Laura Waters

You know you’ve been somewhere special when your body has a physical reaction that your conscious brain isn’t aware of. The prickle of tears when our light plane lifts from the grass runway to whisk us back to Tasmania comes as a complete surprise. Tears! What the?

It’s beautifully surreal, full of prickly residents, and many people who live even a few hours down the road don’t know it exists. It’s called Cactus Country and here’s what you need to know.

I was 18 when I found myself bouncing along corrugated outback roads in a Ford Falcon XA station wagon amid a Whitsundays-Uluru-Melbourne epic with a boyfriend. Dust turned my hair red and we slept unceremoniously in the back of the car (plenty of leg room) yet that journey was notable, not only for its wondrous beauty but the sense of freedom and discovery it evoked.

Australia has way more national parks than any other country in the world – around 680 compared to next-in-line China, with about 225.       Take to the air, take to the sky or take to the water but whatever you do, take some time to visit these national treasures. Here are 10 of the best worth travelling for.

The joke (if you can joke about dead people) goes that Walhalla Cemetery is so steep its ‘residents’ must have been buried standing up.

Melbourne Airport's trusty Parkroyal has gotten a facelift, one that's set the bar even higher for layover stays.

Whether you want to tough it out or let someone carry your gear, there’s a hike or a walking holiday somewhere in the world for you.

A new hotel at Melbourne Airport offers more than just a place to rest your head.

If you want to inhale every smell, sight and sound of a destination, it’s hard to beat a good walk.

We love our national parks. They’re a haven not only for flora, fauna, natural landscapes and sites of cultural significance, but for us humans too.