If Australia’s well-established holiday spots seem too crowded, then there is always an alternative that offers a similar experience.
Standard spot: The Gold Coast, Queensland
Aussie Alterative: Coffs Harbour, NSW
Why? It may not have quite the same all-action outlook as the Gold Coast, but Coffs does much of the same thing in a more laid back way. It’s big enough to ensure that there’s a good nightlife for those wanting to tear it up, while there are also excellent beaches for those wanting to surf or lap up the sun.
Coffs also has the same emphasis on keeping the kids happy. At the Pet Porpoise Pool, it’s possible to shake hands (or flippers) with dolphins and get a kiss from a seal, while the legendary Big Banana is now just more than a tacky fibreglass fruit. There are now toboggan rides, giant waterslides and an ice rink within the complex.
Standard spot: The Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
Aussie Alternative: The Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Why? The Great Barrier Reef – the biggest living thing on earth – is unquestionably one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. The only problem is that it can be difficult to get a part of it to yourself amongst all the resort islands and boat trips. Luckily, on the other side of the country is the Ningaloo. It’s a little smaller, but just as magnificent, and with the added bonus of being far less popular.
The best place to head out from to the Ningaloo is Exmouth, right in the middle of the west coast. From there it’s possible to do all that would normally be done on the Great Barrier – boat cruises, snorkelling, diving – and more. Diving with giant whale sharks would have to be the highlight, for example.
Standard spot: Philip Island, Victoria
Aussie alternative: Montague Island, NSW
Why? Over the years, the Penguin parade at Philip Island – where the adorable fairy penguins run along the beach to their nests at dusk – has become something of a scrum. What was formerly an intimate encounter is now spread out over viewing platforms that seem to contain half the world.
Montague Island, off the coast of Narooma, is home to Australia’s second largest colony of little penguins, however. And they do much the same thing there, but in front of a small boatload rather than a surging horde of tourists. Trips out there also include a lighthouse tour and seal-watching.
Standard spot: Byron Bay, NSW
Aussie alternative: Denmark, Western Australia
Why? Byron is still Australia’s unquestioned alternative lifestyle capital, but the hippy ethic can occasionally be hard to see through all the backpacker operators handing out leaflets and the city slickers pretending that they’re interested in incense for a weekend before going back to their normal lives.
Denmark, in the forests of South-West Australia, is much more chilled – like Byron 25 years ago, some would say. There are excellent beaches close to hand, plus there’s an arty lifestyle that has seen painters, sculptors, textile workers (and yes, hippy throwbacks) move there in their droves.
Standard spot: Hervey Bay, Queensland.
Aussie alternative: Rainbow Beach, Queensland
Why? Hervey Bay is a town on the up and up. Domestic flights now go there directly on a regular basis, and the tourist industry in the town is booming. This is largely because it’s the main gateway to Fraser Island, and the 4WD fun that it entails. It’s not the closest point to Fraser, though. The journey over from Rainbow Beach is much shorter, and the settlement – which lies just off the southern tip of the island, is far more cruisey and laid back. Plus there is the Great Sandy National Park right on the doorstep – perfect for mangroves, sand dunes and world-class kayaking.
Standard spot: Uluru, Northern Territory
Aussie alternative: Mount Augustus, Western Australia
Uluru, while it is obviously overhyped, is still an absolute must-do in Australia. But it’s a myth that it’s the biggest rock in the world – that particular honour falls to Mount Augustus.
Augustus isn’t quite as immediately spectacular as Uluru, but it works better in a more wild, rugged kind of way. And, needless to say, it’s absolutely enormous, rising 2,400ft above the plains. It can be climbed, and there are plenty of rock paintings made by the indigenous Wadjari people to take in on the way.
The only problem is that this big rock (Burringurrah to the local Aboriginals) truly is in the middle of nowhere – 320km from Carnarvon on the West Coast and with no handy airstrip to fly on to. Still, that means that it’s easy to watch the changing colours and do the walks in peace if you can get there.
This article was originally written for Ninemsn.com.au.
Copyright David Whitley
