All 100 Aussie Wonders

hero media
Discover all the top 100 Aussie Wonders.

Wild coastlines, cultural institutions, gourmet delights, epic road trips… Australia is full of wonders, from icons to the lesser-known. Here, we’ve curated 100 Aussie Wonders to discover across the nation. Get ready to explore all the things that make Australia the extraordinary place it is (like the epic shot above taken by Salty Wings of Roebuck Bay in Broome, WA).

Here is the complete list to inspire your own travels this year and beyond.

Iconic wonders

See Australia’s iconic wonders here.

1. Uluru, Northern Territory

2. Murray River, New South Wales and Victoria

3. Sydney Harbour, New South Wales

4. Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

5. Hunter Valley, New South Wales

6. Quokkas of Wadjemup (Rottnest Island), Western Australia

7. Australia’s Big Things, across Australia

8. Parliament House, Australian Capital Territory

9. Luxury Lodges of Australia, across Australia

10. Aussie pubs, across Australia

Natural wonders

See Australia’s natural wonders here.

11. Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Tasmania

12. Aurora australis, Tasmania

13. Gorgeous gorges across Australia, across Australia

14. Kiama Blowhole, New South Wales

15. Australia’s wonderous waterfalls, across Australia

16. Remarkable rocks, across Australia

17. Cassowaries of Mission Beach, Queensland

18. Daintree Rainforest, Queensland

19. Christmas Island

20. Ningaloo/Nyinggulu, Western Australia

Outback wonders

See Australia’s outback wonders here.

21. Flinders Ranges, South Australia

22. Lake Argyle, Western Australia

23. Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

24. Mungo National Park, New South Wales

25. Undara lava tubes, Queensland

26. Outback wildflowers of Western Australia

27. Qantas Founders Museum, Queensland

28. The Ghan, multi-state journey

29. Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, South Australia

30. Larapinta Trail, Northern Territory

Cultural wonders

See Australia’s cultural wonders here.

31. Tiwi Islands art, Northern Territory

32. Garma Festival, Northern Territory

33. Tamworth Country Music Festival, New South Wales

34. Australian Music Vault, Victoria

35. Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, Northern Territory

36. Mad Max 2 Museum, New South Wales

37. Indigenous art fairs, across Australia

38. Australian Open, Victoria

39. Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Victoria

40. Norfolk Island

Urban wonders

See Australia’s urban wonders here.

41. WA Museum Boola Bardip, Western Australia

42. Bendigo’s art scene, Victoria

43. Adelaide Oval, South Australia

44. Flinders Street Photo Booth, Victoria

45. Melbourne’s laneways, Victoria

46. The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, New South Wales

47. Newcastle’s food scene, New South Wales

48. Balumbul/Umpherston Sinkhole, Mt Gambier, South Australia

49. Mona, Tasmania

50. National Arboretum, Australian Capital Territory

Foodie wonders

See Australia’s foodie wonders here.

51. Aboriginal Bush Traders cafe, Northern Territory

52. Aussie oysters, across Australia

53. Tokyo Lamington, New South Wales

54. Australian coffee culture, across Australia

55. Bilpin cider, New South Wales

56. The Agrarian Kitchen, Tasmania

57. LANGTONS Classification of Australian Wine

58. The Aussie sausage sizzle

59. Aussie spirits

60. Sydney Fish Market, New South Wales

Coastal wonders

See Australia’s coastal wonders here.

61. Kimberley Coast, Western Australia

62. Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk, New South Wales

63. Australia’s waves

64. Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

65. Ocean pools of New South Wales

66. Cod Hole Dive Site, Queensland

67. Cable Beach, Western Australia

68. Esperance from the air, Western Australia

69. Orcas of Bremer Bay, Western Australia

70. wukalina Walk, Tasmania

Island wonders

See Australia’s island wonders here.

71. Climbing Lord Howe Island’s Mt Gower, New South Wales

72. Torres Strait in a day

73. Little penguins of Phillip Island, Victoria

74. Whitehaven Beach, Queensland

75. Cocos (Keeling) Islands

76. Brisbane’s islands, Queensland

77. Kangaroo Island’s Ligurian honey bees, South Australia

78. K’gari, Queensland

79. Lizard Island, Queensland

80. Maria Island, Tasmania

Hidden wonders

See Australia’s hidden wonders here.

81. Rowley Shoals, Western Australia

82. Hawkesbury River, New South Wales

83. Swan River Trails, Western Australia

84. Litchfield’s swimming holes, Northern Territory

85. Australia’s hot springs, across Australia

86. Bundanon, New South Wales

87. Noosa Everglades, Queensland

88. Bungle Bungle Range, Western Australia

89. Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade, Victoria

90. Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

Road trip wonders

See Australia’s road trip wonders here.

91. Adelaide to Birdsville (and beyond)

92. Great Ocean Road, Victoria

93. Waterfall Way, New South Wales

94. Silo Art Trail, Victoria

95. Great Beach Drive, Queensland

96. Prosecco Road, Victoria

97. Cairns to Cape York, Queensland

98. Tassie’s Tasting Trail, Tasmania

99. Savannah Way, multi-state journey

100. Gibb River Road, Western Australia

How a $1 deal saved Bendigo’s historic tramways

The passionate community that saved Bendigo Tramways has kept the story of this city alive for generations.

It was an absolute steal: a fleet of 23 trams for just $1. But such a fortunate purchase didn’t happen easily. It was 1972 when the Bendigo Trust handed over a single buck for the city’s historic collection of battery, steam and electric trams, which had transported locals since 1890.

inside the historic Bendigo Tram
Bendigo Tramways is a historic transport line turned tourist service. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

The city’s tram network had been declared defunct since 1970 due to post-war shortages in materials to upkeep the trams and declining passenger numbers as motor vehicles were increasing. However, determined locals would not hear of their beloved trams being sold off around the world.

The Bendigo Trust was enlisted to preserve this heritage, by converting the trams into a tourist service. The Victorian government approved a trial, however news spread that the Australian Electric Tramways Museum in Adelaide had acquired one of the streetcars for its collection.

a tram heading to Quarry Hill in 1957
A tram on its way to Quarry Hill in 1957. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

An impassioned group rallied together to make this physically impossible. Breaking into the tram sheds, they welded iron pipes to the rails, removed carbon brushes from the motors, and formed a blockade at the depot. The community response was extraordinary, and a $1 deal was sealed.

A new chapter for the city’s fleet

the old Tramways Depot and Workshop
The old Tramways Depot and Workshop is one of the stops on the hop-on, hop-off service. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Today, Bendigo Tramways welcomes some 40,000 passengers annually, operating as a hop-on, hop-off touring service aboard the restored trams. Fifteen of the now 45-strong fleet are dubbed ‘Talking Trams’ because of the taped commentary that is played along the route. The trams loop between Central Deborah Gold Mine and the Bendigo Joss House Temple, which has been a place of Chinese worship since 1871, via other sites including the old Tramways Depot and Workshop.

a Gold Mine Bendigo Tram
The fleet comprises 45 trams that have been restored. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

Keeping things interesting, throughout the year visitors can step aboard different themed trams. Tram No. 302 becomes the Yarn Bomb Tram, decorated both inside and out with colourful crochet by an anonymous group of locals.

During the festive season, Tram No. 15 operates as a tinsel-festooned Santa Tram, and the big man himself hides out somewhere along the route for excited children to find. And on selected dates, the adults-only Groove Tram runs nighttime tours of the city, accompanied by local musicians playing live tunes and a pop-up bar.

the historic post office turned visitor centre in Bendigo
Visitors can hop on and off to see the city’s sites such as the historic post office turned visitor centre. (Image: Tourism Australia)

As well as preserving the city’s history, however, the continuation of the tram service has kept the skills of tram building and craftsmanship alive in a practical sense. Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop is world-renowned for restoring heritage trams and repurposing vehicles in creative ways.

Locally, for example, Tram No. 918 was transformed into the Dja Dja Wurrung Tram with original Aboriginal artworks by emerging artist Natasha Carter, with special commentary and music that shares the stories and traditions of Bendigo’s first people. You can’t put a price on preserving history. Nonetheless, it was a dollar very well spent.