Australien

Sitting almost within swimming distance offshore from Townsville, Magnetic Island (Maggie to her friends) is a verdant island and one of Queensland's most laid-back residential addresses. The local population, who mostly commute to Townsville or cater for the tourist trade, must pinch themselves as they come home to the stunning coastal walking trails, gum trees full of dozing koalas and surrounding bright turquoise seas.

Swirling, otherworldly mists, steep streets lined with art-deco buildings, astonishing valley views, and a quirky miscellany of restaurants, buskers, artists, bawdy pubs and classy hotels – Katoomba, the biggest town in the mountains, manages to be bohemian and bourgeois all at once. It's got a great selection of accommodation and is a logical base, particularly if you're on a budget or travelling by public transport.

Vidsträckta stränder, hippa stadsdelar och västkustens läckraste pizzeria – allt finns i storstaden som är granne med vildmarken.

Home terrain for three Aboriginal tribal groups – the Banggarla, Nawu and Wirangu peoples – the vast, straw-coloured triangle of Eyre Peninsula is South Australia's big-sky country. It's also the promised land for seafood fans. Meals out here rarely transpire without the option of trying the local oysters, tuna or whiting. Sublime national parks punctuate the coast along with world-class surf breaks and low-key holiday towns, thinning out as you head west towards the Great Australian Bight, the Nullarbor Plain and Western Australia.

Equal parts dynamic, cosmopolitan, sports-mad and arty, Melbourne simultaneously exudes style and keeps its best spots hidden, inviting discovery by food and culture lovers.

The Limestone Coast − strung out along southeastern SA between the flat, olive span of the lower Murray River and the Victorian border − is a curiously engaging place. On the highways you can blow across these flatlands in under a day, no sweat – but around here the delight is in the detail. Detour off-road to check out the area's lagoons, surf beaches and sequestered bays. Also on offer are wine regions, photogenic fishing ports and snoozy agricultural towns. And what's below the road is even more amazing: a bizarre subterranean landscape of limestone caves, sinkholes and crater lakes – a broad, formerly volcanic area that's known as the Kanawinka Geopark.

Rising from the Pacific a remote 600km from the NSW mainland, little Lord Howe's tropical, World Heritage–listed beauty is surprisingly under the radar given the jaw-dropping spectacle of this former volcano. It looks like a Bond villain's lair, with two lofty mountains overlooking an idyllic lagoon, perfect crescents of beach and a verdant interior criss-crossed with walking trails.

A filigree of picturesque roads criss-crosses this verdant valley, but a pleasant country drive isn’t the main motivator for visitors – sheer decadence is. The Hunter is one big gorge fest: fine wine, gourmet restaurants, boutique beer, chocolate, cheese, olives, you name it. Bacchus would surely approve.

Australia's most populous state is home to its largest city: glitzy, vibrant, intoxicating Sydney, an unforgettable metropolis in a privileged natural setting. Bondi Beach and the harbour are justly famous, but in reality the whole NSW coast is simply magnificent: a mesmerising sequence of beach after quality beach backed by a series of excellent national parks and interesting coastal towns.

Nothing can really prepare you for the immensity, grandeur, changing colour and stillness of 'the Rock'. It really is a sight that will sear itself on to your mind. The World Heritage–listed icon has attained the status of a pilgrimage.