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Australia: sightseeing

Australia is a vast continent with more icons, landmarks, activities and tours than you could possibly cover in a year. We've put together a map to give you a taste of the top sights to see and an idea of where they all are.

1. Uluru aka Ayers Rock. It's big, it's red and it's the most obvious symbol of Australia. Remember, it's about 350km away from Alice Springs.	2. The Olgas aka Kata Tjuta. Not too far away from Uluru, these are a collection of big, red, stone domes - some of which are taller than Uluru itself
3. King's Canyon A stunning canyon in the Northern Territory, with rock walls over 250m tall in places. It's well worth seeing if you're heading to Alice Springs to see Uluru anyway.	4. The Pinnacles Crazy spiky rock formations in the desert in Western Australia. You may have seen Billy Connolly running around them naked. The nearest town is called Cervantes.
5. Fraser Island The World's largest sand island. Full of lakes, dingoes and natural beauty. Drive over it in a 4x4 and camp out under the stars.	6. Coober Pedy An old opal mining town. You should go here to see all the underground buildings, sleep in an underground hostel and 'fossick' for opals.
7. The Devil's Marbles These are huge, perfectly spherical red rocks that perform a weird balancing act not far off the main road between Alice and Darwin.	8. The Twelve Apostles Highlight of the Great Ocean Road, these are 12(ish) towering limestone pillars that stick out of the sea near Port Campbell. Particularly stunning at dawn or dusk.
9. The Bungle Bungles aka Purnululu National Park, this is part of the Kimberleys region in North Western Australia and features huge black and orange striped domes of rock.	10. Kakadu National Park 'Crocodile Dundee Country'. A brilliant wilderness and a great place to see crocodiles, waterfalls and spectacular scenery.
11. Great Barrier Reef The largest living thing on Earth... Runs most of the way down the East Coast and an extremely popular place to dive. Cairns is a good base for this.	12. Ningaloo Reef Not as big or as famous as the Great Barrier Reef, but it's equally beautiful and much less busy. Coral Bay and Exmouth are both good places to start.
13. The Daintree Rainforest One of the oldest rainforests on the planet. Reassuringly full of weird noises, weirder plants and the super-weird cassowary. Head up to Cape Tribulation and stay in a jungle lodge.	14. The Whitsunday Islands A group of breathtakingly gorgeous paradise islands off the coast of Airlie Beach in Queensland. The best way to see them is on a three day sailing trip.

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