Last time, we showed you a list of some of Australia’s most distinguished destinations (and the things you can do there to make your trip more memorable). And there’s a reason these places are popular and inconic. In a single glance from postcards and travel websites, you can pretty much recognise them. The Sydney Opera House with its sales soaring regally in the sky. Barossa Valley and its lush and thriving vines. And the Parliament House with its familiar flagpole.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but these buildings and landscapes do not always look like these. You switch the camera angle or you take the picture on a different time of the year, and they will look instantly unfamiliar, even boring places. They are no different from those cute girl from Instagram who look somebody else when viewed on a different angle.
Let us count the ways.
Image: therealbest.com
We always see Australia’s most iconic landmark from the side. The sails (or shells, depends who you ask) angling upwards, covering each other in succession, and mounted on a majestic podium. The building’s structure is akin to modern expressionist design.
Sydney Opera House in western view
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
But viewed from the front, the Opera House looks like a weirdly constructed church, or even an ambitious event tent. But this doesn't even take away the beauty of the building’s design. What you are seeing at the foreground of the entrance is the smallest of the shells, the Bennelong restaurant. And yes, that’s where the most expensive cheese toast in the world is being served.
Image: flickr.com
Ayers Rock, or Uluru, is the Australian Outback’s shining gem. Its far-reaching, horizontal grandeur is darling for any panoramic shot of the otherwise barren desert land. This natural wonder is also the largest and most famous single rock formation in the world, only slightly rivaled by Dwayne Johnson.
Ayers Rock during sunset.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
From an aerial view it looks like, well, a huge piece of rock. The white lines around are not added digitally to encircle the geological marvel. Those are roads constructed around the rock to give tourists access and a good view of Uluru from all angles.
Image: abc.net.au
The Great Barrier Reef’s wonder can be mostly appreciated when you dived down and get yourself face to face with the hard corals, sponges, echinoderms, mollusks, fishes, mammals, and other aquatic marine creatures that populate its ecosystem, making it one of the most popular eco-tourism destinations in the world.
A variegated lizardfish, one of the creatures inhabiting the reef.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
But people tend to forget that it is also the largest coral system in the world and one of the very few landmarks that can be seen from space (and no, the Great Wall of China isn’t one of them). The aerial image was shot from the International Space Station and shows a section of the north Queensland coast near Cooktown and Hope Vale.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
The 12 Apostles is one of the most awe-inspiring beach sights on the world, and the Google image searches can’t even argue against it. Towering pillars of limestone are standing proudly and bravely guarding the beach off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park. Right now, there are only eight apostles left, as the other four have collapsed through erosion. But still, the name remains intact.
The 12 Apostles as viewed from the beach
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
Looking from the sea side reveals a different beauty, however. On the background of the Apostles are tall, smoothly chiseled walls of stone that make up the rugged and jagged shoreline of Victoria. Its convex formation only reveals how wind and water shaped the shoreline, and the carved nature displays the different layers of the rock over various geological eras.
Image: news.com.au
Mount Buller is a town in Victoria popular among snow sports enthusiasts because of the thick sleet enveloping this alpine region all year round in place where extreme temperatures can reach 50.°C, making it hold the distinction of being a wrong mountain in a wrong country. A quick search in Google reveals a winter wonderland where hundreds of thousands flock every year to ski, compete, or throw snowballs at each other.
Skiers flocking to Mt Buller resort.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
However, it’s not always like this. Last 2014, Mother Nature played a prank on the mountain and robbed it of snow, resulting in bare, boring, and non-white slopes with misplaced chair lifts. According to the owners, this phenomena isn’t the first time to happen. As expected, the snow returned a few weeks later.
And conversely…
Image: adelaidenow.com.au
Barrosa Valley in South Australia is one of the largest wine-producing regions in the country. But you don’t even have tastes their red liquids to be a fan. The picturesque view of the place is a huge draw enough. Rows upon rows of grape vines neatly juxtaposed to each other as they extend towards a lush horizon, while the warm rays of the sunrise or sunset blankets them. Seriously, it’s like stepping inside the postcard, being able to smell the berries and the grapefruits that permeates the atmosphere.
A postcard-worthy shot of the valley's vineyard.
Image: eiseverywhere.com
But last July 2012, a thunderstorm hit the valley, pelting and covering it with hailstones the size of ten-scent coins. And the result is a white and barren landscape with only the vine poles standing. It is quite desolate if you’ll ask us, but the people of the valley think it’s a rather picturesque and charming look of the valley
Image: learn.nearmap.com
Opened on May 1988 by Elizabeth II, the Parliament House in Canberra is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and undoubtedly one of the most important and famous government buildings in the country. It is built into Capitol Hill with the main entrance as its emblematic and expansive facade.
The Parliament House in its iconic view.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
The aerial view of the building, however, gives us a glimpse on how big the place really is. Visible are the two "boomerangs" overarching the western and eastern part of the ground. The famous flagpole can also be seen in the center. It does not, as many people always think from the images, actually sit on top of the entrance building.
Australia is a traveler’s haven. It has the best things the world can offer in one amazing continent. Here are the 10 best places to add to your list and roam, whether you are a native, an Australian citizen, or just a budding tourist.
Sydney Opera House
The flagship of Australian tourism and one of the most iconic structures in the world. This 20th Century masterpiece is home to 1,500 performances annually. The outside is lined up with restaurants, bars, and cafes. So if you’re not into operas, enjoying the drink and the view is just as fun.
Clocking at 2,300-kilometers, it is the largest coral reef system in the world (yes, it’s alive). It is a conglomeration of 900 individual reefs and 900 islands supporting thousands upon thousands of organisms. This World Heritage Site can be seen in outer space, too.
Ayer's Rock
You've seen sunsets on coastlines and metropolitan skylines, but witnessing it on Ayer’s Rock is otherworldly. Known as Uluru to the locals, this humongous piece of sandstone (yes, it’s just one rock) stuck in the middle of Central Australian desert stands at 348 meters with a total circumference of 9.4 kilometers. Like the Opera House, it is one of the most prominent icons of Australia.
Located in New South Wales, Blue Mountain’s most prominent feature is the Three Sisters, three protruding rock formations towering at 900 meters. Here you can trail, bike, or get your adrenaline pumped on rock climbing and abseiling. Not into extreme activities? You can enjoy the view the aboard the glass-roofed carriages of the Katoomba Scenic Railway.
Well, hopefully not literally. The 12 Apostles in Victoria is a collection of limestone vertical stacks that provide a magnificent contrast to the already pristine coastline horizon. The beach is bewildering on both early morning and sunset. Walk the shoreline. Take photos. Relax and enjoy the view.
For art lovers, there’s the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania featuring the impressive (that word is an understatement) collection of Australian art collector and businessman David Walsh. Described by Walsh as a “subversive adult Disneyland”, it houses many of the most controversial and infamous arts. If you like art-appreciation with heated debates, this place is for you.
If wine aficionados were to have a religion, Barossa Valley just outside of Adelaide would be one of the pilgrimage sites. With 50 wineries producing the best wines in the world, a wine-tasting tour beholds not only the eyes, what the with charming vineyards and the rustic ambiance, but satisfies the palate as well.
“AUSTRALIA HAS SNOW?” we can hear you blurting out. Just a three hour-drive from Melbourne, Mt. Buller is famous for skiers and those who are just looking for great sights to appreciate. With over 300 hectares of skiable terrain, the village and resort is complete with amenities such as chairlifts, t-bars, a toboggan park, bars, and restaurants.
New South Wales might be known for extreme adventure spots, but Melbourne is famous for gastronomic explorers. A melting pot of many culinary cultures from around the world, the thriving cosmopolitan has restaurants and cafes lining its streets such as Lygon, Brunswick, Smith, and yes, Chinatown Street. These places are every foodie’s haven.
Koalas are not the only celebrities in Australia’s Cuteness Department, it shares the spotlight with penguins, and most of them are in Philip Island. Just a ninety minute-drive from Melbourne, this wildlife park in Victoria is one of the largest colonies of little penguins in the country, with an estimated 70,000 in number.
