Coolest things to do in Australia: 30 experiences that will blow your mind

Australia has a habit of exceeding expectations. Travellers arrive expecting beaches and kangaroos — which yes, are extraordinary — and leave talking about a cave of ancient crystals, a desert that blooms pink after rain, a reef so alive it seems to breathe, or a city so unexpectedly sophisticated that it reshapes everything they thought they knew about this country. I have been exploring Australia for years, and I still regularly encounter things that stop me in my tracks.

This is a list of the experiences I consider genuinely cool — experiences that are unusual, unexpected, surprising, or simply so spectacular that they belong in a different category from the standard tourist itinerary. Some of them are well-known but routinely done badly; I will tell you how to do them properly. Others are genuine secrets that most travellers miss entirely. All of them will make your Australia trip something worth talking about for years.

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📋 TL;DR — the quick version

✅ Swimming in natural rock pools beats any swimming pool: The ocean rock pools at Bondi, Coogee, and along the NSW coast are genuinely extraordinary.
🌊 The Horizontal Falls in the Kimberley defy physics: Tidal water rushing through narrow gorges in one of the most remote parts of Australia — accessible only by seaplane or helicopter.
🌿 The Daintree at night is something else entirely: A guided night walk through the oldest rainforest on Earth, with torchlight catching the eyes of tree frogs, stick insects, and possums in every direction.
🏄 Surfing a world-class break is easier than you think: Several famous surf breaks are actually good for beginners — with the right teacher and conditions.
🚁 A helicopter over the reef changes how you see it: The aerial perspective reveals the true scale and structure of the Great Barrier Reef in a way that boat trips cannot.
🎨 Aboriginal art on country is the most moving cultural experience: Visiting rock art or cultural sites with a Traditional Owner guide is an experience that fundamentally changes how you see Australia.
⭐ The Milky Way over the Outback is incomparable: No light pollution, dry air, and southern hemisphere skies — the night sky in the Outback is one of the great natural wonders.

🚁 1. Take a seaplane to the Horizontal Falls

The Horizontal Falls in the Kimberley are one of Australia’s most extraordinary natural phenomena — and also one of its least known outside of Western Australia. Tidal surges push enormous volumes of seawater through two narrow gorges in the McLarty Range, creating what appear to be waterfalls flowing horizontally through a gap in the rock. The effect is extraordinary and somewhat disorienting. The only way to reach them is by seaplane from Broome or Derby — a journey that is itself spectacular, crossing hundreds of kilometres of pristine Kimberley coastline.

The experience at the falls involves a jet boat ride into the gorges, right up to the churning water — a genuinely thrilling physical encounter with one of nature’s more baffling creations. Combine it with a night on the Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventure houseboat for the full experience: sundowners on the deck with the Kimberley coast at its most golden, and a night sky that will make you feel very small.

🌿 2. Go on a guided night walk in the Daintree

The Daintree Rainforest looks extraordinary in the daytime. At night, with a torch and a good guide, it reveals an entirely different dimension. Boyd’s forest dragons hang motionless on tree trunks like prehistoric ornaments. Green tree frogs call from pools in the leaf litter. Stick insects that are longer than your arm cling to branches at eye level. Giant golden orb-weaving spiders spin webs between the trees. The sounds — the constant, layered, insistent chorus of insects and frogs — are overwhelming in the best possible way.

Several operators in the Cape Tribulation area run guided night walks, and they are genuinely one of the best experiences in Australia. The guides’ ability to spot creatures that are invisible to the untrained eye is remarkable, and the narration about the ecological relationships within the forest — what eats what, how the fig trees are pollinated, why the strangler figs are slowly destroying the trees they use for support — adds a layer of intellectual engagement that makes the whole experience richer.

👉 Book a Daintree night walk experience on GetYourGuide →

⭐ 3. Sleep under the Milky Way in the Outback

You have never truly seen the night sky until you have seen it from the Australian Outback. The combination of minimal light pollution, dry desert air, high elevation in some areas, and southern hemisphere skies produces star gazing experiences of extraordinary quality. The Milky Way is not the faint smudge visible from the suburbs — it is a dense, glowing river of light stretching from horizon to horizon, with the dark nebulae of the Coal Sack and the Coalsack visible to the naked eye and the Magellanic Clouds hanging above the southern horizon like detached fragments of the galaxy.

The best places for Outback star gazing include the area around Uluru (the Southern Sky cultural experience with Anangu is outstanding), the Flinders Ranges, the Warrumbungle National Park in NSW (Australia’s only Dark Sky Park), and any station stay in the remote Outback. Bring a star chart and a red-light torch, lie on your back on a blanket in the red dirt, and let the universe recalibrate your sense of scale.

🌊 4. Swim in a natural ocean rock pool

Sydney and the NSW coast have an extraordinary collection of ocean rock pools — natural or partly constructed pools filled and refreshed by the tidal action of the Pacific. They are extraordinary places: protected from waves and surf, cold and clean, surrounded by the dramatic coastal scenery of the Tasman Sea coast, and generally free to use. The Bondi Icebergs, the McIver’s Ladies Baths at Coogee, the Malabar rock pool, the Freshwater pool at Harbord — each has its own character and history, and swimming in them is one of those quintessentially Australian experiences that even many Sydneysiders take for granted.

The Icebergs at Bondi is the most famous, with a history stretching back over a century and a restaurant above it that is one of the best-positioned eating experiences in Sydney. But the smaller, quieter pools further along the coast — the Wylie’s Baths at Coogee, the Wylies Baths, the Giles Baths at Coogee — are often even more beautiful and are blissfully uncrowded on weekday mornings.

🎨 5. Visit Aboriginal rock art on country with a Traditional Owner

Australia has some of the oldest and most extensive rock art traditions in the world — paintings and engravings that span tens of thousands of years and document an unbroken cultural connection to Country that is without parallel anywhere on Earth. Visiting these sites with a Traditional Owner guide transforms the experience from tourism into something genuinely profound. The stories behind the paintings — the Dreamtime narratives, the hunting records, the ceremonial purposes — bring them alive in a way that no interpretive panel can.

The best rock art experiences in Australia include: Nourlangie and Ubirr in Kakadu National Park (with free ranger-guided talks); the Quinkan rock art sites near Laura in Cape York (guided tours available); Murujuga (the Burrup Peninsula) in Western Australia, which has the world’s largest concentration of ancient rock art; and the Yourambulla Caves in the Flinders Ranges. Each offers a different window into the world’s oldest living culture.

🐋 6. Swim with a humpback whale

Swimming with humpback whales is now possible in a small number of locations in Australia — most notably off Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia and in the waters off Hervey Bay in Queensland. The experience is as extraordinary as it sounds. A 40-tonne animal, completely in control of every movement, choosing to approach and engage with the small humans floating on the surface of the water — the curiosity runs in both directions, and encounters where a whale rolls onto its side to get a better look at you are surprisingly common.

Ningaloo is the only place in Western Australia where in-water humpback encounters are permitted, and the operators there are experienced and careful. The combination of humpback encounters with whale shark swimming makes Ningaloo arguably the greatest wildlife destination in Australia. Book well ahead — these tours sell out months in advance.

🌸 7. See the wildflower bloom in Western Australia

Every year between August and October, after the winter rains, Western Australia’s south-west corner erupts in the most extraordinary wildflower display on Earth. Over 12,000 species of flowering plants, around 60% of which exist nowhere else in the world, bloom simultaneously across the bush — everlastings, kangaroo paws, banksias, grevilleas, spider orchids, and hundreds of others — creating a landscape of extraordinary colour that stretches for hundreds of kilometres in every direction.

The wildflower bloom is centred on the region between Geraldton and Perth, and the tourist routes are well-established and well-signed. But the real magic is in getting off the main roads and driving through the scrubland itself — stopping in the middle of nowhere and walking into a carpet of colour that extends to the horizon. Kalbarri National Park, the Coalseam Conservation Park, and the Lesueur National Park are particular highlights. This is genuinely one of the natural wonders of the world, and almost no international travellers have seen it.

🏄 8. Learn to surf at a world-class break

Several of Australia’s most famous surf breaks are actually well-suited to beginners under the right conditions. Manly Beach in Sydney, Noosa in Queensland, and Torquay in Victoria all have established surf schools that teach you in the white water before progressing to the real waves. The feeling of catching your first wave — however small — on an Australian beach is one of those experiences that genuinely changes something in you. You understand, suddenly, why so many Australians build their entire lives around this activity.

If you’re planning further afield, our guides to Train Travel Guide Australia are well worth a look.

For those who already surf, Australia has some of the best waves in the world. The Superbank at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast is one of the longest sand-bottom point breaks on the planet, capable of generating rides of 300 metres or more. Bells Beach in Victoria, host of the world’s longest-running professional surfing competition, has extraordinary power and quality. And the remote breaks of Western Australia — Margaret River’s main break, the bombora at North Point — are world-class and far less crowded than their eastern counterparts.

🚂 9. Ride the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin

The Ghan — named after the Afghan cameleers who opened up the interior of Australia in the 19th century — is one of the world’s great train journeys. Three days from Adelaide to Darwin, crossing 2,979 kilometres of the most arid and extraordinary landscape on Earth. The train crosses the Flinders Ranges, descends into the Simpson Desert country, passes through Alice Springs (where passengers disembark for excursions), and then climbs through the tropical savannah of the Top End to Darwin. The landscape changes utterly over those three days, and watching it from the comfort of a cabin with a glass of wine is deeply satisfying.

The Platinum service is extraordinary — a small number of suites with panoramic windows, outstanding food, and an exceptional level of service. But even the Gold service cabins are comfortable and the dining car food is very good. Book the off-train excursion to the Alice Springs desert park and the Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge boat tour — they are highlights of the journey.

🌊 10. Kayak through the sea caves at Cathedral Cove, WA

The coastline of Western Australia south of Perth is riddled with sea caves, sea arches, and limestone formations carved by the action of the Southern Ocean over millions of years. Several operators offer sea kayaking tours through these caves — paddling through narrow passages with the ocean swirling below you, emerging into hidden coves, and watching the afternoon light illuminate the interior of limestone chambers. The Yallingup area and the coastline around Augusta are particularly spectacular.

This experience works best at low tide, when the caves are most accessible and the light effects most dramatic. An experienced guide is essential — the swell and currents along this coastline can change quickly — but the physical challenge is well within the reach of anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. Combine it with a wine tasting in the Margaret River region and a seafood dinner at Dunsborough, and you have one of the great day experiences in Western Australia.

🌿 11. Spot a platypus at dawn in Queensland

The platypus is one of those animals so bizarre it seems almost made up — a venomous, egg-laying, bill-bearing mammal that navigates underwater using electromagnetic receptors. Seeing one in the wild is genuinely thrilling, and Eungella National Park near Mackay in Queensland is one of the most reliable places in Australia to do so. The Broken River viewing platform, reached in about two hours from Mackay, is the go-to spot. Arrive before dawn, find a quiet position, and wait. The platypuses feed in the shallows of the river in the early morning, surfacing regularly in movements that are simultaneously absurd and charming.

🏙️ 12. Explore Melbourne’s laneways and rooftop bars

Melbourne’s laneway culture is one of the great urban pleasures in Australia. The CBD’s network of narrow lanes and arcades — Hosier Lane with its extraordinary street art, Degraves Street with its cafes spilling onto the cobblestones, Centre Place with its bookshops and galleries — rewards aimless wandering in a way that few city centres anywhere in the world can match. Add the rooftop bars — Naked in the Sky, Rooftop Bar on Swanston, Madame Brussels — and the basement cocktail bars of Flinders Lane and you have one of the best urban nightlife experiences in Australia.

👉 Book a Melbourne laneways and bar tour on GetYourGuide →

🔥 13-30. More cool experiences worth your time

Snorkel with sea lions at Baird Bay. A small pod of sea lions lives in the shallows of this Eyre Peninsula bay and loves to play with snorkellers. Nothing like it anywhere else in the country.
Eat at a degustation restaurant in Sydney or Melbourne. The top 20 restaurants in Australia are world-class by any measure. A degustation at Attica, Quay, or Brae is an experience that will make you reassess what food can do.
Take a scenic helicopter flight over Sydney Harbour. The helicopter perspective on Sydney — the harbour, the beaches, the city, the Blue Mountains in the distance — is extraordinary.
Walk the Manly to Spit Bridge track. Nine kilometres through Sydney Harbour National Park, with views across the harbour, through banksia heathland, and past Aboriginal engravings. One of the best free experiences in Sydney.
See the Bioluminescence in the water at night. Several beaches in Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia occasionally experience bioluminescence — the water glows electric blue when disturbed at night. It is one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena you can witness.
Attend a local footy game. Australian Rules Football — AFL — is one of the most exciting live sports in the world, and attending a home-and-away game at the MCG or the Adelaide Oval is a genuinely electric experience. The crowds are passionate, the pace is extraordinary, and the skills are remarkable.
Explore the Murray River by houseboat. Hiring a houseboat on the Murray and spending a week drifting between the red-gum forests and limestone cliffs of the river corridor is one of the great slow-travel experiences in Australia.
Visit the Jenolan Caves near the Blue Mountains. The Jenolan Caves are among the finest accessible cave systems in the world — extraordinary limestone formations, underground rivers, and tours that range from the easy heritage walks to the challenging adventure caving.
Watch the Melbourne Cup at a country race meeting. The Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November stops the nation, and watching it at a small-town race meeting somewhere in rural Australia — with locals in fascinators, cold cans of beer, and genuine excitement — is a genuinely unique cultural experience.
Walk into a sea of red crabs on Christmas Island. Once a year, tens of millions of Christmas Island red crabs migrate from the jungle to the sea to breed — a river of red carapaces that covers the roads, the beaches, the rocks, and everything else. Christmas Island itself — a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean — is extraordinary.
Take a dawn balloon flight over the Hunter Valley vineyards. Drifting over the rows of vines in the early morning, with mist sitting in the valleys between the ridges and the smell of fermenting grapes rising from below, is one of the great sensory experiences in Australia.
Go cage diving with great white sharks at Port Lincoln. Controversial but extraordinary — lowering yourself into a steel cage in the cold, clear water of the Spencer Gulf and watching one of the ocean’s apex predators circle you at close range is an experience that tests your nerve and rewards it handsomely.
Attend Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland. One of Australia’s great festivals — six days of music, art, ideas, and community over the New Year period in the hinterland behind the Sunshine Coast. The lineup is extraordinary and the atmosphere is unlike any other festival in the country.
Walk the Freycinet Circuit in Tasmania. The full Freycinet Circuit — a 30-kilometre multi-day walk around the Freycinet Peninsula — takes you to Wineglass Bay, Hazards Beach, and the magnificent southern section of the park that most day visitors never see. It is one of the best multi-day walks in Tasmania.
Watch the Sydney to Hobart yacht race start. On 26 December each year, a fleet of ocean-racing yachts leaves Sydney Harbour for the 1,170-kilometre race to Hobart, and the start — with thousands of spectator boats lining the harbour — is one of the great sporting spectacles in Australia. Find a good vantage point on South Head or take a spectator cruise.
Explore the Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island. Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch (where New Zealand fur seals shelter under an extraordinary stone arch), and the diverse wildlife of the park make Kangaroo Island one of the most extraordinary wildlife destinations in Australia.
See the Aurora Australis from southern Tasmania. On clear, dark nights during periods of high solar activity, the Southern Lights — green and red curtains of light dancing above the southern horizon — are visible from southern Tasmania and, occasionally, from the south-west of Western Australia. One of the great natural light shows on Earth.
Spend a full day exploring the Sydney Opera House. Most visitors walk past it and take photos. Go inside — take a backstage tour, see a performance in the Concert Hall, eat at one of the excellent restaurants at the building’s base. The Opera House is a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture, and understanding it properly requires spending real time inside it.