian Galápagos
Among South Australia’s top experiences, Abercrombie & Kent's six-day wilderness safari introduces visitors to Kangaroo Island, also known as “Australia’s Galápagos.” It’s one of only a few places in the country where you can encounter endangered Australian sea lions along the shore. Observe the island’s namesake Western grey kangaroos, visit fur seals at Cape du Couedic in Flinders Chase National Park, then end the day with a proper South Australian shiraz sundowner.
Hike to a Postcard Tasmanian Beach
Hanging out with Tasmanian devils, harvesting oysters, and trying your hand at beekeeping are just a few optional activities during the Tasmania portion of The Tailor’s 15-day Australian grand tour. But hiking the island’s famed Freycinet National Park tops the tour’s light-adventure lineup. Lace up your boots for the moderately challenging climb, and you’ll be rewarded with bird’s-eye views from a lookout point over one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most spectacular stretches of sand at Wineglass Bay.
Learn to Surf in New South Wales
Some of surfing’s biggest names earned their fame catching waves in Margaret River or at local Bondi Beach breaks. For those just getting their start, stick to the kid- and beginner-safe sandbar at blissful Arrawarra Beach, two hours south of Byron Bay. G Adventures’ seven-day bushwalk and surfing tour includes morning lessons on Arrawarra, as well as free time to perfect the technique in Byron’s swells.
Swim with Whale Sharks
Take in Western Australia’s otherworldly landscapes while camping under inky skies and four-wheel-driving across the desert during Intrepid Travel’s ten-day safari from Broome to Perth. Escape to the ocean at Monkey Mia, where bottlenose dolphins swim near the shore. At UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, get close to sea turtles, rays, some 500 species of tropical fish, and of course the gentle-giant whale sharks that congregate here annually from April to July.
Take a Twilight Horseback Ride
Just an hour south of Melbourne, some of Victoria’s most spectacular scenery awaits along the Mornington Peninsula, a playground full of vineyards, golf courses that wind through rolling sand dunes, and sublime expanses of southern Australian coast. At the Jackalope Hotel, where 44 modern suites and a sprawling infinity pool overlook the surrounding vines, guests wind down with a twilight horseback ride along Saint Andrews Beach in Mornington Peninsula National Park.
Experience the Mala Walk
Considered the spiritual heart of Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a place to learn from the wisdom of the local Anangu people, whose creation stories are inextricably tied to this place, known for rock formations and ancient art. Against this backdrop, Swain Destinations invites visitors to partake in the Mala walk, just over a mile out and back. The spiritual trail follows the story of the ancient Mala people; it runs along the base of Uluru to Kantju Gorge, where a towering rock wall hosts a series of incredible waterfalls during periods of heavy rain.