AUSTRALIA

Sydney Harbour is the most photographed body of water in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the finest natural harbors in the world. The Opera House (Jørn Utzon's 1973 masterpiece) and the Harbour Bridge define the skyline. The Coastal Walk from Bondi to Coogee takes 90 minutes along sandstone cliffs above the Tasman Sea and is free. Manly Beach across the harbor is a 30-minute ferry ride and a different city entirely. The food scene — particularly in Surry Hills and Newtown — is as good as any city in Asia, shaped by the waves of immigration that have defined Australian culture since 1945.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth — 2,300km long, visible from space, containing more biodiversity than the Amazon rainforest. It is also bleaching and dying faster than most projections predicted. About 50% has already bleached. This is not a reason not to go — it is a reason to go now. The outer reef, accessed from Cairns or Port Douglas, is in significantly better condition than the inner reef. Liveaboard dive trips lasting 3-7 days are the most immersive access. Snorkeling from day boats is accessible without certification and still extraordinary.

Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a 348-meter sandstone monolith that rises from the flat red plain of central Australia in a way that makes it look like it has been placed there by deliberate intention. At sunrise and sunset the rock changes color from burnt orange to deep red to purple in a sequence that takes about 45 minutes and is worth sitting through completely. Climbing Uluru is now prohibited — the Anangu people (traditional owners) consider it sacred and requested the ban for decades before it was implemented in 2019. The base walk (10.6km) is the correct alternative and provides a closer relationship with the rock than the summit ever did.

Tasmania sits 240km off the southern tip of the mainland and contains some of the most pristine wilderness remaining in the Southern Hemisphere. The Overland Track — a 65km multi-day walk through ancient Gondwanan rainforest, alpine moorlands, and beside glacial lakes — is one of the great wilderness walks in the world. Cradle Mountain at its northern end reflects in the still waters of Dove Lake in a scene that has been on the cover of every Australian photography book ever published. Hobart's MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) is one of the most genuinely surprising museums in the world — a billionaire's private collection installed in a series of underground chambers carved into sandstone.