Australia & the Pacific attractions

The Whispering Wall is a time-honored stop at the southern end of the world-famous Barossa Valley. A walk across the dam perches you 9-stories high, with the Barossa Reservoir water on one side and a long drop on the other. The unique acoustics of the concave concrete dam wall allows you to hear sounds from afar, including whispered utterances.

The Australian National Maritime Museum features rich exhibitions ranging from the time of the Eora First People to the First Fleet all the way to the present. Here you can learn about how convicts traveled in dark and damp accommodations and how passengers sailing to a new life survived long ocean journeys.

Jutting out into Sydney Harbour to the east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay, Garden Island is home to the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of ships and its heritage center. Visit the area to see fortifications from the colonial period, the first grass tennis court in Australia, and a heritage rose garden.

It’s tough to decide which is more beautiful: the cobalt hue of the aptly named Blue Lake sparkling in the midday sun, or the deep green of the Whakarewarewa Forest that hugs the shore of the lake. Either way, the natural beauty is what makes Lake Tikitapu an ideal place to connect with nature.

Covering a significant portion of Melbourne’s Southbank, Crown Melbourne is an entertainment complex with three hotels, spas, a cinema, a casino, and a number of bars and restaurants that overlook the Yarra River. The fun never ends at the casino, which is open 24 hours and welcomes guests with a dazzling water jet and fire show.

With its sandy beaches, windswept bluffs, and Pinnacles Lookout granite colonnade, Cape Woolamai is a must-see town on Australia’s Phillip Island. Jutting out from the island's southeastern corner, the rugged headland is a hotspot for surfing, bird-watching, and hiking its miles of coastal trails.

Wellington’s Red Rocks Reserve (Pariwhero) is a site of cultural and geological significance, which you can admire during an easy coastal walk or bike ride. The 4.5-mile (7.5-kilometer) track runs from Owhiro Bay in southern Wellington to Red Rocks Reserve. Enjoy ocean views and fur seals basking in the sun (and wind) along the way.

Among the most recognizable features of the Hobart skyline, the massive Tasman Bridge spans almost a mile (1.4 kilometers) from north of the Central Business District out into the suburbs. The bridge drew international news attention in 1975, when a bulk carrier collided into it and then sank, in what was dubbed the Tasman Bridge Disaster.

Used by fishing boats and private yachts alike, Constitution Dock is best known as the finishing point for the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, which takes place in the week leading up to New Year’s. However, it's a vibrant spot to visit throughout the year, offering good photo opportunities and lots of great spots to grab seafood.

On the western tip of the Mornington Peninsula, travelers come to the beautiful Point Nepean National Park to bike or hike along the coastal landscape and to learn more about the park’s history at the 50 heritage-listed buildings. The ocean views along one of Victoria’s most treacherous coastlines are also impressive.

The Royal Albatross Centre, within Dunedin city limits on the Otago Peninsula, is an ideal spot for nature viewing. The center is home to the only mainland breeding colony of these large birds in the world. Add a tour of the center to a day trip out to the peninsula—a must-do activity while in Dunedin.

Part of Queensland’s Great Sandy National Park, Double Island Point is a beautiful forested headland topped with a lighthouse and adorned with a long white sand spit. There’s no road, so you can reach it by driving along the beach in a 4WD vehicle. You can also hike, mountain bike, or see it from the water on a fishing trip.

While you could always venture into the outback in search of Australia’s natural wonders, the Australian Museum makes getting up close to the wild a whole lot easier. Wander through air-conditioned hallways filled with more than 40,000 artifacts, including examples of rare native minerals and exotic tropical birds.

Wine lovers can enjoy the combination of Aussie hospitality, French gastronomy, and viniculture at Dominique Portet Winery. Bringing nine generations of French winemaking traditions to Aussie soil, Dominique Portet Winery is the brainchild of Bordeaux-born winemaker Dominique Portet. It produces everything from Provence-style rosés to Bordeaux blend reds, all with a distinctive Aussie twist.

Australia’s largest conference and exhibition space, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), spans more than 750,000 square feet (70,000 square meters). Perched beside the Yarra River, near the city’s Central Business District (CBD), it hosts conferences, meetings, exhibitions, concerts, and more.

Just minutes from downtown, the Roma Street Parkland provides city-dwellers with a tranquil escape the buzz of city life. Set on the slopes of Spring Hill and designed by Colin Campbell—star of the popular Gardening Australia TV show—the 40-acre (16-hectare parklands provide sunny picnic patches, leafy walking trails, and subtropical gardens.

Housed in a Victorian marketplace more than 100 years old, the Fremantle Markets are a Western Australian institution. A visit to the markets offers not only the chance to shop for fresh food and unique gifts, but also to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the entertainment offered by a rotating schedule of street performers.

Opened in 2017 in Matakana, north of Auckland, Sculptureum is a sculpture garden, art gallery, restaurant, and vineyard in one. The many animal sculptures in the gardens delight kids, while six indoor galleries display glass work and abstract art interesting to adults, making Sculptureum a popular day-trip destination for all.

Best known as the home of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which takes place in Melbourne every March, Albert Park is a leafy inner-city retreat that has a lake with swans, as well as sports venues, playgrounds, and a skyline view. Take a stroll along the lakeside boardwalk, or rent a boat to explore the lake.

Head to the Australian Sports Museum inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for all things Aussie sport. Learn about Aussie Rules Football, cricket, tennis, horse racing, and more. Australian sports heroes are brought to life using holograms and displays, which is fun for the entire family, sports enthusiast or not. You might leave inspired to take up a sporting challenge.

Shute Harbour is a center of transit for visitors to the Whitsunday Islands. Amazingly for such a low-population area, the harbor is actually Australia's second busiest commuter port. Although there’s a small village here, the vast majority of tourists simply pass through town on their way to catch a ferry or a cruise around the islands.

The Transitional Cathedral opened in 2013, after the city’s iconic ChristChurch Cathedral was severely damaged in the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. In contrast to the 19th-century stone church it replaces, the cathedral has a very modern, A-frame design supported by dozens of cardboard tubes, lending it the nickname the Cardboard Cathedral.

Established in 1894, McLaren Vale’s Wirra Wirra Vineyards are a South Australia institution—but one with a sense of fun. Besides the cellar door, deli, and everything you’d expect from a working winery, there’s a giant bell, a medieval siege machine for hurling watermelons, and a Flintstones-style boundary fence known as “Woodhenge”.

Cottesloe Beach’s gentle waves and sugar-soft sand might make you forget that you're in the middle of a major Australian city. Cott, as it’s affectionately known, is one of Perth’s most popular spots for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, or sipping cocktails while watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean.

Adelaide’s shopping epicenter—Rundle Mall—is home to over 700 retail stores and four department stores, plus food, sculptures, and, often, street performers. The original Rundle Street was an Adelaide shopping favorite as far back as the 1870s and Rundle Mall’s Victorian arcades preserve its historic charm.

Aussies know Palm Beach, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, as the backdrop for the country’s long-running soap opera Home and Away. But some of Sydney’s most exclusive real estate is nestled among the forested hillsides that surround “Palmy,” as locals call it. Travelers love the long, slim peninsula with its spacious, sandy beaches, clear waters, and great accommodation and restaurants.

Towering high above the Canterbury Plains, Mt. Hutt Ski Area is an award-winning, internationally recognized ski resort suitable for skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels. But it’s not only a hot destination during ski season—there’s plenty to do during the summer, including hiking, hot-air ballooning, and jet boating in the Rakaia Gorge.

Walking and cycling trails crisscross the green, rumpled Port Hills landscape. To get to know this outdoor playground, skip the tunnel linking Christchurch and the harbor community of Lyttleton to the southeast. Instead, take the long way around and over the hills. The extra travel time pays off in scenery and gorgeous views.

Mainland Australia’s oldest surviving lighthouse, the Cape Otway Lightstation perches high on a cliff above the Bass Strait. A Great Ocean Road landmark, it offers spectacular views, including whale watching in season. Travelers can delve into history at the telegraph station and a World War II radar bunker or stay in heritage cottages on site.

The stretch of the Sunshine Coast that makes up Maroochydore is a surfer's heaven and a popular destination with those chasing waves. Over 15 miles (25 kilometers) of beach lends itself to surfing, swimming, jet-skiing, picnicking, or just relaxing. Surfing competitions are not uncommon, so be sure to keep your eye out for the pros.