My Ultimate Australia Bucket List! | 20 Things you must do in Australia

Have you ever wanted to visit Australia? Do you live in Australia but haven't seen much of it? DO you have a bucket list of things you want to do or places to visit in Australia? Check out this list of 20 bucket list items you have to do if you're visiting or living in Australia!

There are so many exciting things to see in Australia. From kangaroos and koalas in Australia, to the Opera House to the penguins in St. Kilda, there is so much to see and do in Australia.

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We would like to acknowledge the Dharug Nation, the traditional custodians of this land we work on, and pay our respects to the Elders past and present and emerging.

[chriskelly]

Someone else already mentioned it but I also recommend Ningaloo reef in the north west. You don't need a boat, can walk out to it, and you can swim with whale sharks up there too. Don't worry, they're completely harmless. Their teeth are so tiny they're useless and they filter feed on plankton and small shrimp, like whales do (hence their name). The only drawback is it's a hell of a road trip to get there from Perth but there are some nice places to stop on the way if you have a few extra days. Maybe you can do your camping on the beach on your way up the coast 😉

[bluedog]

FNQ is probably one of the best places to go deep sea fishing, you can cross that off your bucket list when you go to the Barrier reef, but I'd probably choose Airlie Beach rather than Cairns as the go to location for both of those.

[garryellis]

Ningaloo reef and Shark bay
Two brilliant world heritage sites in Western Australia. Relatively close to each other. By Aussie standards.

[laurencetilley]

Hi Kaitlyn, I am 66 years old and have travelled extensively all over Australia and internationally. I tell my international back packer friends, to see Australia will take a life time. To see many of the beautiful areas will take the minimum of one year constant travel. Coffs Harbour will allow you to see Whales, Platypus, Koala's, unique subtropical ancient rainforest, and the highest percentage of flora and fauna in Australia. With two major ocean currents meeting off Coffs, the fishing is great. And the diving here is beautiful with both soft and hard corals and many of the fish species that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef found here. PS and there are no crocs, box jelly fish, and not a lot of tiger sharks. The Jerusalem Nation Park in Tassie is so totally amazing, It may well remind you of the great lakes area in the US, with its finger pines, barren rocky mountains and beautiful blue lakes. A bit like the Niagara Escarpment between Canada and the US

[fugawiaus]

Keep your eyes out on the blue mountains for snow. Usually over 1000m. We get it up here every year.
They get great snow at Oberon. Under 2 hrs from Blacktown.
Head across to Blacktown rsl for the dawn service (rug up). After the service in the car park everyone proceeds inside for a free breakfast and coffee. Every one has a great chat to everyone inside. They will absolutely love an American. They’ll tell stories, you can tell stories then have a go at two up.

[DaveWhoa]

also consider Ningaloo Reef in north Western Australia, you can just WALK out to it, it is so beautifully stunning up there and no need for a half hour boat ride as with the Great Barrier Reef

[gerardbryant]

The Canberra/Queanbeyan area might be ideal for you. 2 hours or so from the NSW south coast, and your chance for all things maritime. The same distance from the Snowy Mountains, and a chance of snow here maybe once every couple of years. We also have the four seasons during the year.

[michelleclark]

I’m sorry to say but the penguins in St Kilda are protected so I’m pretty sure you can’t see them or go near them but you can go to Phillip Island to see them (it’s about 90mins from Melbourne). I grew up in St Kilda and I never saw the penguins

[gezzac]

A lot of your bucket list items, WA can cover a lot of them. Cheaper house prices, Perth is a fantastic city to live, outback scenery, deep sea fishing off Exmouth, plenty of empty beaches you can camp on, road trips out of Perth, 3 hours south to Margaret River area and 4 hours to Albany on the south coast, 2 areas in WA where you'll find the pink lakes, whale watching tours off the Perth coast and most of the coast outside of Perth. I know I'm sounding a little biased here because I live in Perth but it has been a great city to live and I turn 69 in July and have seen just about all of WA; it's just a great spot and feel veery priveilged to be a 5th generation Western Australian.

[regsypher]

Did you know that the Great Ocean Road was built by returned soldiers of the first World War. At the beginning there is a lot of information, if you go along the Great Ocean Road there is a cafe where you can see koalas in the trees.

[markyore]

If you're hiking Mt Wellington then you will definitely see snow - and you always have the option of going to Cradle Mountain. There's lot's of places in Tasmania you can see Little Penguins in the wild, including Bicheno and Bruny Island. Instead of camping on the beach, why not a whole island? The Whitsundays have islands you can camp on for an insanely low cost through National Parks and Wildlife. Because the number of camp sites are limited you and Mark could have a whole island to yourselves. If you're going to the Outback, you can't miss Charleville and the Bilby Experience. Bilbies are so amazingly gorgeous.

[optimusmaximus]

If you intend to visit Uluru then you might want to think about visiting Watarrka (Kings Canyon) and Tjoritja (West MacDonnell Ranges) while you are there. The best time to visit is April to September. The weather can get cold in the winter and drops below freezing at night but it beats going there in summer when it is very hot and humid. If you are into trekking then I would recommend doing one of the many walking tours of the Laparinta trail which winds its way through Ormiston gorge to Mount Sonder. But if you prefer a more sedate experience then maybe the classic Larapinta "Trek in Comfort" camps will be more to your taste. These features exclusive eco camps dotted throughout the West MacDonnell Ranges alongside the Larapinta trail. With its rugged, ancient landscapes, and peaks rising to 1500 metres (5000 feet) the Larapinta Trail is one of the best hiking tracks in the world. BUT, if you want to go to the outback and not do any walking then you can't go past one of the luxurious homestead style resorts in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. These also offer driving safaris and walking tours. The thing is, you can stay in a plush hotel room, eat fine dining and just sit around a pool sipping champagne all day long anywhere in the world. At these resorts you can still do that, but you also get the chance to venture out into the real Aussie outback, which I highly recommend. You won't forget the experience.

[stevedurrant]

The best place for Fairy Penguins is Phillip Island in Victoria.

[francinelynn]

Best way to see the Great Ocean Road is as a front seat passenger. You can freely look at the scenery.

[Rastusmishka]

Hey Kaitlyn,

Add the Ghan to your train travels. Just pick the time of year when the flowers are blooming.
You can go whale watching down around Jervis Bay / Nowra / Eden areas as well.
If you make it to the NSW snowy mountains to see the snow there, make sure you get back there during summer as well and do the hike to the top of Mt Kosciusko and Blue Lakes. Well worth the hike.

[Shooter-The-Emu-With-A-Gun]

Try Phillip Island, plenty of Penguins, Seals, Pelicans, Koalas were around last time I was there, but that was a fair while ago.

[gregmccoy]

You can go camping on Stockton beach which is just north of Newcastle, beautiful beach, but you will need a 4wd to do it. Great beach.

[glenfunston]

Quicksilver outer reef cruise do suba diving

[shooterdownunder]

I’ve done both going to the snow and deep sea fishing. Luckily for you, you don’t have to go outside New South Wales to do that. For the snow I would recommend booking either for Thredbo or Perisher blue or just going down to Jindabyne and make sure you do it early as they can book out. As for seeing a koala in the wild I would recommend travelling up or down the coast to either Wollongong or the central coast or going past those areas.

[daveamies]

For your bucket list:
For WA - you need to add Ningaloo Reef and the Bungle Bungles
For QLD - One of the sand islands is a good idea (Frazer / Moreton / Stradbroke) or Rainbow Beach all good options for, and for something different the Dinosaur Trail in western QLD
For NSW - Nambucca Heads is so beautiful and so under rated, but also hire a houseboat for a week end on the Hawkesbury River is a a great way to have a romantic week end away
I don't have suggestions for the other states I don't know enough about them I've heard the Gippsland lakes in Vic are beautiful.

Now for a book suggestion "Hungry Ghosts" by Sally Heinrich, set in Adelaide it has the story of being a migrant in Australia (something you can relate to) and there's a romance part too (with a bit of a twist, but I won't spoil it) I think you'll really enjoy the story.