- Underground Motel (White Cliffs, NSW; tel. 1800/021 154 in Australia, or 08/8091 6677): All but two of this motel's rooms are underground. Rooms are reached by a maze of spacious tunnels dug out of the rock beneath this opal-mining town.
- South Long Island Nature Lodge (The Whitsunday Islands, QLD; tel. 07/4946 9777): You'll be one of only a maximum of 14 guests staying in the 10 comfy and recently refurbished beachfront cabins at this island ecoretreat. Sea kayak, snorkel, swim, hike rainforest trails, dine with other guests outside under the Milky Way, and take sailing trips -- every day if you like -- on the lodge's own yacht. Considering you'll only shell out for wine and maybe a seaplane trip to the Reef, this is a great value for its exclusivity.
- Kingfisher Bay Resort (Fraser Island, QLD; tel. 1800/072 555 in Australia, or 07/4120 3333): If it weren't for the ranger station and natural-history videos in the lobby, the wildlife walks, the guided four-wheel-drive safaris, and the other ecoactivities, you'd hardly know that this comfortable, modern hotel is an ecoresort.
- Binna Burra Mountain Lodge (tel. 1800/074 260 in Australia, or 07/5533 3622) & O'Reilly's Rainforest Guesthouse (tel. 1800/688 722 in Australia, or 07/5502 4911), both in the Gold Coast Hinterland, QLD: Tucked almost 1,000m (3,280 ft.) up on rainforested ridges, these cozy retreats offer fresh mountain air, activities, and instant access to the hiking trails of Lamington National Park. At O'Reilly's you can hand-feed brilliantly colored rainforest birds every morning.
- Emma Gorge Resort (The Kimberley, WA; tel. 1300/134 044 in Australia, or 08/9169 1777: At this spick-and-span little safari camp on the 400,000-hectare (1-million-acre) El Questro cattle station, guests stay in cute tents with wooden floors and electric lights, eat at a rustic gourmet restaurant, and join in the many hikes, bird-watching tours, river cruises, and more.
- Prairie Hotel (Flinders Ranges, SA; tel. 08/8648 4844): This remarkable tin-roofed, stone-walled Outback pub in the Flinders Ranges has quaint rooms, a great bar out front where you can meet the locals, and some of the best food in Australia.
- Freycinet Lodge (Freycinet National Park, Coles Bay, TAS; tel. 1800 420 155 or 03/6225 7000: These ecofriendly bush cabins are right next to one of the nation's best walking trails. The ocean views from the magnificent restaurant and the surrounding balconies are spectacular.
- Cradle Mountain Lodge (Cradle Mountain, TAS; tel. 13 24 69 in Australia, or 03/6492 1303): Just minutes from your comfortable cabin are 1,500-year-old trees, moss forests, craggy mountain ridges, limpid pools and lakes, and hordes of scampering marsupials.
Australia Travel Experiences
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Australia
The first true leg of our RTW trip began in Australia, as we landed in Darwin on 2 July.The first ten or so days we rented a 4x4 and drov... Continue reading »
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Put another shrimp on the barbie!
Gidday!We've been in Austalia for a few days and love it. The first two days we spent touring Sydney and the surrounding harbo... Continue reading »
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Life in Oz
Monday - PerthArrived early in the morning after a good flight where I had nobody next to me so I was able to grab about 4 hours sleep.&n... Continue reading »
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North to the Australian Rainforest
Anna and Richard talked us into doing the most extraordinary thing! We took a bus to O'Reilly's, a resort i... Continue reading »
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Australia Top Moments
Well, I figured since we had spent so much time in Oz.. I would compile a list of the best moments. Now.. if I missed a great one..... Continue reading »
