Australien

Rugged, remote Cape York Peninsula has one of the wildest tropical environments on the planet. The Great Dividing Range forms the spine of the Cape: tropical rainforests and palm-fringed beaches flank its eastern side, and sweeping savannah woodlands, eucalyptus forests and coastal mangroves its west. This untamed landscape undergoes a spectacular transformation each year when the torrential rains of the monsoonal wet season set in: rough, dry earth turns to rich, red mud and trickling creek-beds swell to raging rivers.

Lately Canberra has been staking a claim for the title of Australia's coolest city – and we’re not just talking winter temperatures. Where else can you find superb dining and world-class cultural experiences only a short stroll from wildlife-filled bushland reserves and serene lakeshore views?

Welcome to the island's wild west, a land of endless ocean beaches, ancient mossy rainforests, tannin-tinted rivers, glacier-sculpted mountains and wildflower-strewn high plains – a place where you'll often feel like you're the only soul on earth. This is Tasmania’s vast outdoor playground, replete with national parks, conservation reserves and World Heritage–protected wilderness, where your options for adventure are varied and plentiful.

Australia’s second-oldest city and southernmost capital, Hobart is a city where nature rules. It stretches along the foot of kunanyi/Mt Wellington, angling down to the slate-grey Derwent River, which forms one edge of the city centre. The town’s colonial architecture and natural charms are complemented by world-class food and drink, innovative festivals and art experiences – Australia’s first-ever art exhibition was held here in 1837 and MONA, Hobart's Museum of Old and New Art, has stamped Tasmania onto the global cultural map.

This less-heralded stretch of Queensland's coast straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, and comprises the southernmost islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Here, local families seek escape from the inland heat of centres such as beef capital Rockhampton among dreamy beaches, mangroves and reef-fringed islands, while the less-accessible coast and hinterland hold some of the state's most arrestingly beautiful national parks. School holidays can be busy in the main cooling-off spots, but for most of the year you needn’t travel far to find a deserted beach.

Får det vara lov att vara ett glas shiraz, pinot noir eller en smutt cabernet sauvignon? Eller kanske ett glas bubbel lockar mer? På Wine Island behöver du inte välja.

In Wadjuk country, way out west in the Indian Ocean breeze, Perth regularly attracts that most easy-going of adjectives – 'livable'. Under a near-permanent canopy of blue sky, life here unfolds at a pleasing pace. Throw in superb beaches, global eats and booming small-bar and street-art scenes, and Perth seems downright progressive. Free from the pressures of congestion, pollution and population afflicting Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, Perth and neighbouring port town Fremantle are uncomplicated, unfettered and alive. Yes, it's the most isolated city of its size on the planet, but this remoteness fosters an outward-looking world view. Instead of heading east for their holidays, locals – who suffer the ugly, geologic-sounding moniker of 'Perthites' – travel to Bali, the Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka… Currency-exchange reports include the Indian rupee, while the Perth-to-London 'Dreamliner' direct flight delivers Europe's virtues in a tick under 17 hours. Forget about isolation: Perth is going places.

If the vast expanse of Western Australia (WA) was a separate nation, it would be the world's 10th-largest (bigger than Algeria, smaller than Kazakhstan). Most of WA's population clings to the coast, yet you can wander along a beach here without seeing another footprint, or be one of a few scattered campers stargazing in a national park.

Tasmania’s east coast is sea-salted and rejuvenating – a land of quiet bays and sandy shores, punctuated by granite headlands splashed with flaming orange lichen. The sand is white-blonde and the water is gin-clear. It looks as inviting as a tropical postcard, but when you strip off and plunge in, you'll probably be quickly out again – even in summer the water temperatures here can leave you breathless.

On the traditional lands of the Minang Noongar and Wagyl Kaip peoples, Albany is the oldest European settlement in the state; it was settled in 1826, shortly before Perth. Albany is now the bustling commercial centre of the southern region, and is a mixed bag comprising a stately and genteel decaying colonial quarter, a waterfront in the midst of sophisticated redevelopment and a hectic sprawl of malls and fast-food joints. Less ambivalent is its spectacular coastline, from Torndirrup National Park's surf-pummelled cliffs to Middleton Beach's white sands and the calm waters of King George Sound.