Coast
Tasmania
Bay of Fires
Orange-lichen boulders and white sand on Tasmania's quiet north-east. Base yourself at Binalong Bay and walk north until the footprints run out.
Tasmania
Australia-wide
Hidden gems
The places that don’t make the postcards — quiet beaches, remote gorges and perched lakes that reward the extra hour of gravel. Found the slow way, by going there.
Off the main road
Worth the detour
None of these are secret, exactly — but all of them stay quieter than they deserve to. Treat distances as part of the appeal.
Lookout
Western Australia
Kalbarri Skywalk
Twin lookouts cantilevered 100 metres above the Murchison gorge, far enough up the WA coast that the crowds never quite arrive.
Western AustraliaLake
K'gari (Fraser Island)
Lake McKenzie
A perched freshwater lake ringed by sand so pure it polishes jewellery. 4WD and a barge ride keep numbers down.
K'gari (Fraser Island)Beach
Tasmania
Wineglass Bay backtrack
Everyone photographs the lookout; far fewer make the steeper descent to the beach itself, where the sand squeaks and the bay is yours.
TasmaniaGorge
Western Australia
Karijini gorges
Narrow chasms, ladder descents and cold rock pools in the Pilbara — a day's drive from anywhere and worth every kilometre.
Western AustraliaRainforest
New South Wales
Dorrigo rainforest
A Gondwana-era rainforest plateau with a cantilevered skywalk and waterfall walks, perched above the Bellinger Valley.
New South WalesCoast
Victoria
Cape Bridgewater
Beyond the Great Ocean Road's western end, a fur-seal colony, a petrified forest and blowholes with barely a tour bus in sight.
VictoriaRegion
Victoria
Lavandula & the Macedon Ranges
Cool-climate hills, a Swiss-Italian lavender farm and goldfields towns, an hour from Melbourne but a world away.
VictoriaGorge
Queensland
Cobbold Gorge
A narrow sandstone gorge in the Gulf savannah, crossed by a glass bridge and only reachable on a guided tour — remote by design.
QueenslandKnow one we don't?
Tell us where to go next
We're always chasing the next detour. Send us the place you think we've missed.