Holiday guide
Adventure & outdoors
For the adventurous traveller, the natural world beckons, filled with trails, waterways and roads that are invitations to explore and celebrate the planet. Our expert travellers name the best.
The world’s 12 greatest hikes (plus five here) and the best time to tackle them
Timing is often the key to enjoying a hike – this month-by-month guide can help you plan your great adventure with seasonal precision.
- Sarah Baxter and Paul Bloomfield
A cheat’s guide to hiking: 10 of the world’s best shortcuts
While hardcore hikers delight in spending weeks or even months on the trail, the rest of us – short on time, light on knee cartilage – are equally happy with an abridged version.
- Kerry van der Jagt
New ‘world first’ Gold Coast attraction wants to freak you out. It works on me
You don’t need any special skills to enjoy the thrills and views of this new park, just some common sense.
- Craig Tansley
Ten years in the making, Australia’s epic new hike connects two icons
The just-opened five-day, 54-kilometre trail includes 38 kilometres of new track across rolling sand dunes on land belonging to traditional owners.
- Jane Reddy
If you’re fussy, you die: My three nights surviving in the bush (with an expert)
As someone who still cuts the crusts off his sandwiches, this experience teaches me new skills and a lot about myself.
- Rob McFarland
The world’s 10 most stunning deserts to see in your lifetime
These regions all promise silence, solitude and stark minimalist beauty, but they have sharply distinct personalities.
- Sarah Marshall
Hiking Africa’s second-highest mountain beats Mount Kilimanjaro
“Most people come to do the Roof of Africa – that’s Kili – and that’s why it’s popular, but it’s not as scenic,” says our guide.
- Andrew Bain
This tiny island is home to some of Australia’s most beautiful hikes
It’s just 11 kilometres long, but this volcanic remnant somehow packs in a wealth of trails. None are long, some are tough, all are beautiful.
- Andrew Bain
No car, no crowds: The new way to do one of our greatest road trips
From volcanic craters to towering redwoods and secret rail trails, the best way to experience the Great Ocean Road is by venturing off the bitumen.
- Tracey Croke
If you’ve ever dreamed of cycling across a country, look no further
There might be smaller, more sensible countries to attempt this in, but here the food is better, the people friendlier, and you can enjoy a 600-kilometre bike path.
- Paul Marshall
America’s most spectacular road is not for the faint-hearted
Bears, drop-offs and wild weather. That the Going-to-the-Sun Road even exists is frankly astonishing.
- Rob McFarland
New hiking trail puts forgotten part of Europe on the map
Until about 10 years ago, this remote region barely saw any international travellers. But, thanks to a new 3000-kilometre Transcaucasian Trail, interest is surging.
- Rob McFarland
My mum got her hip replaced, so I took her cycling through Europe
Things don’t start off well when my mother is knocked down amid a pack of cycling commuters in Amsterdam.
- Kurt Johnson
- Opinion
I went on my first big hike in my 40s. It changed the way I see travel
Thirty years ago, my mother hiked New Zealand’s Milford Track. My attempt to follow in her footsteps was an eye-opener.
- Bianca O'Neill
Australia’s new epic hike is unlike any others
It might be a new hike officially, but the 42-kilometre Gidjuum Gulganyi Walk in northern NSW has an ancient history.
- Louise Southerden
One of the world’s best hikes is no walk in the park
It’s one of the most popular hikes in Europe, with comfortable cabins and three-course meals, but it’s also a physical and mental test.
- Rachel Clun
A land of giants so stunning, it looks like it was created by CGI
From mountains and glaciers to its mythologies, Chilean Patagonia is in every way a land of giants.
- Julie Miller
Japanese hike is like stepping into an (animated) movie
This is a forest preserved in time, a world where dragonflies flit, minuscule flowers bloom and giant tree roots hide the would-be tiny houses of forest creatures.
- Penny Watson
The moment a grizzly stopped hunting fish ... and noticed me
“No, you can’t come this way,” says our guide to the bear, in the tone of a schoolteacher scolding a teen.
- Justin Meneguzzi
No climbing experience needed for Australia’s first ‘vertical playground’
Hanging 1700 metres off Mount Buller, novices can now enjoy an Italian-inspired climb that brings a whole new perspective to sightseeing.
- Justin Meneguzzi
Forget the pith helmet: What you really need to pack for a safari
Pack light, follow the lead of guides, wear muted colours, expect extremes and take a first-aid kit.
- Catherine Marshall
This safari offers a daring level of immersion, without the truck scrums
A hippo smacks her lips grazing three metres from my tent at 3am. At campfire breakfast, a leopard breezily strides past.
- Steve Madgwick
Climb, hang, jump: 10 incredible skyscraper experiences
If you want to add a whole new meaning to hanging out, then harness up and climb, jump off or just lean out over these vertiginous skyscrapers.
- Brian Johnston
Australia’s newest ‘Great Walk’ truly lives up to the name
The warm turquoise waters are so clear that every ridge in the white sand floor is visible, but this isn’t Queensland or WA.
- Belinda Jackson
I booked a safari on the cheap. Here’s how it went
Short on time and money, I did a safari on a shoestring. It was both frustrating and profound.
- Kurt Johnson
This remarkable place feels like another planet, or another dimension
Spiky forests, dancing lemurs, giraffe weevils – no matter how many Attenborough documentaries you’ve seen, nothing prepares you for the real thing.
- David McGonigal
After devastation, I returned to one of the world’s most amazing countries
In 2015, I was in Nepal just days before the earthquake. I’m back to continue my trekking love affair with the country.
- Andrew Bain
Fifteen of us set off on the Inca Trail. Only 10 made it to the end
It’s one of the world’s seven wonders, but there’s a heap of things that can go wrong when trekking Machu Picchu – and I should know.
- Gary Nunn
Aussies are flocking to the real-life inspiration for a Disney hit
More than 30 years ago the chair of Walt Disney Studios went on a safari and the impact of that trip is still felt today.
- Sue Williams
New Zealand’s most popular cycling trail is truly epic
From the foothills of the Southern Alps to the foreshore of the Pacific Ocean, this trail delivers a spectacular variety of terrain – and you can do it on an e-bike.
- Rob McFarland
One of the world’s last untouched places is right here in Australia
Indigenous life has an incredibly long history in Arnhem Land, and it feels an absolute privilege to be given a glimpse of it.
- Sue Williams
The one destination no traveller can ever be fully prepared for
There’s an astonishing prep list before you can even set foot on the White Continent. But, in this harsh environment, even the most prepared can expect the unexpected.
- Katrina Lobley
A place where water is more valuable than diamonds
Without annual floodwaters, this part of the world would be incapable of supporting life. Instead, it’s teeming with it.
- Justin Meneguzzi
- Opinion
I turned 50 and decided to become a backpacker again. Here’s what I learnt
Turning 50 is one of those milestone events that can instigate all manner of plans and resolutions. Some buy a sports car or take salsa lessons. I decided to go backpacking.
- Rob McFarland
Five of the world’s most thrilling places to see wildlife
One of the thrills of a visit to the world’s wild places is seeing how the (non-human) locals live.
- Sue Williams
The world’s first national park is nature’s own Disneyland
Yellowstone is huge and it attracts more than 3.5 million people a year, so it’s best to plan your visit carefully.
- Caroline Gladstone
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