Twelve landscapes that stop you mid-sentence — the views worth crossing a continent to stand in front of.
Beauty is subjective, but some Australian landscapes win the argument before it starts — the swirl of a reef island, the glow of the red centre, a perfect crescent of white sand framed by pink granite. These are the places we'd send anyone with a camera and a sense of wonder.
They span every corner and every kind of landscape. A few are on our home turf in Queensland. For more on each, follow the links through to our things to do guides.
Seven kilometres of pure silica sand swirled through turquoise shallows at Hill Inlet — the defining image of beautiful Australia, on our home reef.
Best from the lookout on an outgoing tide. See our Whitsundays guide.
The vast red monolith rising from the desert, glowing through impossible colours at dawn and dusk — the spiritual heart of the continent.
Walk the base for the full scale; cooler months are most comfortable.
A flawless white crescent cupped by the pink-granite peaks of the Hazards — one of the most photographed bays in the country.
The lookout walk delivers the classic view; the descent reaches the sand.
The 36 ancient red domes of Kata Tjuta — taller than Uluru and, to many, even more striking — glowing at sunrise above the spinifex.
Walk the Valley of the Winds in the cool of the morning.
Limestone stacks standing offshore in the wild Southern Ocean, best at sunrise or sunset when the light turns the cliffs gold.
A short helicopter flight reveals the full sweep of the Shipwreck Coast.
A perched freshwater lake of astonishing clarity and colour, rimmed by white silica sand, sitting high above the sea on the world's largest sand island.
On our Fraser Coast doorstep. See our Fraser Coast guide.
The jagged dolerite spires mirrored in the still water of Dove Lake — Tasmania's postcard, and even better in the flesh.
The Dove Lake circuit puts you right beneath it.
Massive tides force seawater through two narrow gorges, creating churning 'horizontal waterfalls' unlike anything else on Earth, deep in the Kimberley.
Seen by floatplane or boat from Broome or Derby.
Vivid orange lichen on granite boulders against white sand and clear turquoise sea — a colour palette that looks almost unreal.
Along Tasmania's quiet north-east coast.
Orange-and-black banded sandstone domes stretching to the horizon, a World Heritage landscape best appreciated from the air.
Dry season only, when the park is open.
Where a vibrant fringing reef meets impossibly blue water right at the beach — coral and fish a few steps from the sand.
Drift-snorkel Turquoise Bay; whale sharks visit in season.
Endless eucalypt-hazed valleys, sandstone cliffs and the Three Sisters, all wrapped in the soft blue haze the forests give off.
An easy day trip from Sydney; the lookouts are stunning at dawn.
From Whitehaven to Lake McKenzie, some of Australia's most beautiful places are on our home turf — let Cooee Tours show you them.
Explore beautiful QueenslandWhitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet in the Whitsundays is the most frequently named, but Wineglass Bay, Uluru, the Bungle Bungles and Lake McKenzie all have their champions. Beauty here is genuinely a matter of taste.
Whitehaven in the Whitsundays and Wineglass Bay in Tasmania top most lists, with Turquoise Bay at Ningaloo and Lucky Bay in WA close behind. See our dedicated guide to the best beaches in Australia for more.
Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef and the Bungle Bungle Range are the standout natural wonders, each utterly distinct. The Horizontal Falls and Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre (when it floods) are rarer, stranger beauties.
Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet in the Whitsundays, and Lake McKenzie on K'gari, are both in Queensland on Cooee Tours' home turf, alongside the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree.
Many are at their best in the soft light of sunrise and sunset, and in the dry season for the northern and outback spots. Tides matter at the reef and coastal sites, so check timing for places like Whitehaven and the Horizontal Falls.
Light and timing make all the difference at these places. Sunrise and sunset bring the softest colour and the smallest crowds, the dry season delivers the clearest skies in the north and outback, and tides shape the look of coastal wonders like Whitehaven and the Horizontal Falls. Where a scenic flight is suggested — the Bungle Bungles, the Twelve Apostles, Hill Inlet — the aerial view is often the one that stays with you.
Several of the most beautiful sit on our home turf in Queensland. Browse the rest of our things to do in Australia guides to build them into a wider trip.
Cooee Tours acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise that the places described here hold deep cultural significance for the First Peoples who have cared for them for tens of thousands of years.