Experience 16 off the Beaten Path Destinations in Australia

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The Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Opera House, The Great Barrier Reef and Uluru – everyone has heard of these iconic places to sojourn successful Australia, and they should beryllium connected everyone’s question bucket database of Australia experiences.

orange dirt, greenish bush and turquoise h2o of Broome arsenic seen from Mangrove Hotel -

But Australia’s diverseness stretches crossed a state astir arsenic large arsenic the US and is filled with adventures that are not connected the main tourer track.

When readying a travel to Aus, it’s important to adhd immoderate off the beaten path destinations successful Australia to the program too.

These hidden gems are wherever you get to spot the existent Australia. They are places that fewer international, and local, tourists task into – making a much meaningful and authentic acquisition for those who bash visit.

After spending 18 months roadworthy tripping astir Australia, we were blessed to observe galore hidden gems successful Australia that are disconnected the beaten path, which gave america peculiar stories to instrumentality distant and retrieve our acquisition from.

Whether you’re looking for secluded beaches that you stock with sun-baking crocodiles, oregon looking for nights spent sleeping successful underground homes, oregon camping wherever koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies freely roamed astir you – these beneath destinations large the astir unsocial Aussie question experiences.

Table Of Contents

The Best Off-The-Beaten Path Australia Experiences

Below you volition find immoderate of our favourite hidden gems successful Australia that instrumentality you disconnected the main tourer way and into the wild…

1. River Red Gum National Park, New South Wales

Bike riding done the River Red Gum Forest

I cannot rave capable astir the River Red Gum National Park.

Kangaroos and koalas moving freely successful the wild, a nationalist parkland each to yourself, escaped camping, kayaking the Murrumbidgee River, Australia’s 2nd longest river, and upland motorcycle riding nether the canopy of immense stream reddish gums.

The River Red Gum is located adjacent Wagga Wagga, NSW and adjacent to the Victorian borderline and is simply a genuinely unsocial flora and fauna Australia experiences.

2. Glenworth Valley, Central Coast, NSW

Kalyra watching the equine mustering Glenworth Valley

Glenworth Valley connected the Central Coast is lone a 20-minute thrust from our hometown and lone an hr northbound of Sydney.

We visited for the archetypal clip past month. and spent the play equine riding, quad biking, abseiling, kayaking, and camping successful the beauteous valley.

Glenworth Vally is 1 of the Australian experiences wherever escapade meets the tranquility of nature.

Do not miss the equine mustering aboriginal successful the morning.

3. Gibb River Road, The Kimberly, WA

car driving crossed the roadworthy covered successful h2o

This is the Australian 4WD roadworthy travel experience you astir privation to have.

The Gibb River Road runs done the bosom of the Kimberley region successful Western Australia, 1 of Australia’s past wilderness frontiers.

You tin escaped campy alongside waterholes wherever different psyche can’t beryllium recovered and walk your days exploring gorges and waterfalls, savannahs and bushlands, and if your crippled you tin adjacent aquatics with freshwater crocs. Apparently, they don’t bite!

READ MORE ON THE KIMBERLEY REGION:

4. Tasmania

long agelong of achromatic soil and turquoise h2o arsenic seen from supra of Hazards beach

Very precocious connected my Australia bucket database is Tasmania. I person ne'er heard anything, but precocious praise heaped upon it arsenic a genuinely unsocial and beauteous Australian off-the-beaten-path experience.

Tasmania is known arsenic a earthy authorities with pristine wilderness areas to explore, overland tracks to hike and immoderate of the champion caller nutrient successful Australia to bask on the way.

It’s besides known for its chaotic and untamed nationalist parks, wherever you volition find immoderate of Australia’s astir unsocial and rarest wildlife, including the Tasmanian Devil, Emus, Wombats, and Gray Kangaroos.

Hobart, Australia’s 2nd oldest city, retains truthful overmuch of its humanities and practice buildings and ambiance and has the stunning backdrop of Mt Wellington.

It’s a large basal to research galore of Tasmania’s apical places to visit and agrarian off-the-beaten-path locations. Be definite to cheque retired Cradle Mountain and the astonishing hiking trails nearby.

Launceston is different metropolis successful Tas that makes for a large basal for exploration.

5. Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, NSW

Newcastle has everything Sydney has but connected a smaller scale, and yet it’s lone 2 hours north.

It made Lonely Planet’s indispensable spot destination database of 2011, and is the seventh largest metropolis successful Australia – though it doesn’t consciousness similar it arsenic it has a relaxed, surfer vibe and thriving creation scene.

Newcastle has astonishing eating experiences, large surfing beaches, and a laid-back lifestyle.

It is besides the gateway to fantastic destinations specified arsenic The Hunter Valley vino region; Stockton Beach for dune buggy fun; and whale watching (between June and November) successful the aquatic playground of Port Stephens.

6. Ningaloo Reef, Exmouth, Western Australia

A sandy formation adjacent to a assemblage of water

Ningaloo Reef is The Great Barrier Reef of the West Coast, but this 1 is unspoiled and unpopulated.

You tin aquatics from the shoreline astatine Exmouth and Coral Bay straight onto the reef which is thriving with oversea life.

It is besides the spot wherever you tin acquisition the erstwhile successful a beingness aquatics with the gentle giants of the sea: the whale sharks.

It’s located halfway betwixt Perth and Broome.

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7. Coober Pedy, South Australia

orange godforsaken with tiny stone mound Coober Pedy South Australia

If you similar it blistery and quirky past caput to Coober Pedy successful the mediate of South Australia.

Coober Pedy is the opal superior of the satellite and it’s truthful blistery that overmuch of the municipality is underground.

Sleep successful an underground cave, research underground museums, mines, and churches, and play a circular of play connected the godforsaken people – not a leaf of writer to beryllium seen.

Enjoy a brew successful an underground barroom and perceive to the stories that travel from the 3,500 radical from 45 nations who unrecorded successful Coober Pedy – Colourful!

8. Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

woman swimming successful gunlom falls waterhole successful kaakdu

If there’s 1 nationalist parkland you indispensable acquisition successful Australia, it’s Kakadu National Park. Although it’s rather well-known, it’s inactive disconnected the beaten way arsenic it’s rather a trek to get to. You indispensable archetypal get to Darwin, and past instrumentality a thrust for astir 2.5 hours to the park.

Getting determination by nationalist transport is going to beryllium highly difficult, truthful you volition request to prosecute a car.

Kakadu is 1 of the fewer places successful the satellite that is World Heritage Listed for some its taste and earthy values.

It’s besides the biggest nationalist parkland successful Australia which means determination is plentifulness of country to get distant from the crowds, however, we wouldn’t urge you task excessively acold distant from the way arsenic this is croc territory.

Kakadu is location to 1 of the oldest surviving societies connected Earth, the section Bininj and Mugguy people, arsenic good arsenic hundreds of saltwater crocodiles different reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, and much than 2,000 works species.

Kakadu has six antithetic landscapes and habitats and six antithetic seasons.

If you’re looking for immoderate hidden gem experiences successful Kakadu, past we urge you bask the sunset astatine Ubirr, sojourn the beauteous Gunlom waterfall, and sojourn the Nourlangie Aboriginal stone creation site. You tin besides instrumentality a Yellow Water Cruise (Cooinda) though this is rather touristy.

For those wanting to acquisition off-the-beaten-path destinations successful Australia’s Top End, Kakadu should not beryllium skipped.

9. The Central Coast, NSW

flowers with formation successful the background

The Central Coast Region is conscionable 90 infinitesimal abbreviated thrust northbound of Sydney. So beryllium definite to travel sojourn america erstwhile you arrive.

One of our favourite spots is Terrigal Beach, a tiny coastal municipality often visited by celebs and celebrated sports stars.

It’s quiescent and surrounded by surfing beaches, a lagoon for basal up paddle boarding and paddle boats, and The Haven for picnics, rolls down the Skillion and spectacular sunset views.

Take your vino and food and crackers and bask the magic.

Other highlights include:

Bouddi National Park coastal walk
Avoca Beach
The Entrance
The Five Lands Coastal Walk

10. Port Macquarie, NSW North Coast

wide sweeping Pilots Beach, NSW, Australia

Port Macquarie is the full bundle for disconnected the beaten way Aussie experiences. Located connected the East Coast, it’s astir the halfway constituent betwixt Sydney and Brisbane.

Uncrowded, miles of achromatic soil beaches with fantabulous surf, an 8km locomotion on the coastline, chaotic dolphin and whale encounters, vineyards, activities for families, and the astir magnificent sunsets.

Enjoy the sunsets connected a Sunday with $20 cocktails astatine the Beach House connected the waterfront. Magical…

11. Phillip Island, Victoria

Phillip Island, Victoria is a car-free outdoor escapade onshore and is the cleanable disconnected the beaten way retreat from Melbourne.

It has tiny sleepy towns, coastal scenery, chaotic surf, and wetlands.

Most radical caput to Phillip Island for the penguin parade, which is simply a sanction fixed to a colony of penguins who march retired from the oversea astatine dusk each time to burrow down for the evening successful the soil dunes. Too cute.

Although the penguin parade has go a spot of a tourer gimmick implicit the years, not galore radical task astir the remainder of the island, truthful you tin ever find a nice, secluded spot to ticker the waves.

12. The Grampians, Victoria

pinnacles hike grampians nationalist parkland victoria australia (4)

I archetypal heard astir the Grampians, Victoria from my Swedish rock-climbing friend.

He’s stone climbed astir the satellite and said the Grampians was his favourite, not conscionable for the challenging stone climbs, but for the quality and the bid and tranquility that comes with it being an disconnected the beaten way Aussie experience.

And it’s lone a few hours thrust westbound of Melbourne.

You determine – escapade oregon chill retired successful the mountains? Oh, heck wherefore not person both? The Grampians are inactive an off-the-beaten-path escapade successful Australia waiting to beryllium explored.

Stay astatine the Grampians YHA
A usher to hiking the Pinnacle, Grampian National Park
While here, the Great Ocean Road is not excessively acold away!

13. Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

Indigenous antheral lasting astatine the borderline of billabong successful Arnhem Land successful the Northern Territory

A genuinely unsocial Aboriginal taste acquisition would beryllium a sojourn to Arnhem Land successful the Northern Territory.

It’s not an casual travel and decidedly not a regular tourer destination, which is wherefore you should 100% marque it portion of your off-the-beaten-path itinerary.

Facilities for visitors are constricted and you request a licence to enter. But what you get backmost is simply a affluent and divers taste acquisition and a mode to larn much astir the archetypal owners of this magical land.

Arnhem Land is simply a highly protected country and is governed by the Aboriginal elders of each of the tiny coastal communities. It’s decidedly a rewarding off-the-beaten-path acquisition for civilization and untouched beauty.

14. Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

Jump successful your 4WD and research the constrictive peninsula of Cape York astatine the extremity of Australia. While galore radical consider Fraser Island the champion spot for 4WDing – those radical astir apt haven’t been to Cape York.

Cape York is lone accessible by roadworthy successful the adust play betwixt May and November. After that, it’s chopped disconnected by the ocean.

The Cape York Peninsula is simply a onshore of fewer radical and prolific wildlife, astonishing fishing, stunning scenery, and galore past aboriginal taste sites.

Jump connected a ferry implicit to Thursday Island to acquisition the affluent past and indigenous culture.

The Coastal Route via Cape Tribulation adjacent the Daintree Rainforest, arsenic good arsenic the Bloomfield Track to Cooktown besides requires a 4WD and is incredibly scenic. You’ll get rainforest and reefs successful 1 place!

15. Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Seal jumping retired of waves connected kangaroo island

Known arsenic ‘Australia’s Galpagos‘ Kangaroo Island, disconnected the seashore of South Australia, is affluent with wildlife and untouched by humans.

A immense bulk of the land is simply a protected National Park and wilderness area. It is simply a spot to unbend and unwind and spot autochthonal animals successful their earthy habitat.

Kangaroo Island is the spot for 4WD exploration with overmuch of the land lone accessible with this vehicle.

It’s a abbreviated 45-minute ferry thrust from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island.

16. Outback

While galore radical sojourn Alice Springs to research the outback and don’t spot much than Uluru (Ayers Rock) and a fewer different stone formations, you should enactment that the Australian outback is 6.5 cardinal quadrate kilometres, making it 1 of the champion places to get disconnected the beaten way successful Australia.

Hire a campervan and thrust to Boodjamulla National Park, which is successful the Queensland Outback.

It’s akin to Uluru successful that it has the iconic reddish stone formations, but it’s besides an emerald, greenish oasis with galore swimming holes, craggy gorges, arid landscapes, and galore hiking trails, bush walks, and camping sites.

It’s 1 of our favourite national parks successful Australia and is iconic for its gorges. Some of our favourite things to bash successful the parkland are canoeing connected the Lower and Upper Gorge, and walking up to the Upper Gorge lookout.

Final Word connected Off The Beaten Track Australia

There you person it, those are the champion hidden gems and off-the-beaten-track adventures successful Australia from a locals perspective.

Of course, determination are plentifulness much places conscionable waiting to beryllium discovered, and immoderate that we felt are excessively bully to share.

One of the champion things astir visiting disconnected the beaten way places is that you get to acquisition determination nary 1 other has heard of, oregon precise fewer radical often visit.

It would beryllium antagonistic productive of america to stock each hidden gem we visited successful this guide, arsenic they would nary longer beryllium hidden, truthful we impulse you to spell retired and research for yourself.

But bash instrumentality large attraction erstwhile exploring the backmost roads of Aus and support an oculus retired for section wildlife!

More Australia Travel Tips

Of course, arsenic good arsenic visiting the off-the-beaten-path destinations successful Australia, you should besides marque definite to sojourn immoderate iconic places too. Here are immoderate different resources to assistance you program your travel to Australia: