From the riches of Europe to the remote island nations of Polynesia, the list aims to shift the world’s focus on North American cinema back to the many other equally rich, yet underappreciated film industries around the world. This world cinema list is a true and authentic celebration of foreign cinema. Sparkling with diversity, we offer you 102 of the best foreign films ever made, one film per country.
To write this article, we spent years watching and re-watching every film mentioned in this article; exceptions being those films considered “lost”. Still, our article features merely the top of the iceberg of all the foreign cinema output we watched to compose this list. To make sure each country on this list is represented by an authentic, locally produced film of the highest quality, we’ve watched over 3,000 non-U.S. films in the past two decades.
While in the past there have been some attempts to create lists with the best foreign films of all time, each one of those lists made our film scholar souls cringe. They either listed a film like Dracula (1992) as an entry for Romania or featured the Outback-drama A Town Like Alice (1956) as an Australian film, failing to recognize that these films were produced and directed by foreigners, starred foreigners, and said very little about the country they attempted to display. You’ll find no such entries on our list!
Travel the World Through Cinema
Over the course of this list, we will travel across the continents to explore the world’s splendorous cinematic landscape. We will highlight hidden gems produced within each geographical region, one film per country. From the famed film industries of France and Italy to the virtually non-existent industries of Myanmar and Saudi Arabia and the now-defunct countries of West-Germany and Yugoslavia; you’ll find them all in the list.
During our cinematic journey across the globe, we will offer you a historical outline of each country’s local film industry. Additionally, we reflect on the socio-political factors that shaped the countries’ cinematic landscape, which resulted in the production of the films we recommend.
The wildlife of Australia is what first drew me to the land Down Under. The country’s Outback offers so many backpacking adventures, I could return to it over and over again. Just me and my camel, tracking the Red Waste in search of excitement. In this blog, I’ll tell you about some of the “bite-sized” adventures I’ve had while traveling in Australia.
Victoria
Upon touchdown in Melbourne, I reunited with my Aussie travel mates Jamie and Jarrah! Australians are a strange type of humans: they have a tendency to end words with “ie” for no apparent reason. In the morning they eat “breakie”, they prepare food on the “barbie”, people who sailboats are “boaties”, the “postie” brings the mail and parents are “oldies”. And who hasn’t heard of the “selfie”?!
Going urban in downtown Melbourne!
Driving the Great Ocean Road along Australia’s south coast is one of the best things to do in Australia. Along the Great Ocean Road, you can find the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are eight impressive rock formations rising up from the sea, indicating that once upon a time, there was land where there now is sea… And yes, I said “eight”. In 2005, a storm took down a 50 meter high “apostle”, leaving only eight out of the then nine pillars. As far as anyone knows, however, there have never been more than nine apostles. So either the humans who came up with the name couldn’t count, or they just wanted to sound fancy! Do you think “The Twelve Apostles” sounds better than “The Eight Apostles”?
Together with my friends Jamie and Jarrah, as well as my humans, I went on a “roadie” on the Great Ocean Road, visiting the Twelve Apostles. I met Jamie and Jarrah in Vietnam and it’s been great exploring both Hanoi as well as Southern Australia with them.
Time to get in touch with my inner wildcat! I was so excited when my humans told me we were going into the Outback! Not sure what’s that big pancake in the middle of the desert, but it makes for an interesting sight… Now, where are the zebras?!
OK, so apparently there are no zebras in Australia and the pancake thingy is named Uluru, a rock sacred to the Aboriginal, and one of Aussie’s most important symbols. Don’t expect a simple plushie backpacker to know everything! Thankfully, I ran into a giant bouncing mouse who could tell me all about this region.
From afar, Uluru looks flat and round, but when walking around its base you can see the rock is far from straight. Uluru’s spectacular caves, crevices and colors look remarkable today. The green vegetation, the red sand, the sharp blue sky… The Australian outback is truly beautiful!
Walking around Uluru, my whiskers started tingling. My journeys across the world – touching upon both modern and ancient cultures – sometimes remind me a bit of the Australian Aboriginal concept of “walkabout”. Walkabout is a rite of passage during which boys live in the wilderness for several months, to make the spiritual transition into manhood. I can think of no better place for such a ritual than the Australian Outback, which covers 75% of the continent.
Kata Tjuta, also known as “The Olgas”, lies a 45-minute ride away from the sacred Uluru. Geologically, Kata Tjuta was formed in much the same way as Uluru millions of years ago. Countless years of rain and wind have carved Kata Tjuta into its current shape: something which is most likely to happen to Uluru as well over the next million years. Not sure if I’ll be around by then, though… Both rocks own their reddish color to the oxidation of the iron-bearing minerals within the rock. I really love the color palette of the Outback!
New South Wales
The Australian Outback is such an immense contrast to the urban buzz of Sydney! Here, the ancient cultures and traditions of the continent have vanished and have been replaced by modern Aussie society. I was surprised by the look of Aussie’s famous Opera House: on film, the distinctive structure always looks as if it’s one big, white building. Up close, however, it looks much more like a honeycomb, made with glazed ceramic tiles – and you can see the complex is composed of several buildings!
Surf’s up at Bondi Beach! Bondi is one of Australia’s most famous surfing beaches. If you’re lucky, you can even spot a dolphin or two here. I’m thinking about taking surfing lessons!
800 kilometers straight into the Outback from Brisbane, you’ll find the quirky town of Lightning Ridge. Following the Green Door Route on our first evening in the desert, I visited the First Shaft Lookout, where I met Tinnie the Tinman. Tinnie protects the Shaft, which is said to be the site of the first opal mine in the region. The Australian Outback is rich with minerals, such as opal and gold.
At Lightning Ridge’s First Shaft Lookout, a tiny house was built out of tin cans and bottles. To celebrate my arrival in the Outback, I bought a bottle of wine to share with my humans and our sweet friend Kelly, who lives out here in the wilderness.
Deeper and deeper into the Red Waste we go! Another 80 kilometers deeper into the Outback, we hit Grawin, where Kelly introduced us to a handful of crazy humans, who go by even crazier nicknames. Today we visited the camp of “Roo Sue” and “Pohmmie John” in the Red Heart of Australia, where we met some of the kangaroos living in the bush. Whereas most farmers shoot the ‘roos who eat their crop, Roo Sue feeds them and welcomes them as her friends… It’s amazing being able to get so close to these sweet, wild creatures!
Exploring more of the Outback, my love for the “Red Waste” continues to grow! From Kelly’s camp in the remote village of Lightning Ridge, we moved to her camp in the even more remote Grawin. Currently, the camp consists of a trailer, a small water tower containing rainwater, and a Long Drop bush toilet. There’s no heating, no running water and no road to speak of! Yet there are kangaroos, wacky bush-burned neighbors and at night all the stars in the universe reveal itself…
In the Outback, everyone has a nickname. There’s Roo Sue, Pohmmie Jon, Kiwi Al, and our friend, Camel Kelly, who earned her nickname by traveling from Steep Point (the easternmost point of Australia) to Cape Byron (the westernmost point) by camel, over the course of 18 months. Over the years, many of Kelly’s friends gifted her little camels. I wonder what my Outback name would be!
Inspired by my friend Camel Kelly’s 18-month long camel trek from Steep Point to Cape Byron, I have decided to go on my own track across the Red Centre. Wish me safe travels!
Celebrating my many years functioning as a Discordian Pope – inaugurated by Michal and Pim in Bratislava, 2010 – I visited the camp of Shirley Pope in the heart of Australia on Parramatta Road – a dusty sand road filled with potholes, humorously named after Australia’s busiest road. I never knew the Pope had a camp in the Outback! Maybe she’ll forgive me for my sins of chasing after bouncing mice. Although, is that really a sin? It’s so much fun!
The opal miners’ town Lightning Ridge is full of humans who’s brains have been deep-fried by the sun. Underneath the town, a man named Ron Canlin is carving an extensive network of tunnels out of an old opal mine, nicknamed “The Chamber of the Black Hand”. While carving the tunnels, Canlin decorates the walls with artworks sculpted out of solid rock. I’m very honored that he included a sculpture of me!
Down the rabbit hole we go! Lightning Ridge is one of the most creative places I’ve been to in my life. The locals, who proclaim they all have “a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock”, erected a slur of creative artworks. This is one of my favorites: the Green Door Route! By following the Green Doors, you can find your way through the wilderness…
Queensland
Travelling is fantastic, but too much time on the open road has had a nasty side effect: my leopard spots have almost completely faded away! Sometimes, people call me a lion… others call me a bear… I’m going into crisis mode here! My humans tried to help me by putting me in a support group for emotionally disturbed animals. Am I truly a leopard? Or am I just a lion? Or am I a bouncy mouse? A koala, maybe..? Please, help..!
Cairns’ Esplanade runs along the shore of the Coral Sea and features a beach filled with pelicans. It looks like the perfect place for a swim, but somehow, nobody is in the water… The signs along the beach will tell you why, though: the shores of Cairns are haunted by monstrous saltwater crocodiles! So much for my beach day…
To accommodate the humans living in Cairns, as well as the travelers stopping by for a visit, a swimming pool was constructed on the elevated esplanade along the beach. Though it seemed odd and pointless at first to have a pool next to the beach, knowing the beach is crocodile territory the pool suddenly sounds incredibly attractive!
The sunny shores of Cairns lead straight into the world’s most diverse coral reef: the Great Barrier Reef! The Reef is the most complex natural systems on Earth. Today, I’m visiting Normanby Island, which is part of the uninhabited Frankland Islands. As soon as our little boat docked, I started foraging to secure our survival. Just look at this piece of fruit I found! I hope it’s edible!
Just across the water from Normanby lies High Island. If its shape seems somewhat familiar to you, then you might have grown up in the ’90s! High Island was the filming location for many of the scenes from the Aussie TV series Ocean Girl (1994-1997), which ran for four years and starred the lovely Marzena Godecki as Neri. In the series, the odd-yet-enchanting Neri lived as much on the island as in the water.
Meet my two favorite pets in the world: my humans, Pim and Beki! Humans are an odd, but wonderful species… and I’m glad I found a few of them to keep me company!
Sweet. Adventurous. Silly… Though my humans are a bit naughty sometimes, it has been very nice to have them accompany me on my many trips. Whether we travel for a few days or for months in a row, it’s nice to know you always have someone to count on to get you food, carry your bags, and take your pictures!
Dear humans, I have decided to stay on the Frankland Islands. The beach, the reef, the humpback whales… I’m in love! Please take your boat and leave the cookies behind. I’ll be alright. I’ve seen a lot of episodes of Survivor, and I’ve seen Finding Nemo (2003) adozen times, so don’t worry. I’ll be fine. G’day mates!
Explore the very best movies from Oceania and the Pacific, based on a selection of over 9,100 films.
Join us in shifting the world’s focus on American cinema back to the many other equally rich, yet underappreciated film industries around the world. In this article series, we highlight several hidden gems produced within a certain geographical region, one film per country, from the riches of Europe to the remote island nations of Polynesia.
As a bonus, we will make a donation to the welfare of wild cats, and the preservation of their habitats, for every film purchased through this site.
Over the course of the 19th century, the many islands in Oceania were under constant threats from British, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, and American ships. With most of Oceania being under colonial control to some extent in the early 20th century, cinema on the Pacific Islands, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, was heavily influenced by Europe. In spite of most nations being granted independence by the mid-20th century, many film productions taking place in Oceania were still produced by foreign industries.
Up until the 1950s, for example, many films shot in Australia were produced by either the United Kingdom or the United States, even when they were adaptations of Australian novels, set in the Australian Outback. Still, Australia was the only country in the region that managed to compete with the flood of imported films coming from Western Europe and North America and establish a film industry of its own.
(Credit: Mad Max, Australia)
The Lord of the Rings-films, released in the early 2000s, presented the lush and beautiful landscapes of New Zealand to the world in a way no-one had ever done before. The films sparked interest in the country as a location for shooting films, and several New Zealand directors have gathered attention at the worldwide box office since.
While production still remained virtually non-existent in the Pacific’s many island nations, recent local incentives have stimulated the interest of locals in film. Samoa and the Cook Islands now boast a handful of aspiring filmmakers, who aim to share the traditions and cultures of their people through short films…
The Best Films from Oceania and the Pacific
Get lost in the vast Outback of Australia, and scale the snow-capped mountains of NewZealand, before sailing a mōkihi to the remote island nations of Samoa and the Cook Islands.
Australia: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Directed by: Stephan Elliott, 1994.
(Credit: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert)
The production of The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) marked the beginnings of the Australian film industry. Throughout the history of Australian cinema, the story of Ned Kelly has been a popular subject of film: there are over 10 films based on the life of the infamous bushranger and outlaw. Australia soon became one of the most prolific film-producing countries in the world.
During and after World War II, Australia produced several successful historical war dramas, such as 40,000 Horsemen (1940) and The Overlanders (1946). In the decade that followed, many popular Australian books and plays were adapted to film through co-productions with the United Kingdom and the United States, such as A Town Like Alice (1956) and Robbery Under Arms (1957). Producing films for the English-language market, Australia had a relatively secure market to operate in.
Over the years, many Australian actors were welcomed to Hollywood: George Lazenby replaced Sean Connery to play James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Nicole Kidman made her Hollywood debut with Days of Thunder (1990), and when Mad Max (1979) became an international hit, it turned Irish-Australian actor Mel Gibson into an international star. Additionally, British actor Hugo Weaving who resided in Australia hit all the right spots as drag-queen ‘Tick’ in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). The film mixed the cinematographic landscape of the Outback with contemporary urban sub-culture and set Weaving on his path to star in The Matrix (1999), The Lord of the Rings (2001), and V for Vendetta (2005).
Nowadays, the 1970s and ‘80s are regarded as the “Golden Age of Australian cinema”. This period saw the release of the Outback dramas Walkabout (1971), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and A Cry in the Dark (1988), as well as the dark science fiction film Mad Max and the more light-hearted Babe (1995), war epics ‘Breaker’ Morant (1980) and Gallipoli (1981), and the popular romantic comedies Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Muriel’s Wedding (1994).
Though the 2000s were less successful for Australia, films such as Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Happy Feet (2006) still proved to be international hits. Another notable example of Australian cinema was Daniel Nettheim’s eco-thriller The Hunter (2011), set on the remote island of Tasmania. The Hunter combines its unique, atmospheric setting, with a terrific layered performance by Willem Dafoe as the titular hunter.
Riding Priscilla, a lavender-colored bus, two drag-queen performers, and a transgender woman travel across the Australian desert to perform their show at a resort in Alice Springs.
Find The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on Amazon.com.
After debuting its first feature film in 1914 following a period of exploration with film as a medium for documentary, a small-scale film industry developed in New Zealand. Unlike in its neighboring country, Australia, very few films were produced. It wasn’t until the establishment of the New Zealand Film Commission in 1978 that local cinema really found its footing in New Zealand. The island nation became an international player with the musical drama The Piano (1993) and the biographical film Heavenly Creatures (1994).
Though local Kiwi directors Peter Jackson and Taika Waititi undoubtedly put New Zealand on the map as a country of splendor with modern blockbuster films such as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and indie gems like Boy (2010) and What We Do in the Shadows (2014), the country also has a rich history of art films. Though American and British movies often take preference at award ceremonies based on English-language films, it would be a shame to overlook the gems sprung from New Zealand’s artistic wells.
Over the past few decades, the New Zealand government has taken a stand for the country’s Māori minorities, by allowing tribes to claim compensation for the historic injustices done to them and by supporting the preservation of their cultural heritage. Though laudable, these offers are a far stretch from improving the individual lives of those still living in poverty. In 1994, director Lee Tamahori kick-started his career with Once Were Warriors (1994), a film assessing the struggles of a lower class Māori family.
Though, sadly, the director’s career plunged downhill at a disturbing pace with lackluster commercial projects such as Next (2007) and franchise-killers Die Another Day (2002) and XXX: State of the Union (2005), his Māori drama still stands tall. The layered drama manages to display the reality of alcohol abuse and domestic violence in a brutally honest way and is superbly acted out by Māori actors Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison.
Based on author Alan Duff’s bestselling 1990 novel of the same name, Once Were Warriors tells the story of an urban Māori family struggling with poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence.
Around 3,500 years ago, the Samoan Islands were first settled during the Austronesian expansion. Contact with Europeans was established in the 18th century when Dutch, English, and American ships began to arrive. Serving as a colony of Germany, and later New Zealand, Western Samoa was separated from the United States’ territory of American Samoa. Still, relations between the islands were good, and American director Robert J. Flaherty filmed the anthropology documentary Moana (1926) on Samoa, as a spiritual follow-up to his earlier film, Nanook of the North (1922).
Though the United States used American Samoa as a filming location for Return to Paradise (1953) and Pacific Destiny (1956), film production on Samoa remained virtually non-existent. Samoa gained its independence in 1962, and it would take several decades more before the country started to produce its own films. Foreign influences remained small, as the screening of films in Samoa’s only cinema was strictly censored, and many foreign films were banned.
In the early 2010s, the short films Sacred Spaces (2010) by Tusi Tamasese, and Malaga (2010) by Daniel Poleki and Robert Poleki made a splash at international short film festivals in New Zealand, Canada, and Hawaii. A year later, Tamasese directed the island nation’s first-ever feature film, The Orator (original title: O Le Tulafale, 2011). The film was shot entirely in Samoa and features a Samoan cast. Samoan chief Manu Asafo served as Tamases’s cultural advisor. The chief described the film as an attempt “to portray Samoan culture”, displaying the life and traditions of the people of Samoa.
Small in stature, the humble taro farmer Saili is forced to defend his land and family, following the ancient customs and traditions of his village to do so.
Throughout over 100 years of cinema, only two notable films were (partly) shot on the Cook Islands: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), and The Other Side of Heaven (2001). Like Samoa, the Cook Islands were colonized in the late 19th century and later became a dependent territory of New Zealand. Though the island nation is still part of the Realm of New Zealand, the islands gained independence in 1965.
Even though there are two cinemas in Rarotonga, it took a long time before a local film was ever shown there. In the early 2010s, Stan Wolfgramm, one of the founders of the cultural Te Ara Museum on Rarotonga, sparked the first developments in the local film industry with the launch of the project Film Raro. The project was meant to put the Cook Islands on the map as a mecca for tropical island filming, and filmmakers from all over the world were invited to hand in scripts for potential short films.
Receiving just under 2,000 scripts, Wolfgramm selected six teams of enthusiastic film-makers, who were then flown to Rarotonga. The film crews turned the island into a film studio for two weeks, mentoring locals in the art of cinema, and shooting their films. In spite of the tropical torrential rain plaguing the island on the day of the premier, close to five thousand Cook Islanders attended the event – almost 50% of the island nation’s population. Film Raro was a great success, and in the years that followed several other Samoan shorts were produced.
The six short films shown at the 2013 festival were The Seed,Dog Save the Queen, Mou Piri, Little Girl WarCry, Islands, and The Offshore Pirate (all: 2013). For our list, we’ve picked Australian director Marcus Hamill’s Dog Save the Queen. With a cast that had never been in front of a camera before, a 10-year-old Samoan boy as the main star, and an untrained island dog as his companion, the film was a wild and wonderful experiment. In the film, a young boy’s world is upside down when the British Queen traces the Royal Corgi bloodline back to his dog Cyclone, who was the product of an encounter with one of the Queen’s corgis during her visit to the Cook Islands in 1972.
Life is about to change for islander Nuka and his loyal dog: with the Royal Corgi bloodline facing extinction, the British Queen’s search for a descendant of her dogs leads her to the island of Samoa, which she once visited with her corgis in 1972.
When thinking of Australia, kangaroos and koalas instantly come to mind. Many backpackers visit the continent to spot some of the country’s unique wildlife.
Australia is home to many amazing creatures, ranging from cuddly marsupials to deadly reptiles. Still, you can stay in Australia for weeks without seeing a single kangaroo. If your backpacking route mostly consists of traveling from city to city, you’re very likely to miss out on spotting the nation’s most famous animals. Though you’ll find many types of exotic birds perched in the city parks of urban Australia, most of the country’s true animal celebrities can only be spotted outside of the major hubs.
In this Australia Wildlife Spotters Guide, we’ll tell you about Australia’s cuddly and creepy critters, and where to spot them.
A joey hitches a ride in his mother’s pouch (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Kangaroos
Leaving Australia without encountering one of the country’s hopping national icons would be a terrible shame. Though you won’t find many of them in the cities, there are plenty of them to be found elsewhere: after all, there are two kangaroos for every person in Australia!
Spread across the country, there are four species of kangaroos: the red kangaroo, the eastern grey kangaroo, the western grey kangaroo, and the antilopine kangaroo. The large red kangaroos can be found throughout the Outback. Western grey kangaroos mostly live in south-west Western Australia, while eastern grey kangaroos live only in east Australia, with large colonies inhabiting the coast near Emerald Beach. Finally, the antilopine kangaroos can be found in the monsoonal tropical woodlands of northern Australia.
Wild kangaroos in Grawin, deep in the Australian Outback (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Kookaburras
Kookaburras are known for their loud distinctive call, which sounds as if the bird is laughing. The birds can mostly be found in eastern Australia, but are also spotted in Southwest Australia. Along with the kangaroo and the koala, the kookaburra is one of the nation’s most famous animal icons. Since the call of the kookaburra is often associated with the Australian bush or a tropical jungle, it has been used as a stock sound effect in many films, including Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
Koalas
Koalas live on a strict diet of eucalyptus tree leaves. The leaves are low in nutritive value, high in dietary fiber, and of high toxicity, which makes them a bit of a peculiar culinary choice. To get the most out of the leaves, koalas have a very slow metabolic rate. This makes them slow and requires them to sleep up to 18 hours a day. Koalas only live in the east and southeast of Australia and are relatively easy to spot if you know where to find them. There are several eucalyptus forests on the Great Ocean Road where you’ll find these little furry creatures sleeping in the trees, comfortably curled up into balls.
Koalas enjoying an eucalyptus tree dinner (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Platypuses
Meet Australia’s strangest animal: the platypus! Platypuses are small duck-billed mammals resembling an otter or beaver. As these odd creatures mostly live in or underwater, they can be hard to spot. In the past platypuses were frequently sighted in east Australia, but nowadays your best bet for taking a closer look at one will be at one of Australia’s wildlife sanctuaries, such as the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.
Humpback Whales
Each year between April and November, humpback whales swim up from the rich waters of Antarctica, passing Australia’s eastern coastline. Up north, they’ll seek the comfort of sub-tropical waters to mate and give birth. Between September and November, they return. Humpback whales are known to majestically breach the surface when coming up for air. They are Australia’s most iconic whales, and one of them even played a major role in the 1990’s TV series OCEAN GIRL (1994-1997), which featured an unusual girl named Neri and her friend Charlie, a humpback whale with whom she could communicate.
Humpback whales swimming past the coast near Sydney (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Saltwater Crocodiles
Saltwater crocodiles can be found on Australia’s north and northeast coast. Visit Cairns, and you’ll find out just how dangerous this creature is. The Cairns Esplanade is elevated a couple of feet above the city’s ocean beach, as the beach is regarded as croc territory. The so-called “salties” make it impossible to enjoy the sand in Australia’s most popular diving destination, and as a solution, the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon was created: a large swimming pool on the edge of the beach.
Coral Reefs
One of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions is its extensive coral reef. The Great Barrier Reef stretches out over 2,300 kilometers along Australia’s northeastern shoreline, and can even be seen from outer space. The reef is the world’s biggest structure made by living organisms. The tiny organisms that inhabit the reef grand this enormous marine habitat reef its shape and color. Tours taking you to the Great Barrier Reef for snorkeling and diving are concentrated around Cairns.
Box Jellyfish
During the warm months, usually from October to April, the box jellyfish pays a visit to northern Australia. The box jellyfish is by far the deadliest creature in the country. A single brush from the jellyfish’s tentacles can induce cardiac arrest: it can kill a human within a few minutes. The jellyfish‘s sting is incredibly painful, and can instantly immobilize you. It’s safe to say this is one of Australia’s critters you do not want to encounter during your stay in the land Down Under!
Emus
Though related to the ostrich, the emu is endemic to Australia. Emus enjoy living on the coast, but many of them now live in the Outback. Farming activities have improved living conditions for them in the Red Centre, and emus can be seen trekking the desert year-round. The emu is the subject of many of ‘outback artist’ John Murray’s works. Like others living in the Outback, Murray knows just how ‘deeply stupid’ emus can be sometimes, and his works don’t shy on displaying them at their worst moments. Murray’s paintings can be found at the John Murray Art Gallery in Lightning Ridge, one of the best places to visit in Australia.
Emus inspired some of John Murray’s greatest works (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Echidnas
The echidnas is another one of Australia’s many odd creatures: this egg-laying mammal resembles both a platypus and a porcupine, yet follows the diet of an anteater. Unlike the endemic species of Australia, the echidna also made its way to New Guinea. The distribution of the echidna is similar to that of the kookaburra: they can mostly be found in eastern Australia, but can also be spotted in Southwest Australia.
Wombats
Wombats are fluffy, round animals, closely related to koalas. Their short legs and stubby tails give them a particularly cuddly look. Like koalas, they have an extraordinarily slow metabolism and move very slowly. Wombats live in the southeast of Australia, and can also be found in Tasmania. In Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, the wombat is depicted as an animal of little importance. Additionally, the species was classified as a vermin in the early 20th century, which led to the destruction of their habitat and greatly reduced their numbers. Luckily, wombats have since become a protected species.
Wallabies
It’s easy to mistake a wallaby for a kangaroo. Still, they are classified as a different species. Wallabies are much smaller than kangaroos. Rather than living in vast, open areas like their larger siblings, wallabies live in forested areas. Another dissimilarity is the color of their fur. The wallabies’ coat has a more distinct color, compared to the muted reds and greys of kangaroos. The little animals can be found across Australia in many of the remote, heavily timbered areas of the country.
Two wallabies hanging out with kangaroos (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Thorny Devils
The thorny devil is one of Australia’s most famous desert creatures. Thorny devils are lizards that grow up to 21 cm in total length and are covered entirely in conical spines. Despite the thorny devil’s monstrous appearance, it’s not a venomous animal and encountering it in the Outback will not be a cause for alarm.
Snakes
Australia hosts approximately 170 snake species. About 100 of those species are venomous, and these include almost all of the top 25 most venomous snakes in the world. Due to their distribution in the enormous Outback, fatalities are luckily rare. Still, you’d want to avoid encounters with slithering deadly creatures such as the Eastern Brown Snake, the Western Brown Snake, the Tiger Snake, the Coastal Taipan, or the Inland Taipan. The Inland Taipan’s poison is so venomous, its bite contains enough venom to kill more than 100 men. The Inland Taipan lives in Queensland and South Australia, but is quite reclusive and unlikely to attack.
Dingoes
Dingoes are wild Australian dogs, mostly found in the desert. While male dingoes are often solitary and nomadic in nature, the animals usually form a settled pack when mating. On the night of 17 August 1980, a dingo dragged Azaria Chamberlain, a two-month-old baby, from a tent at a campsite near Uluru. The event led to one of the most publicized murder trials, as the child’s mother was wrongfully convicted of murder after investigators refused to believe a dingo would attack a human. The story is shown in the film EVIL ANGELS (1988), which is headlined by Meryl Streep and Sam Neill as the parents of Azaria Chamberlain.
Tasmanian Devils
Popularized immensely by the Looney Tunes-character of the same name, the Tasmanian devil is an iconic symbol of Tasmania. Tasmanian devils are the size of small dogs, but can be quite muscular. With their loud screech and their ferocious eating habits, it’s easy to see how they served as the inspiration for the animated Tasmanian Devil. Tasmanian devils can be found almost everywhere in Tasmania, but recent outbreaks of devil facial tumor disease has decreased the population.
The Tasmanian devil, the iconic symbol of Tasmania (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Goannas
The goanna is an Australian desert native. It is the second-largest living lizard, second only to the komodo dragon. The perentie goanna – one of 25 goanna species in Australia – can grow over 2,5 meters in length. With exception of the several shoreline regions, goannas can be found everywhere is Australia. The lizards aren’t dangerous and are unlikely to attack humans: they mostly feed on insects, smaller lizards and mammals, birds, and eggs.
So, you’re thinking about traveling to Australia. Good on ya, mate! With its otherworldly landscapes, exotic wildlife, and bustling city hubs, there’s a lot to see and do in the land Down Under. Given the vastness of the country, you’ll have to make some choices. What would you like to see, do, and experience while visiting Australia? Is it your dream to stand face-to-face with a wild kangaroo, or do you prefer to experience Melbourne’s exquisite culinary life? And are you a surfer, or a hiker?
Based on how much time you have and what you’d like to see, you can establish the route that suits you best. Many of Australia’s highlights and touristic destinations are situated on the country’s east coast, between Melbourne and Cairns. Because of this, most travelers choose to either travel north to south or the other way around along the east coast. They hit the big cities, but also experience some of Australia’s natural wonders such as the Great Ocean Road, the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef.
Second-time visitors will often skip the east coast and travel directly into the Outback, or travel down the west coast from Broome to Perth, passing the beautiful Ningaloo Reef. In this blog, we’ve listed some of the best things to see and do in each of Australia’s largest states. This guide will lead from Melbourne to Cairns and Darwin, before taking you further inland towards the central states and Western Australia.
Hiking the Australian Outback near Kata Tjuṯa (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Victoria
Melbourne
Melbourne’s urban, artsy vibe draws in travelers from all over the world. While Sydney is Australia’s most busy port of call, Melbourne draws in most of the backpackers. The city has a lively bar culture with artsy café and coffee bars, plenty of live concerts, and a famous nightlife. It is the perfect place to meet up with both locals and fellow travelers. Melbourne is also famous for its street art. All across the city, you’ll find elaborate graffiti art, most famously concentrated in Hosier Lane in the downtown area.
If you’re not too keen on walking around all of Melbourne, the City Circle Tram will take you to the city’s most popular sightseeing attractions for free. In addition, the city’s harbor is the point of departure for people who want to visit the penguins on Phillip Island, or those who want to take the ferry to Tasmania.
The Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is a 243 kilometers long road along the south-eastern coast of Australia. Situated between the cities of Torquay (near Melbourne) and Allansford, the road is listed as a part of the Australian National Heritage. The road winds along the coast, moving past well-known landmarks such as the Twelve Apostles, a series of famous limestone stack formations. The Great Ocean also passes through a series of beautiful Karri forests, where the koalas live. Make a stop at the Kennet River Coastal Reserve or drive through the Karri forests towards the Cape Otway lighthouse to spot the wild koalas.
The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
New South Wales
Sydney
Sydney is known far and wide for its beautiful beaches and iconic architecture. The welcoming, open-minded nature of Sydney’s residents shines through in everything. Sydney is both vibrant and hectic, and dramatically contrasts life in Australia’s vast Outback. From the famous Bondi Beach to the classic Sydney Opera House, Sydney is a must-visit for every traveler. Even if you’re not too keen on big cities, exploring Australia’s main hub and all its wonders will definitely be worth your time. Also unique to Sydney is its exotic urban birdlife: a simple stroll through the city will bring you face-to-face with the Australian white ibis, plenty of rainbow lorikeets, a host of Sulphur-crested cockatoos, and perhaps even a laughing kookaburra!
The Sydney Harbor
The Sydney Harbor skyline is instantly recognizable: its most prominent features are the world-famous Sydney Opera House and the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Opera House is considered one of the most famous and distinctive buildings in the world. Its distinctive sail-shaped white roof was inspired by nature and meant to resemble clouds, shells, and other natural forms. The nearby Sydney Harbour Bridge is equally iconic, and a stroll through the inner-city suburb The Rocks near the bridge will complete your visit to one of the most famous harbors in the world.
On the Sydney Harbor’s more peculiar sights (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
The Blue Mountains National Park
Situated 81 kilometers from Sydney, the Blue Mountains National Park features endless hiking trails, amazing waterfalls, and dramatic gorges. It is one of the most accessible locations to spot wild kangaroos and koalas for day-trippers, as the mountain range encompasses extensive eucalyptus forests. The most famous attraction in the park is the impressive rock formation known as the Three Sisters: three large sandstone pillars rising above the forest. Aside from hiking, the park also lends itself to other activities, such as abseiling, mountain biking, rock climbing, and horse riding.
Whale Watching
Sydney is the best place to spot humpback whales. Many eco-friendly tour companies arrange whale watching tours from the city’s Circular Quay. After spending the summer in Antarctic waters, humpback whales pass the Australian coast between April and November to mate in the warm northern waters. Humpback whales are often playful and are known to breach the surface when coming up for air. Sometimes whales come up to just 200 meters from the coast, allowing you to spot them without paying for a tour. Head to the Cape Solander Lookout or the Barrenjoey Headland Lighthouse for the best free whale-watching spots.
Surfing
Surfers are as inherent to Australia as the many kangaroos that hop through the Outback. Together, New South Wales and Queensland feature some of the best surfing beaches in the world. Don’t be surprised by the number of surfboards you’ll see at luggage collection when you land at Sydney Airport: many international surfers land in Sydney especially to catch the waves at Umina, Manly, or Bondi Beach. Of course, chances are that some of those boards will belong to Aussie surfers who’ve visited Bali to change their own surf for a bit. When visiting Australia’s popular surfing beaches, don’t be surprised to see a pod of dolphins every once in a while.
Surf lesson on Bondi Beach (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Noodling in Lightning Ridge
Lightning Ridge is one of the many small outback towns in New South Wales. The town can be reached within 8 hours by car or bus from Brisbane. Lightning Ridge is known for its extensive opal mining fields. When heavy machinery is used to dig out opal mines, large heaps of dirt are collected in so-called mine dumps. This allows locals to engage in the popular pastime of “noodling”: carefully brushing through the mine dumps in search of specs of opal, nicknamed “noodles”. Lightning Ridge itself is as quirky and bizarre as the noodlers themselves: from the walking routes marked by painted car doors and the idiocrasy of the Astronomers Monument to the underground museums, the town is perhaps one of the greatest off-beat destinations in the world.
Noodling for opal in Lighting Ridge (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
The Chambers of the Black Hand
Opal miner Ron Canlin “might not have found opal,” locals state, “but he did hit paydirt.” Canlin turned his opal mine in Lightning Ridge into an underground museum by carving hundreds of reliefs into it’s walls. The museum consists of an underground maze of corridors decorated with painted reliefs of different animals, pop culture icons, and celebrities. From kangaroos, kiwis and dinosaurs to Batman, Captain America, Buddha, and more, the mine is a true work of art. If you get lost in mine’s hallways, don’t be surprised to run into a man chipping away at the walls: that’ll be Canlin himself, endlessly expanding his maze to include more works, such as Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam or a relief displaying the entire cast of Star Wars.
John Murray Art Gallery
In 2019, Lightning Ridge’s John Murray Art Gallery sadly burned down, destroying much of the work of one of the Outback’s most talented artists. Luckily, not all was lost, and John continued to create his iconic whimsical photo-realistic paintings. His work A Moment of Realization, in which an emu is flabbergasted by the confrontation with an approaching car, is one of his most popular works – and one of his many works displaying just how ‘deeply stupid’ emus can be according to the town’s locals. Another one of Murray’s emu-related artworks can be found along the Castlereagh Highway: Stanley the Emu, an 18-meter high emu sculpted out scrap metal, a Volkswagen Beetle, and several satellite dishes.
The John Murray Art Gallery (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Queensland
Gold Coast
Though surfing is immensely popular in Sydney, the city isn’t Australia’s main surfing destination. One of the most popular surfing hubs in Australia is Gold Coast, where surfers ride the impressive waves of Snapper Rocks, Surfers Paradise, and other beaches.
Emerald Beach
The town of Emerald Beach lies just north of Coffs Harbour, between Sydney and Brisbane. Though the town itself mostly plays host to families and surfers, wildlife enthusiasts will also love the small town’s beach. In the oddly-named Look At Me Now Headland, eastern grey kangaroos are abundant. The small kangaroos can be seen anywhere on and around the beach, as they lazily nibble on the helm grass, hop through the bushes and enjoy the ocean views.
Eastern grey kangaroos on the Look At Me Now Headland (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Brisbane
Though Brisbane is less bustling than cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, it has several unique selling points. The first is The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the oldest and largest koala sanctuary in the world. Another highlight is the South Bank, where a nice stroll will help you pass the time. The South Bank is a beautiful green area along the ocean, where the city fully comes alive in the evening. There are plenty of café’s and restaurants along the South Bank, as well as a lovely swimming facility and a beautiful pagoda. Throughout the year, several cultural markets pop up in the region’s Parklands.
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket is the highlight of Brisbane. The park opened in 1927 to take care of sick, injured, and orphaned koalas. The park offers visitors the unique opportunity to interact with koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies. Additionally, the park features wombats, Tasmanian devils, echidnas, and many more native species. In the sanctuary’s Platypus House you’ll find a special aquarium where you can observe Australia’s oddest creature, the platypus. Finally, in the park’s 5-acre kangaroo reserve, it is possible to feed and pet kangaroos.
Kookaburra at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Fraser Island
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. The island is 123 kilometers long, and it is said that the island has more sand than the Sahara. The most popular activities on the island include 4×4 off-road driving and wildlife spotting. There are many animals present on the island, such as dingoes, swamp wallabies, gliders, a large number of birds and snakes, and other reptiles.
After taking the ferry from Hervey Bay on the mainland to Hook Point on the island, it is possible to rent a four-wheel drive, which allows you to drive across the desert island. Though the sea surrounding the island is considered unsafe for swimming due to the strong current and the presence of sharks, the island features many crystal clear inland lakes where you can go swimming, such as Lake Wabby and Lake McKenzie.
Cairns
Cairns is the launching pad for almost every scuba diving tour of the Great Barrier Reef. The city lies close to many popular diving sites such as Flynn Reef, Hastings Reef, and Milln Reef. The city itself has a typical summer vibe to it, as most people you’ll meet either just got out of the water, or are going back in. Cairns is home to several wonderful cultural attractions focusing on the country’s indigenous population, such as the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, several authentic didgeridoo shops, and art galleries.
The Great Barrier Reef
If you haven’t traveled to Australia to go wildlife spotting, you’ve probably come here to dive. The Great Barrier Reef is by far the most famous reef in the world. Even before Pixar’s FINDING NEMO (2003) magnificently animated the mesmerizing colors of the reef for the big screen, this popular diving location was already known throughout the world.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches out for over 2,300 kilometers along Australia’s east coast and features billions of tiny organisms known as coral polyps. Depending on which dive site you choose, you might want to opt for a snorkeling tour, rather than a diving tour. The reef isn’t very deep and the main difference with diving in the reef is mostly the overwhelming price difference. Despite the Great Barrier Reef’s immense reputations, actual reef diving will be more rewarding in more condensed coral reef areas, such as in Thailand’s Andaman Sea or in Sabah on Borneo.
Explore the vast coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Frankland Islands
A diving tour passing Machaelmas Cay and Hastings Reef will also take you to the breathtaking Frankland Islands. Situated in the South Pacific Ocean, the islands are uninhabited protected areas featuring pristine white coral beaches and lush rainforests. The islands became well known in the 1990s when the TV-show Ocean Girl (1994-1997) became one of the most popular shows on Australian television. In the series, High Island – one of the five Frankland Islands – served as the home of the beautiful alien/mermaid Neri, who often swims around the island with her best friend, a humpback whale named Charlie.
Esplanade Boardwalk
The Esplanade Boardwalk runs along the Cairns’ picturesque shore for 2.5 kilometers. The Esplanade highlights the ironic nature of Cairns as a water sports location: due to the constant threat of saltwater crocodiles, it is prohibited to visit the city’s beach. The Esplanade Boardwalk is elevated relatively high above the beach to prevent “salties” from climbing up, and visitors from climbing down. To provide tourists with the opportunity to take a dive anyway, the Esplanade features a 4,800 m2 saltwater Lagoon, that’s safe all-year-round. No need to risk swimming between the stingers and crocodiles!
Morning meditation in the Esplanade Boardwalk’s Lagoon (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Daintree Rainforest
Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest is the oldest tropical rainforest in the world. The forest lies north of Cairns and can be visited year-round. It is possible to hike in the forest, though you should always beware of the crocodiles who breed there during the summer months. The dense vegetation with its lush canopy is an extraordinary sight, and a series of aerial walkways will allow you to explore the different levels of the rainforest. The Daintree Rainforest is host to a large range of exotic birds, including the world’s most dangerous bird, the Southern Cassowary.
Northern Territory
Darwin
Darwin’s remote location in Australia’s northern tip makes it the perfect place to find a piece of mind. The laid-back city is a small coastal oasis, offering visitors passage into the Outback and into the Northern Territory’s national parks. Popular destinations near Darwin are Kakadu National Park and the Litchfield National Park. If you prefer some excitement within the city limits, allow yourself to be lowered into the habitat of the crocodiles living at the city’s Crocosaurus Cove in a Cage of Death.
The Outback
The Outback is the heart of Australia. It is also known as “the Red Centre”, “the Red Waste” and “the Never-Never”. The Outback is generally composed of Australia’s vast interior with its extensive red sanded plains and clear waterholes. It is a true paradise for those backpackers seeking a life of adventure. In the Outback, the indigenous Aboriginal cultures still thrive and the Dreamtime Stories are vivid and alive. The region features striking national parks, such as the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, as well as the Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.
The Australian Outback (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Kakadu National Park
The Kakadu National Park is home to one the oldest signs of human civilizations in the world: the park features Aboriginal rock art dating back 20,000 years. Kakadu National Park is home to some of the most beautiful waterfalls in Australia and offers fantastic hiking opportunities for backpackers hoping to stay active. Kakadu’s inner wetlands are the perfect place for spotting crocodiles, buffalos, sea eagles, and other wild animals. The park can be easily reached from Darwin.
Litchfield National Park
The Litchfield National Park features several mesmerizing natural sights. Parts of the park are inhabited by millions of termites, who’ve erected striking termite mounds – some reaching up to over two meters. In the park, you’ll also find the Lost City, a series of large sandstone pillars. The pillars closely resemble the remnants of an ancient civilization and remind visitors of the temples at the Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia.
Alice Springs
Alice Springs – Alice for short – is one of the largest towns in Australia’s expansive Outback. The town is a great base for further exploration into the Outback and visiting the Northern Territory’s many natural wonders. In Alice Springs, the stars are a little bit brighter and the wildlife is a bit wilder. Though in the town’s surrounding areas you can easily spot wild kangaroos, you can also visit them at the Kangaroo Sanctuary, which was opened in 2005 to provide a home for orphaned baby kangaroos. It has since then expanded to offer a home for adult kangaroos as well.
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
The Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National is home to two famous rock formations: Uluru (a.k.a. Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (a.k.a. The Olgas). Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta formed over 500 million years ago. Uluru is considered the spiritual heart of Australia. Rising high above the country’s remote desert, Uluru is the Aboriginals’ most important sacred site. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is Aboriginal land and is jointly managed by its traditional owners Anangu and Parks Australia.
The park’s desert landscape is home to dozens of bird and reptile species, as well as mammals. The red kangaroo finds its home in the deserts, as does the adorable spinifex hopping mouse and the curious dingo.
You can experience both Uluru and Kata Tjuta in all its glory at sunrise from the Kata Tjuta Dune Viewing viewpoint. As the sun illuminates the monoliths, it grants them their intense red coloring. Uluru is the Yin to the Yang of Sydney Opera House, as together they are the most recognizable landmarks in Australia – one a wonder of nature, the other one created by men.
The Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Uluṟu
The base walk at Uluru leads visitors along the ancient monolith’s base. This 10 kilometer walk will give you the opportunity to get to known the rock and learn about its role in the Aboriginals’ Dreamtime stories. The track allows you to walk the entire circumference of the monolith. After the walk you can visit the Maruku Arts & Crafts art gallery near Uluru’s base, which features Aboriginal paintings and woodcarvings.
Kata Tjuṯa
Located approximately 40 kilometers from Uluru lies Kata Tjuta. “Kata Tjuta” is Pitjantjatjara for “many heads”. Here, you can walk the track of the Valley of the Winds, which allows you to immerse yourself among the impressive red domes of Kata Tjuta.
South Australia
Adelaide
Adelaide lies in close proximity to Australia’s richest wine-producing regions. Adalaide has developed itself as a city where luxury and fine dining reign supreme. The city hosts several eclectic art galleries and restaurants and is home to a series of art and music festivals. Though the city’s main restaurants might be a bit too high-end for most backpackers, there are plenty of laneway bars and eateries where you can dine for a reasonable price. From Adelaide, you can make your way to Australia’s famous wine regions along the Margaret River.
Margaret River
Australia is one of the biggest wine-producing countries in the world. Though a large part of the country consists of desert lands, there are still plenty of valleys where wine can be produced. Many of these valleys can be found around the Margaret River in South Australia. Along the river, millions of liters of wine are produced every year in regions such as Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, and Claire Valley. The Margaret River Wine Region is a must-visit for those backpackers who prefer a good glass of wine to a cold beer.
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is a paradise for wildlife observers. The island can be reached by ferry from the mainland in approximately 45 minutes. The island features several national parks, including the Kelly Hill Conservation Park and Caves, where you can explore the island’s many caves; the Flinders Chase National Park, where little penguins roam; and the Seal Bay Conservation Park, the home of a large Australian sea lion colony. In addition, Paul’s Place Wildlife Sanctuary offers island visitors to interact with all sorts of unique Australian animals, and in Kingscote you can watch the pelicans feed on the wharf.
The National Parks of Western Australia are abundant with wildlife (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Western Australia
Karijini National Park and the Kimberley
The Australian Outback extends far beyond the Northern Territory. In Western Australia, it includes several national parks. One of them is the Purnululu National Park in the Kimberly region, which features the magnificent orange and black striped Bungle Bungle Range. Another natural wonder in Western Australia is the Karijini National Park, with its spring-fed pools, otherworldly gorges, and the beautiful Fortescue Falls. The national parks can be reached traveling up from Broome, a town made famous by its wealthy pearling industry.
Perth
Get off the beaten track and visit Perth, where the red sands of the Outback meet the blue depths of the ocean. The rugged city lies almost 4,000 kilometers west of Sydney and is not nearly as touristy as its sister cities on the east coast. Very few first-time visitors make it to Perth, but once you’ve decided to visit Australia a second time, Perth might be the perfect place for you to start exploring the west coast and the Outback. Like in Brisbane and on Kangaroo Island, you’ll also find a wonderful wildlife park here; the Caversham Wildlife Park.
Coral Bay and the Ningaloo Reef
A major advantage of visiting Australia’s west coast is that backpacking here becomes a more quiet, personal experience. There aren’t nearly as many tourists swarming the region as on the east coast, and you really get to enjoy your surroundings in a more holistic manner. Visiting Coral Bay illustrates this experience perfectly.
When visiting Coral Bay to explore the Ningaloo Reef, you’ll find you have plenty of opportunities here to explore the reef at your own pace. The Ningaloo Reef is a 260-kilometer long reef trailing the coast of Western Australia. You’ll need nothing more than a snorkel to explore the amazing reefs, where you can encounter sea turtles, tropical fish, manta rays, and gentle whale sharks. During migration seasons, you can even spot humpback whales breaching off-coast.
Dive into the Ningaloo Reef (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Tasmania
Hobart
Tasmania is a world of its own. There are two ways to visit the island: either you take the ferry from Melbourne to Devonport, or you fly directly to Hobart. Unlike in mainland Australia, sea food is very popular in Tasmania. For sea food lovers, Hobart is as good as it gets. Inland streams offer plenty of fishing opportunities, and the shoreline provides locals with rock lobsters, oysters, mussels and more. From Hobart it’s a short drive to Mount Wellington, where you can take in the beautiful scenery of the city and its surroundings.
Wineglass Bay
The Tasmanian coast features many beautiful bays and beaches, yet there’s something about Wineglass Bay’s beach that truly captivated its visitors. Right between the forested mountains, Wineglass Bay’s attractive crescent of sand curls the waters of the South Pacific into the mainland. The quiet, yet popular beach has stolen the hearts of most people who’ve visited it. The growing popularity of the bay has made it a frequently traveled location among visitors of Tasmania, which means that despite its beauty, you might want to consider visiting one of Tasmania’s many less-explored beaches if you’re looking for some peace of mind.
Read everything you need to know about backpacking in Australia. What’s the best way to navigate one of the largest countries in the world? What is the Tim Tam Slam, and why should you try it? What should you bring to survive a trip to the Outback? And where can you go to spot Australia’s unique wildlife? Learn all about Australia in our complete guide to backpacking ‘the land Down Under’.
Australia is one of the most diverse countries in the world. From the blistering ochre sands of the outback to the wealth of the Great Barrier Reef and the urban hubs of Sydney and Melbourne, the country has something to offer for every type of traveler. Australia consists of the Australian mainland, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. The country’s present-day culture is shaped by the nation’s colonial past, the Australian government’s encouragement of immigration from mainland Europe throughout the 20th century, and of course its Aboriginal citizens.
Many backpackers and other travelers visit Australia to explore the country’s extensive national parks and its unique wildlife. Together, the kangaroo and emu serve as the symbols of the nation on the Australian Coat of Arms. Equally famous are the adorable koalas and the otherworldly platypus. Still, locals jokingly state that “in Australia, everything can kill you”. Aside from the country’s more gentle, well-known animals, Australia is also home to many dangerous animals, such as saltwater crocodiles, box jellyfish, taipan snakes, brown snakes, tiger snakes, redback spiders, and more. Even a dive in the reef can kill you through coral poisoning, and an intimidated male kangaroo might pose a serious threat.
Despite the many deadly creatures living in Australia, it’s still one of the safest, most comfortable countries in the world to go backpacking in. “Aussie” – as the country is lovingly called by locals – is a great place for inexperienced backpackers to try their luck living on the open road.
Uluru, the Heart of Australia (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Quick Facts
Capital: The capital of Australia is Canberra.
Language: The official language in Australia is (Australian) English.
Currency: The official currency in Australia is the Australian dollar (AUD).
Power Plugs: Plug Type I , with the electricity supply running at 230 volts.
Drinking water: In Australia, the tap water is fine to drink pretty much everywhere. Do bring your own water when traveling long distances without rest stops along the way, and keep in mind that remote places in the Outback might not have running water.
Safety: While locals joke that everything in Australia can kill you, the large island nation is actually one of the safest countries in the world to travel. Australia is a safe and welcoming destination for inexperienced backpackers. Backpacking here will only be as difficult as you make it.
7 things to look forward to: kangaroos, the Tim Tam Slam, the Great Barrier Reef, red sand, graffiti art, Lightning Ridge, Uluru.
Video: On the Road: Australia
See what it’s like to travel Australia! (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Money saving tips: backpacking Australia on a budget
How much money do you need to travel Australia? Traveling on a budget will be a challenge in Australia. It’s no secret that many young adults come from abroad to work and travel in Australia for a bit of extra travel money. Wages are high, and by living in hostels they can keep their costs low enough to earn enough money to fund their further backpacking adventures. In order to make it through Australia without leaving empty-handed, you’ll have to carefully pick and choose your accommodation and transportation.
Australia is a land of many comforts, and these comforts you’ll have to pay for. Like in its neighboring country New Zealand, accommodation, transportation, and activities come at a relatively steep price. One of the best ways of saving money in Australia is by buying a used car or campervan or rent one from a local rental company.
Though there are many low-budget internal flights, the country is so expansive, adding up all the flights you’ll need to get around will take up most of your budget. Flying the triangle of Melbourne, Sydney, and Uluru, for example, will cost you about AUD$1.000,- (€615,- or US$725,-). Of course, navigating a country as large as Australia by wheeled transportation will take much, much longer than flying. Perhaps the best way to navigate Australia if time is not on your side is through a combination of cheap flights for long distances and taking busses or hitchhiking on the shorter stretches.
Hitchhiking in the Outback (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
To compensate for the high cost of travel, choose your accommodation based on what you need most. Make sure that each place you book has a kitchen where you can prepare your own meals and don’t worry too much about having to share a room with strangers. Hostels are plentiful in Australia, and making use of them will save you quite a bit of money.
While backpacking the land Down Under, pick and choose which activities you’re willing to pay for and which ones you’ll probably be able to do in other countries for a better price. This goes for visiting clubs and bars as well: there’s no better way to burn a hole in your pocket in Aussie than spending an evening in a bar. Instead, have a drink in your hostel and get to know the many backpackers whose path lies parallel to yours.
Most other blogs might suggest a budget of AUD$3.500,- (€2.100,- or US$2.500,-) per month per person, flights included. You can get your spending down to a monthly budget of less than AUD$2.400,- per person (€1.450,- or US$1.750,-) though, if you don’t go overboard with your spending. Your costs for backpacking Australia will largely be determined by your need for comfort in terms of transportation, accommodation, and food and drinks.
Quick Tips
A few quick tips for saving money while backpacking Australia:
Buy or rent a car or a campervan.
Track ticket prices of budget flights through Skyscanner to get the best prices for national flights.
Hitchhike short distances.
Stay in hostels.
Do your own cooking.
Minimize drinking outside of your hostel.
Accommodation
Sleeping in Australia
Accommodation options are limitless in Australia. The town of Yulara hosts the perfect example of Australian accommodation standards. Situated in the Northern Territory near Uluru, the town was specially designed for tourists. Walking the town’s circular road, you’ll pass luxurious hotels, campgrounds, a backpackers lodge, a resort, and more. The government made sure every type of traveler could be accommodated when visiting the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The same goes for the rest of the country.
As a backpacker, you’ll most likely find yourself in a hostel. Unlike European hostels, however, Australian hostels are often more crowded and noisier, and dorms are larger: don’t be surprised to share your room with 20-30 people in major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney! Many young backpackers come to Australia on a work-and-travel program, and many of them choose to live in hostels. To enjoy your stay in Aussie’s hostels, be prepared for the presence of long-term residents. Bring earplugs and a sleep mask, and above all: dine early. Don’t hesitate too long to start your daily cooking, because you’ll risk having to wait several hours for the kitchen appliances and utensils to become available again once the long-term residents start cooking.
Here are some of our favorite hostels in Australia:
Brisbane at dusk (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Work and travel
The Australian government offers backpackers willing to work during their travels a Working Holiday visa for up to 12 months. The visa allows people from 18 to 30 years old to come to Australia for an extended working holiday. Once finished, travelers can apply for a second Working Holiday visa, with the requirement that they have completed three months of specified regional work in the country during their first Working Holiday visa.
Working in Australia is perhaps one of the world’s only true “get rich quick”-schemes. Wages are high, and if you keep your expenses low, you’ll easily be able to travel around the country on a comfortable budget. Depending on how long you work and how much you save, you might be able to earn enough money to not just backpack Australia, but nearby regions such as New Zealand, the Polynesian islands, and Southeast Asia as well.
Getting around in Australia
Renting a Campervan or Car
Car sharing is one of the most popular ways of navigation in Australia. By renting a car or a campervan at a local rental service and sharing the costs with your mates, you can easily navigate the vast country on a budget. If time is not on your side, this does mean you’ll have to decide whether you want to travel the east coast, the west coast, or the outback, as you’ll most likely won’t be able to visit all three.
It’s also possible to buy a used car or campervan from another traveler. You’ll find many backpackers trying to sell their vehicles on Gumtree, and there are several Facebook groups designed for backpackers seeking to buy or sell cars in Australia, such as Australia Backpackers or Backpacker Cars Australia.
Road conditions in Australia are excellent and traffic is well-regulated. Do keep in mind that Australians drive on the left side of the road and most vehicles will have the steering wheel on their right side. In the country’s vast Outback, you might find a few sand roads when visiting small towns. Additionally, beware of kangaroos crossing the road around dusk and dawn when driving in the desert. You’ll notice that most cars, busses, and “fieldies” navigating the Outback have a “roo bar” installed: a metal framework on the front of the vehicle to protect it during collisions with kangaroos, emus, or cattle.
Rent a “fieldie” to explore the Outback (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a nice way to get around Australia for free. As flights are expensive, hitchhiking offers a welcoming alternative. Australians are often quite friendly and will be happy to share their car with you. It’s a great way to get in touch with locals, and you get to explore places you’d otherwise miss out on. Keep in mind though that hitchhiking will not be as easy in Australia as it is in other countries. The country has a history of violent incidents involving hitchhikers, and not everyone will be keen to take you along. Follow your instincts, and always try to take a picture of the license plate of the vehicle you get in to send to family members and friends.
Hitchhiking will get you from city to city and might even help you find your way in the Outback. Outside of the major cities, it might take longer to hitch a ride, as many people are simply commuting between work and home, and will count on others to pick you up. Also keep in mind that cities often lie hundreds of kilometers apart, meaning you’ll have to hitch several rides to get to your destination.
Hitchhiking is considered illegal in Queensland and Victoria, so giving it a try on the Great Ocean Road is a no-go.
Busses
Bus transportation is an affordable option to get around Australia. Bus fares are lower on the east coast than on the west coast, as the routes in the east are more popular and well-traveled. There are several bus companies operating in Australia, among which Greyhound Australia and Premier. Busses will easily get you from city to city, and when booked in advance, can be relatively cheap. If you plan to go into the Outback or visit another less popular destination, schedule your trip in advance as there might only be one or two busses going there per week.
Trains
Australia’s long-distance and trans-continental trains are quite expensive. Though the Australian railways offer special backpacker prices, this might still be far beyond your budget. Traveling by train has its advantages, as you’ll get to see a lot of the country, but you’ll have limited access to certain off-beat destinations.
Domestic Flights
No form of transportation in Australia will make you forget the extensiveness of the continent. It can take a long time to get around the country through ground travel. Choosing air travel for long stretches might prove to be worth the cost of a flight ticket. One of the country’s most reliable budget airlines is Jetstar.
Boats
Taking a domestic flight is also your fastest option for getting to Tasmania. As an alternative, you can travel to the island by ferry. The Spirit of Tasmania sails from Melbourne to Tasmania and back six days a week. A one-way trip takes between 9-11 hours.
The Tasmanian devil, the iconic symbol of Tasmania (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
When to visit Australia
Located in the Southern Hemisphere, summer runs from December through February in Australia, while winter runs from June through August. Given that Australia is quite a large country, weather conditions and temperatures can vary greatly throughout the nation.
The east coast, running from Melbourne up to Cairns, is the most-traveled section of Australia. The best time to travel there would be at the tail end of spring, when temperatures begin to drop. While beach life can still be comfortable around April and May, hiking and other outdoor activities will also become more pleasant to undertake during these months, as the scorching heat fades away. During late Spring and Summer, temperatures can be uncomfortably high, especially in the Outback. Traveling north in the late spring will allow you to stay ahead of the rains and bring you right into the arms of the nation’s eternal paradise: around Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef it tends to be pleasantly warm year-round. Backpacking the east coast southwards, it’s wise to leave a bit earlier. The cold weather tends to crawl upwards from Melbourne, and you’ll be traveling towards it.
In any case, try to avoid stinger season in Queensland between November and May, as the beaches become unsafe due to the yearly presence of the deadly box jellyfish.
What to pack for Australia
The essentials
I’m going to Australia, and I’m bringing…
A bottle of sunscreen.
A hat or sarong.
A light-weight scarf.
A light-weight umbrella.
Australia is generally known for its warm temperatures, especially during the high seasons. During summer, weather conditions can get beyond uncomfortable, and you’ll need a way to protect yourself from the scorching heat if you want to be able to get around. Therefore, one of the most essential things to bring on your trip is a bottle of sunscreen, and a hat or sarong to cover your head on hot days. Though you can purchase most backpacking essentials you need in the country itself, prices are quite high compared to most other nations.
As Australia features some of the most unique and exciting forms of wildlife, as well as exceptional art scenes based on the Aboriginal culture, make sure to keep a little room in your backpack for when you find one of those one-of-a-kind souvenirs you won’t encounter anywhere else. There’s a very big chance you’ll fly home with at least one or two tiny koala plushies to hand out at home.
Given the country’s size and the changeable weather, it’s important to pack for good weather, but also to be prepared for rain. Bring a scarf and a small foldable umbrella to keep yourself warm and dry when encountering bad weather. Light-weight umbrellas also perfectly lend themselves for protection during the country’s many hot days.
Australian souvenirs (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Visa Information
The most-used type of visa for Australia is the eVisitor visa. This visa is valid for tourism or business purposes for up to three months at a time, within a 12-month period. Most backpackers opt for this visa, as it is freely available online for a large number of countries. As an alternative, there’s the Electronic Travel Authority visa (ETA), which you can apply for through your local travel agent. The ETA visa also allows you to visit Australia for up to three months.
Australia additionally offers work-and-travel visas for travelers between 18 and 30 years old (or 35 in some cases). To be eligible for this visa, your country must participate in Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program. Instead of the regular three months, you’ll be allowed to stay in Australia for 12 months and you’ll be enabled to work while you are there.
Enjoy the local culture
The Old and the New
Up until its independence in 1901, Australia was a part of the United Kingdom. From the states of Queensland and Victoria to Mount Victoria in Tasmania, many of the nation’s cities’ and regions’ names still reflect its colonial past. As such, Australian culture shares a lot of common ground with the United Kingdom and the neighboring country New Zealand.
Australia has a predominantly Western culture, with some Indigenous influences. Though human habitation in Australia began over 65,000 years ago, very little is left of the country’s indigenous culture. Still, many spiritual beliefs and art forms of the Aboriginals have survived, and are being kept alive by those advocating the rights of the country’s original inhabitants.
Australians are generally very friendly and welcoming. They have a good sense of humor, love a good conversation, and won’t mind teaching you a thing or two about Australian slang – even if you’re a pommy (Englishman), a sheepshagger (New Zealander), a reffo (refugee), or even a shark biscuit (surfer) coming to explore the famous Australian beaches!
Australian slang
Australian English contains hundreds of hilarious words and sayings. Down Under (in Australia), Aussies (Australians) put on their trackies (tracksuit pants), or bathers (bathing suits) and thongs (flip-flops), to slap their snags (sausages) on the barbie (barbecue) when visiting the beach with their oldies (parents) for Chrissie (Christmas). Or they might just do so when they take a sickie (sick day from work)! The smoke of the barbie will also help to keep the mozzies (mosquitos) away. If the weather is down, a mob (a group of people) might go to Maccas (McDonald’s) for a bite, or stay in and watch some footie (football) with their mates (friends; used for men and women).
Though Aussie slang sounds like a dog’s breakfast (pretty messy), and the Aussies themselves seem to have a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock (to be crazy), it’s all actually pretty dardy (cool) once you get the hang of it. Be careful though: though it might seem as if ending any word in -ie, -y, or -o is the perfect way to get a hold of Aussie slang, you’ll be singled out as an imposter immediately. Not even a fair dinkum (true) Aussie could tell you why Brizzie (Brisbane) sounds perfectly alright, but using ‘Mellie’ to refer to Melbourne sounds ridiculous.
A “roo” relaxing (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Aboriginal culture
Recent cultural respect strategies have started to focus Australia’s attention on the preservation of the country’s indigenous culture. In many cities, you’ll find cultural markets, aboriginal-style artworks, cultural tours, and shops selling authentic Aboriginal craftworks, such as art pieces, boomerangs and digeridoos.
To really experience Aboriginal culture, a visit to Uluru is a must. Uluru – also known as Ayer’s Rock – is one of the aboriginals’ most important sacred sites. The world-famous rock formation plays an important role in many of the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area, and visitors can join free walking tours to explore the rock with an Aboriginal guide. The area is also home to the Maruku Arts & Crafts art gallery, which features Aboriginal paintings and woodcarvings. The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu still live inside the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park itself.
Another great way to explore Aboriginal culture is at the Aboriginal Heritage Office in Freshwater, which hosts a museum of Aboriginal artifacts.
Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa are sacred Aboriginal sites (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
The Outback
Actor Johnny Depp once stated that since his character Jack Sparrow had spent the majority of his life on the high seas underneath the scorching sun, there was no way the heat wouldn’t have affected him mentally. This gave Depp the right hook to create the quirky pirate for Disney’s popular pirate franchise. The same effect can be observed throughout the Australian Outback.
Locals living in the Outback – often hundreds of kilometers removed from civilization, without running water, sewer systems, or paved roads – personally claim that anyone who chooses to live in the Outback must be a little nuts. The playful self-mockery of the residents of Australia’s Red Waste translates into some of the most amazing forms of art you’ll find on the continent, as is evident in places such as the old miners’ town Lightning Ridge in New South-Wales.
Things to eat and drink
Heavily inspired by British culture, but unique in its own right, Australian cuisine has a few excellent local specialties for you to try. Native meats such as kangaroo, crocodile, and emu will give you a taste of what indigenous cultures have been eating for thousands of years, while more modern culinary inventions come in the form of the Tim Tim Slam and the chip sanger.
Despite the country’s massive coastline, Australians haven’t developed a large sea food-culture outside of the traditional British fish and chips. Australia’s vast lands lend themselves well for farming livestock, which becomes evident through the popularity of chicken and beef.
In addition to developing their own local cuisine, Australians also developed their own culinary jargon: they have breakie (breakfast) in the morning, prepare a quick spagbol (spaghetti bolognese) when there’s no time for a barbie (Australian barbecue) and in addition, they offer plenty of dining opportunities for veggos (vegetarians).
Australian Barbecue
Barbecuing is an inherent part of Australian food culture. The country’s indigenous people have always cooked their food outside, and modern-day Australians happily continue to do so. From prawns and sausages to lamb chops and kangaroo steaks, pretty much anything can be ‘slapped onto the barbie’. Having a good time with your mates is central to the Australian barbecue experience, so more often than not, beer and wine flow richly during an Aussie BBQ party.
The Tim Tam Slam
The Tim Tam Slam is a wildly popular Australian ritual in which a chocolate-covered biscuit is used as a drinking straw for a hot liquid – most often a hot coffee. The Tim Tam is a delicious chocolate biscuit native to Australia.
To perform the Tim Tam Slam, unwrap a Tim Tam cookie, and nibble off the two diagonally opposite corners of the cookie, exposing the biscuit that lies within. Dunk one end of the Tim Tam into your beverage and begin to suck up your drink through the opposite side of the cookie. You should be able to draw the liquid through the biscuit until it becomes saturated with coffee. Time your slam (the eating of the saturated cookie) well, as it will fall apart if you wait too long!
The infamous Tim Tam Slam (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Kangaroo meat
Yes, kangaroos are unique, wonderful, and cute critters – especially for those who don’t live in Australia. In the country itself, however, they’re simply part of everyday life. There are two kangaroos for every person in Australia. In the Outback the ‘roos are even described as pests, as they often destroy crops and cause car accidents. Kangaroo meat has been eaten by Australians for thousands of years. The meat is eaten in the form of steaks, burgers, and sausages, but is also used to prepare pasta dishes, pizzas, and meat pies. Kangaroo meat is extremely lean and low in fat.
Crocodile and emu meat
Other native Australian species that could make it onto your plate are the saltwater crocodile and the emu. Crocodile meat tastes a bit like chicken. Since it’s quite chewy, it’s best diced and mixed into a salad. Emu meat on the other hand is very lean and has a beef-like taste.
Barramundi
Also known as the Asian sea bass, the barramundi is an exotic fish widely distributed in Northern Australia. The word ‘ barramundi’ comes from the Aboriginal language, meaning “large-scaled river fish”. The barramundi is the most popular fish in the country. Since Australian fishing regulations are quite strict and demand is high, large quantities of barramundi are actually imported from South and Southeast Asia.
Bush tucker
Bush tucker, also known as bush food, includes any native Australian foods eaten by the Aboriginal in the country’s vast desert. Animal native foods include the previously mentioned kangaroos, crocodiles, and emus, but also the witchetty grub. The witchetty grub is a large, white, wood-eating moth larvae. The larvae feed on the witchetty bush found in the Northern Territory and have been part of the bush diet themselves ever since the first natives moved out into the Outback.
Other types of bush tucker include fruits, such as the green bush plum, kutjera (the ‘Australian desert raisin’), quandong (the ‘wild peach’), and vegetables, such as various native figs and yams.
Chip sanger
This working-class calorie bomb will help you hike up and down any mountain. A chip sanger, also known as the “chip butty”, is a white bread sandwich made with French fries and condiments, such as ketchup, mayonnaise, or brown sauce. Like fish and chips, the “butty” finds its true origin in the United Kingdom: “butty” is Welsh for “friend”. The chip sanger is considered a cheap late-night snack.
Preparing a chip sanger (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
The Lot Burger
The Australian Burger “with the Lot” is a jam-packed burger with more ingredients than anyone can handle without creating a dog’s breakfast. Australians try very hard to make their hamburgers healthy, so you’ll find most Lot Burgers contain pickled or cooked beetroot, shredded iceberg lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, pineapple rings, and more next to the regular meat patty.
Meat Pies
Through meat pies, Australians, New Zealanders, Britons, and the Irish still find a common language. A particular good Australian meat pie combination consists of chunky pieces of meat with beans and onion. Of course, there are many other varieties of meat pies, and there’s no “classic” Australian meat pie recipe to be found. You can buy meat pies almost anywhere: they are most often consumed as late-night snacks, or as bakery treats.
Vegemite
Foreigners find little love for Australia’s favorite food spread. Vegemite is a thick, dark brown liquid made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract. The spread is spiced up with various vegetables and other condiments. Though considered very healthy, the spread’s strong, bitter flavor has kept it from becoming an overseas hit. Still, when in Rome…!
Get off the Beaten track
Australia’s big cities offer comfort, a wealth of restaurants, plenty of shopping opportunities, and many exciting activities. Still, if you’ve just flown in from a similar Western country and came to Australia to gather new experiences, you might want to consider skipping Aussie’s cities altogether. If you really wish to explore Australia and find out what makes this country so unique, don’t spend any more time than necessary in places such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Though the cities have their charms, they are similar metropolises to the ones you’ll find in any other Western nation.
To bring your Australian experience back to its core, head straight into the cinematic wonderland of the vast Outback. Visit the farms and the miner towns, stand face to face with a mob of kangaroos, drive around in a fieldie (a truck used to drive in the outback), and feel the warm red sand of the desert slip through your fingers. Hike through the country’s infamous Red Waste, threading carefully to avoid stepping on a snake or a thorny devil. Pay your respects to Uluru, the sacred rock, and pass between the heads of Kata Tju?a.
A ‘bus stop’ in Lightning Ridge (Credit: The Bite-Sized Backpacker)
Most people living in the Outback have a pleasantly unique outlook on life, one you won’t find in the big cities. The locals are very much aware of the strenuous conditions they’ve chosen to live in, but they embrace their choice with open arms. Though – according to themselves – this makes every Aussie living in the Red Waste a little bit crazy, their supposed madness translates in endless creative expressional art forms, which you’ll find throughout the Outback’s tiny desert towns.
Evil Angels (a.k.a. A Cry in the Dark) Directed by: Fred Schepisi, 1988. A mother whose child was killed in a dingo attack in the Australian Outback fights to prove her innocence when she is accused of murder.
The Rescuers Down Under Directed by: Hendel Butoy & Mike Gabriel, 1990. Up until recently, very few of Disney’s animated films focused on subcultures. Yet in 1990, Disney kicked off the Disney Renaissance with the return of R.A.S. agents Bianca and Bernard, as they raced to Australia to save a little boy and a rare golden eagle from a murderous poacher.
The Hunter Directed by: Daniel Nettheim, 2011. Martin, a mercenary, is sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger.
The Year My Voice Broke Directed by: John Duigan¸1987. In rural 1960s Australia, a boy watches helplessly as his best friend falls in love with a small-time criminal, setting off a violent chain of events.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Directed by: Stephan Elliott, 1994. Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the Australian desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Picnic at Hanging Rock Directed by: Peter Weir, 1975. During a rural summer picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls’ school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.
Opal Dream Directed by: Peter Cattaneo, 2006. A young girl’s relationship with her imaginary friends resonates throughout her town in the Australian Outback.
Crocodile Dundee Directed by: Peter Faiman, 1986. An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.
Rabbit-Proof Fence Directed by: Phillip Noyce, 2002. In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
Mad Max Directed by: George Miller, 1979. In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Gallipoli Directed by: Peter Weir, 1981. Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
Chopper Directed by: Andrew Dominik, 2000. Chopper tells the intense story of Mark “Chopper” Read, a legendary Australian criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison.
Pre-read: the best books from Australia
To get you even more excited about your trip, we’ve selected some of the best books about Australia as well. Pick up one of these gems to get into the spirit of the land Down Under!
Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback Author: Robyn Davidson, 1980. Robyn Davidson opens the memoir of her perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company with the following words: “I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there’s no going back.”
Picnic at Hanging Rock Author: Joan Lindsay, 1967. On a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred, everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, till at last, they disappeared.
Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time Author: Doris Pilkington & Nugi Garimara, 1996. The remarkable true story of three young Aboriginal girls who cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their home, after being gathered up by whites and taken to settlements to be assimilated.
The Thorn Birds Author: Colleen McCullough, 1977. The Thorn Birds is a robust, romantic saga of a singular family, telling the story of several generations of the Clearys. The saga begins in the early part of the 1900s, when Paddy Cleary moves his wife, Fiona, and their seven children to Drogheda, the vast Australian sheep station owned by his autocratic and childless older sister.
Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country Author: Bill Bryson, 2000. Australia has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else. Ignoring such dangers – and yet curiously obsessed by them – Bill Bryson journeys to Australia to explore the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile, and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents.
Travel Equipment
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