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My happy place

Fresh snowfall at Falls Creek last week.

I went to the mountains to learn how to ski. I found something much better

Skiing, though exciting, has never been what makes going to the snow special beyond words for me.

  • Tony Wright
Cairns lagoon, free for anyone to swim in, is a highlight of the city.

Stuck in a northern tropical city, my workday routine became a dream

After breakfast at a cafe, I’d work a few hours at the local library before heading to the lagoon for a swim. It wasn’t long before I started wondering if I could live here.

  • Tim Richards
Mirissa Beach, a gorgeous sweep of sand without a single person on it.

We quit our jobs and moved here for six months. I’ve never been more content

A baby in tow, we found a place for $100 a week. For that, we got five bedrooms, cold showers, basic furnishings and a claustrophobic kitchen. It was perfect.

  • Mark Daffey
Corindi Beach.

I just returned from France, but my dream holiday spot remains this Aussie town

Growing up, we would head to this same town for our holiday every year. A trip to France would have seemed as remote to us then as a trip to the moon would for my kids now.

  • Stephanie Peatling
The sun rises only briefly during winter in northern Finland.

A week in near-darkness became my daughter’s last true childhood holiday

It’s below freezing, the sun rises at about 11am and is gone at 1.30pm, but this remains one of my most cherished trips.

  • Belinda Jackson
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One of the world’s most ancient cities, the 3,000-year-old Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India.

I’ve never felt more alive than in this astonishing city of the dead

If happiness is defined as “the state of pleasurable contentment of mind” then this ancient city, for all of its horrors and delights, is my unlikely happy place.

  • Anthony Dennis
Point Lonsdale Pier.

The things I hated about this beach town as a child are what I love now

My family started visiting this seaside town in the 1980s. Back then I hated the tea-tree, the sand dunes and the lack of a pub.

  • Katrina Strickland
Marine Parade is now one of Australia’s most exclusive residential streets.

I grew up in Byron Bay. It was nothing like you might imagine

Byron Bay was the epitome of small town, blue-collar Australia, albeit one with very nice beaches. And no one was rich.

  • Craig Tansley
Phaplu is an unhurried part of Nepal far from the crowds trekking to Everest.

Despite attracting celebrities, my remote happy place remains relatively unknown

It may have attracted high-profile travellers since the days of Sir Edmund Hillary, but you won’t find tour groups or selfie-takers here.

  • Nina Karnikowski
Safety Beach.

My family has been coming to the same beach for 50 years. Now, everyone else is too

Each year, I see the same faces. Together, we are all building memories for the next generation at this Mornington Peninsula highlight.

  • Belinda Jackson