100 Things to do before you die panellists

Meet the panellists of the 100 Things To Do Before you die.

We asked the Australian Traveller community to vote for their favourite things to do in Australia. We received hundreds upon hundreds of nominations, from local secrets to stumbled-upon surprises and well-tramped icons of The Outback. From that list, we asked our panel of ten well-respected and well-travelled Australians to help us vote on the final 100 – they rated each from 1 to 10 based on their personal knowledge or interest in the experience and thus we created the top 100 things we feel every Australian traveller must do before they die.

Catriona Rowntree

Catriona has been a presenter on Network Nine’s Getaway program since 1996. She’s since been everywhere you can imagine, often more than once. She’s also extra nice, because she agreed to be on our panel just a week before her bub was born. Thank you!

Anthony Field

A founding member of the Wiggles (he’s the one in the blue skivvy), Anthony spends a lot of time on the road. Last year, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the arts. He once served as an infantryman and piper in the Australian Army and can play the bagpipes, violin and the didgeridoo.

Lisa Wilkinson

Lisa started her career as a magazine journalist, becoming the youngest-ever editor of Dolly magazine at 21. She moved into television in the 1990s as a regular panellist on chat show Beauty and the Beast and is now co-host of the Nine Network’s Today program.

Tony Wheeler

Tony is the co-founder of the inimitable Lonely Planet guidebook series, and one of the best-travelled people in the world. If there was one person we knew must be on the panel, it was him.

Bill Peach

Bill was a television journalist for many years (presenting This Day Tonight and Holiday with Bill Peach among other popular shows) before founding Bill Peach Journeys, a boutique private air-cruise operator that allows travellers access to some of the most remote places in Australia, while travelling in style.

George Negus

Now on Network Ten’s 6pm program, George has fronted some of the country’s most hard-hitting current affairs programs, including a six-year stint on SBS’s Dateline. He’s also a supporter of  save the Kimberley. www.savethekimberley.com

Dick Smith

He founded Dick Smith Electronics and Australian Geographic, and created a company to champion Australian-owned and -produced foods. He’s a passionate advocate of all things Australian, and is an all-round good bloke, which is why he was voted Australian of the Year in 1986. In 2007, he donated quite a lot of cash to ensure Australian terror suspect David Hicks got the right to a fair trial, and he’s currently the benefactor of the Wilberforce Award, a million-dollar prize that he’ll give to the person under 30 who he feels contributes most to drawing awareness to the problems of overpopulation and over-consumption. Go to www.population.org.au for more details.

Bob Ansett

One of Australia’s most respected entrepreneurs, having started the phenomenally successful Budget Rent A Car business in 1965, Bob is now a motivational speaker based on the Sunshine Coast, Qld.

Maggie Beer

Maggie is a South Australian foodie who established The Pheasant Farm Restaurant in the Barossa in the early ’70s. She’s the cook on the ABC’s “The cook and the chef”

Elisabeth Knowles

Elisabeth is the editor of Australian Traveller, so it’s no surprise she’s spent most of her adult life finding excuses to take off to places she’s never been. But it’s the places she has visited a lot that mean the most to her.