Where the world can't find you...
Vast, largely uninhabited Australia is rich in pristine wilderness. Imposing landscapes range from rugged mountains, red deserts, tropical forests to colourful reefs. From more than 500 aboriginal culture-infused National Parks we line up our favorites:
1. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Visit the ancient heart of Australia's Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the mystically forgiven land of the Anangu where towering Olgas surge above the sweltering red plains. Without you at a summit to absorb the immensity, grandeur and calmness of Australia's spiritual and geographical centrepiece as Saint Ayers Rock or 'Uluru' turns ever deeper red.
2. Freycinet National Park
Dramatic pink granite peaks, secluded coves with white sandy beaches and bird-filled lagoons; the Tasmanian Freycinet Peninsula is a treasure chest full of natural wealth. Visit Wineglass Bay in the Australian winter for spotting humpback whales and southern hijackers in a fairytale setting.
3. Wilson Promontory National Park
Cruise through rainforests full of special flora and fauna and sleep under the stars on the beach. Swim, fish, and dive from paradise Squeaky Beach,observe whales and dolphins, and listen to the crackling sand.
4. Daintree Rainforest
Looking out over the ocean, ziplined your way between fluttering parrots through the world's oldest jungle, past house-high palms, ferns, colorful flowers and trees over 2,500 years old. Learn from the Kuku Yalanji,cruise between crocodiles and spot the most special bird species.
5. Purnululu National Park
Vast and secluded, the ochre with black striped steep sandstone formations of Purnululu or 'Bungle Bungles' are off-grid and only accessible by 4x4. From the air, during a hellish flight, the wondrous shape of the bird paradise unfolds; that of a beehive.
6. Kakadu National Park
The Bininj/Mungguypeople welcome you to their vast land, a rainforest steeped in Aboriginal culture where towering waterfalls plunge into pools, rugged steep slopes rise, centuries-old drawings adorn rocks and millions of migratory birds cover the billabongs.
7. Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park
The décor of a wide, elliptical sunken valley framed with wildly jagged mountains, steep gorges, Adnyamathanha sites, a rich wildlife and - after rainfall- carpets of flowers; bushwalks in Flinders Range are photogenic and unforgettable.
8. Lamington National Park or 'Woonoongoora'
Quiet and timeless means the name the Yugambeh gave to their country, Australia's largest subtropical rainforest that covers the deep valleys and high cliffs of McPherson Range. More than 100 miles of trails are waiting for you, leading past cascading waterfalls, idyllic pools, dripping caves, rampant rainforest, flower fields and vast open forests filled with wildlife.
