10 unique island wonders in Australia

Australia’s proximity to unique and beautiful islands is a privilege, with more than 8000 fringing our coast. Think wildlife sanctuaries. The world’s largest sand island. Epic mountain hikes and cultural heritage. All home to mind-blowing wild and natural beauty.

This article is part of our 100 Australian Wonders series. Throughout the series, we explore our nation’s wonders across culture, nature, food, islands and many more. We hope it inspires your own exploration of Australia’s many wonders.

1. Climbing Lord Howe Island’s Mt Gower

Travelling with: Celeste Mitchell

Heart in mouth, head in the clouds. Below, the iridescent coral lagoon that bracelets the island Sir David Attenborough once described as “so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable”.

Above, a cloud forest where moss drips from the branches of mountain apples and providence petrels come thudding to the ground by your feet.

As one of Australia’s most iconic day hikes, climbing the primordial peak of Mt Gower on Lord Howe Island is a serious challenge, which delivers a huge amount of kudos upon completion. If you manage to score a clear view from the top, you’ll have even more bragging rights.

Wear the T-shirt that says “I climbed Mt Gower and survived” with pride.

Mt Gower is Lord Howe’s highest mountain. (Image: Tom-Archer.com)

2. Torres Strait in a day

Travelling with: Steve Magdwick

North of Cape York and with limited transport links, the Torres Strait was an unachievable dream for all but intrepid travellers until 2022 when Fraser Nai (Traditional Owner on Masig Island) co-founded Strait Experience.

It’s an ambitious day tour from Cairns, packing in cultural highlights of the archipelago’s ‘main’ islands, Ngurupai (Horn) and Waiben (Thursday).

Experience life in fast-forward on Zenadth Kes, as the Torres Strait is referred to locally, with everything from dance displays by Joey Laifoo’s Island Stars to a tour retracing Ngurupai’s intriguing Second World War history. A belly-stretching seafood buffet showcases the smorgasbord of flavours and cultures from Malay to Chinese.

It’s not a cheap day trip (thanks to charter flights) but it noticeably benefits these tiny island communities.

Visiting the tiny island communities of the Torres Strait is an enriching experience. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Phil Warring)

3. Little penguins of Phillip Island, Vic 

Travelling with: Imogen Eveson

Every night at sunset, the Penguin Parade begins on Phillip Island. As the sun paints the sky and limited numbers of hopeful onlookers try not to make a noise, the largest colony of little penguins in the world starts to waddle their way from a day spent roaming the ocean back to their burrows on Summerland Beach.

See a little penguin on Phillip Island. (Image: Phillip Island Nature Parks/ Visit Victoria)

An hour is quickly over as these tiny seabirds go about their nightly routine, a fun and adorable experience that also contributes to vital conservation, research and education programs that keep little penguins thriving.

The wonders of Phillip Island can also be witnessed from above. (Image: Tourism Australia/ The View From Here)

4. Whitehaven Beach, Qld

Travelling with: Megan Arksintall

From above, it looks like someone has run amok with white-out and highlighters, so vivid are the colours of Whitehaven Beach. This seven-kilometre stretch of sand on Whitsunday Island is made up of 98 per cent pure-white silica and lapped by pristine, aqua-hued water.

Go for a swim at Hill Inlet. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Courtney Atkinson)

At the northern end, Hill Inlet is a marbled beauty of sand and sea, an ever-changing landscape at the mercy of the shifting tides. These swirling whites and blues are best seen from the lookout at Tongue Point. Protected by Whitsunday Islands National Park, Whitehaven has appeared on many ‘best beaches’ lists and is the ultimate day trip from either Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island.

Hill Inlet is a marbled beauty of sand and sea. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Katie Purling)

5. Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Travelling with: Emily Murphy

This remote pocket of paradise in the Indian Ocean is the very definition of utopia. Think beaches to yourself, water so clear it looks invisible, snorkelling with manta rays, dolphins and turtles.

But the Cocos (Keeling) Islands aren’t your typical tourist destination. A holiday here invites you to slow down, disconnect and embrace island time.

Visitors are few (only 144 visitors are allowed at once), there’s no mobile reception and locally run eateries can change their opening hours on a whim to go for a fish or a dive.

Cocos (Keeling) is made up of uninhabited islands on the Southern Atoll. (Image: Cocos (Keeling) Tourism Association)

6. Brisbane’s islands, Qld

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

A Google Earth view of Brisbane reveals the Brisbane River (Turrbal: Maiwar) snaking its way through the city. Zoom out on the city and its serpentine river and you will see where it empties into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea.

Tangalooma wrecks are anchored on Moreton Island. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Kyle Hunter and Hayley Andersen)

Pull back even further and you’ll find a string of islands dotted off the Queensland coast that are just a short boat ride from Brissy. Island hop from Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) to Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), Bribie, Peel and Coochiemudlo islands before mooching around Russell, Macleay, Karragarra and Lamb, which make up the islands of Southern Moreton Bay. Another valid reason to put Brisvegas on the radar.

7. Kangaroo Island’s Ligurian honey bees, SA

Travelling with: Elizabeth Whitehead

It’s an ironic peculiarity that the purest strain of Ligurian bees resides on the opposite side of the world to their homeland. Twelve hives of Ligurian bees were brought from Italy to Kangaroo Island in 1881, chosen for their docile temperament and productivity.

The bees thrived – thanks to KI’s pristine landscape and climate that mirrors that of their ancestral home in northern Italy. This happenstance made Kangaroo Island the oldest bee sanctuary in the world, and as a result, a legacy of beekeeping has been instilled here.

Kangaroo Island is the oldest bee sanctuary in the world. (Image: Tourism Australia)

This is evidenced by the passionate apiarists across KI who combine Italian bees with local botanicals to create a truly idiosyncratic honey – such as the organic Boobialla honey, with nectar harvested from native juniper and coastal beard heath.

Visit the Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co. in Kingscote to learn all about this legacy.

See resident roos on Kangaroo Island. (Image: Tourism Australia)

8. K’gari, Qld

Travelling with: Emily Murphy

K’gari dazzles at every turn whether it’s witnessed from land, sea or sky. Home to the Butchulla people, the name is derived from a Dreaming story about a princess named K’gari who fell in love with the place and never wanted to leave.

And much like Princess K’gari, visitors to the world’s largest sand island will be bewitched by its luminous lakes, fascinating sand sculptures, bountiful marine life and epic drives along the sandy 75 Mile Beach. The list goes on…

Escape to the west coast of K’gari. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Kyle Hunter)

9. Lizard Island, Qld

Travelling with: Megan Arkinstall

Lizard Island claims a remote, exclusive location no other luxury resort can – nestled in the centre of intricate inner and outer reef systems of the Great Barrier Reef. Some 240 kilometres north of Cairns, the island is a stark desert-like landscape covered in rocky outcrops, hugged by translucent water that transposes into a tie-dye of blues.

The House at Lizard Island is nestled at the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. (Image: Elise Hassey)

Beneath the shimmering surface: coral reef, giant clam gardens, a habitat of green sea turtles and the world-famous Cod Hole dive site.

Wake up to oceanfront views. (Image: Elise Hassey)

The island comprises an all-inclusive resort of just 40 suites and The House at Lizard Island, both of which exude understated luxury with unrivalled nature-based experiences, and warrant a solid spot on your dream destination list.

The House at Lizard Island delivers unbeatable luxury in a tropical setting. (Image: Elise Hassey)

10. Maria Island, Tas

Travelling with: Megan Arkinstall

This small island off the east coast of Tassie was given the nickname ‘Noah’s Ark’ in the 1970s after threatened species were brought here for protection, including Flinders Island wombats and Cape Barren geese. It is also home to one of the healthiest populations of Tasmanian devils.

Off the east coast of Tassie, you’ll find Maria Island. (Image: Tourism Tasmania/ Stu Gibson)

Witness the wildlife roaming freely during a guided four-day Maria Island Walk, which takes in empty white-sand beaches, mighty stands of Tasmanian blue gums and the towering dolerite peaks known as Bishop and Clerk, topped with tall woodland and rare cloud rainforests.

Flinders Island wombats thrive on Maria Island. (Image: Robert King Visuals)

Keep reading our 100 Australian Wonders series; from road trips, outback and cultural wonders to foodie wonders and many more.