The best way to explore an off-beat destination

So you’ve got a trip planned for two weeks in Australia. Now what? Well the good news is you have arrived at the right place. Having grown up in Australia and spending a lot of my life exploring my home country, I’ve got an endless list of suggestions to make your trip a memorable one. While two weeks isn’t long enough to see it all, it is certainly a good amount of time to see the highlights. In this post you will find everything you need to know to plan your visit to Australia. This is a highlights tour of the country and will show you how much you can fit in with just two weeks. If you have more time to spend in Australia, consider some of these great destinations as extensions to your trip. Two Weeks in Australia While you could easily spend two months exploring all Australia has to offer, this trip is designed as a highlights itinerary to see the country for the first time. Days 1-4 in Australia Sydney (Day trip to the Blue Mount...

Merry Christmas from Australia! Yes, this month I finally set foot in Australia — over a year later than originally planned! The past month has been action-packed, filled with far too much movement as usual, an incredible festival and several amazing road trips. My month began in Chiang Mai, my former home in Thailand and somewhere I will always be delighted to return to. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel this time around — it had been six months since my last visit, a lot of our friends have now moved on and left, we would be staying on the opposite side of the Old Town…  Would I regret leaving my beloved Cambodia? Fortunately, I needn’t have worried. Setting eyes on the moat, inhaling, and choking on, the familiar aroma of the night markets, glimpsing the shimmering gold of temples lining every street. It felt familiar and welcoming. It felt like home.   This time, I was back in Chiang Mai for one main reason. The Yi Peng lantern release. Ever ...

Each afternoon Craig and I would go to the Shed Bar at Nomad’s Backpackers for happy hour between 4pm-5pm and the kids would have a play on the grass in front of the pool. Each afternoon the same barman was working, a backpacker from the UK. He asked what we had planned for our final day in Airlie Beach and at that stage we had nothing planned.  He gave a great spot to visit to kill the day, lunch at Hydeaway Bay.

There’s two ways you can do the Broome to Darwin drive . One’s via the highway, which has some nice stops but is a little bit bland. Or, you can say yes to adventure , stock up the 4WD with spare tyres and a puncture repair kit , and brave the Gibb River Road. The best part of the Broome to Darwin road trip traverses the astonishingly beautiful Kimberley region , which is known as ‘Australia’s Last Frontier’. It’s one of the biggest portions of untouched wilderness left on this earth, and its natural beauty is one like no other. With dramatic gorges that drop off into oblivion, secluded swimming holes flanked by exotic trees, and roaring waterfalls plummeting into depths below, the Kimberley is a place like no other, and without a doubt is the very best part of a Broome to Darwin drive itinerary. And of course, you’ve got some other gems around the Gibb River Road area too. The endlessly blue Lake Argyle , the tiny settlements of Derby , Wyndham and Kunanurra , and over the bo...