More About Hiking Australia
Coming in just shy of 3 million square miles, Australia is the 6th largest country in the world by landmass. With much of this land preserved and conserved as wilderness areas, Australia boasts many long distances trekking trails and countless options for walking and hiking among this great landscape.
Once you’ve narrowed down your destination to Australia, you’ve still got quite a few choices to make about where you want to go. Australia’s land mass is larger than the continental United States, and there is a huge variety of climates and habitats to visit. These trips below will give you a taste of what some of the regions are like: the Northern Territory and the Top End, Central Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania. The Northern Territory and the Top End offers Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield National Parks with excellent examples of ancient cave art painted by First Australians centuries ago and diverse wildlife including crocodiles and birds. Central Australia in the lower portion of the Northern Territory is home to one of Australia’s best multi-day hikes: the Larapinta trail in the heart of the outback. Hike through shaded gorges, summit Mt. Sonder, and get a chance to swim in a year round waterhole in this desert climate.
Over to the west lies the wildlife centric Queensland with the famous sunshine coast and stunning scenic rim. If you decide to visit this part of the country with Intrepid, you’ll be in for mountain hikes in Main Range National Park, breath taking countryside, still rock pools where you can swim, and the chance to learn more about the indigenous peoples that lived here before the British arrived. Tasmania, it’s own island just off the southern coast of Australia’s mainland, is a world of wonder all to itself. Plunge into the heartland of Tasmania’s wilderness on the Cradle Mountains Overland Track and camp near historic huts, trek through alpine hills and groves of eucalyptus, and maybe see a wombat or two. Tasmania also offers (and so do we) a chance to see the highest sea cliffs in Australia on the Tasman Peninsula. Stay back from the edge though; these dolerite cliffs plunge nearly 1000 ft straight down into the sea. With so many options, you’ll have to choose carefully or just join all the guided hiking tours to this majestic land.
