NewsBite

Adventure & outdoors
Holiday guide

Adventure & outdoors

For the adventurous traveller, the natural world beckons, filled with trails, waterways and roads that are invitations to explore and celebrate the planet. Our expert travellers name the best.

Ten of the world's greatest adventure holidays

Ten of the world's greatest adventure holidays

From mountain climbs to forest cycles and island exploration, set your feet, arms and soul free on this selection of the world’s greatest adventures.

  • by Andrew Bain
The John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park offers plenty of highlights without the Cheryl Strayed commitment.

A cheat’s guide to hiking: 10 of the world’s best shortcuts

While hardcore hikers delight in spending weeks or even months on the trail, the rest of us – short on time, light on knee cartilage – are equally happy with an abridged version.

  • by Kerry van der Jagt
Europe doesn’t get more far-flung, or magical, than this breathtaking place

Europe doesn’t get more far-flung, or magical, than this breathtaking place

Created by volcanic eruptions and subsequently eroded by glaciers, winds and waves, this dreamlike archipelago sits halfway between Iceland and Britain.

  • by Steve McKenna
Advertisement
Not so cold, not so barren.

Australia’s newest ‘Great Walk’ truly lives up to the name

The warm turquoise waters are so clear that every ridge in the white sand floor is visible, but this isn’t Queensland or WA.

  • by Belinda Jackson
You’ll find boabs everywhere in Madagascar, but this avenue near Morondava is iconic.

This remarkable place feels like another planet, or another dimension

Spiky forests, dancing lemurs, giraffe weevils – no matter how many Attenborough documentaries you’ve seen, nothing prepares you for the real thing.

  • by David McGonigal
A trekker sitting on top of Kyanjo Ri view point and enjoying landscape of Langtang valley. Himalaya mountains range in Nepal, Asia Cover: Nepal: trekking a decade on from the earthquake text by Andrew Bain

After devastation, I returned to one of the world’s most amazing countries

In 2015, I was in Nepal just days before the earthquake. I’m back to continue my trekking love affair with the country.

  • by Andrew Bain
It’s one of the world’s seven wonders, but a lot can go wrong when trekking Machu Picchu.

Fifteen of us set off on the Inca Trail. Only 10 made it to the end

It’s one of the world’s seven wonders, but there’s a heap of things that can go wrong when trekking Machu Picchu – and I should know.

  • by Gary Nunn
Enduring love… The Lion King’s upcoming sequel is attracting a lot of interest in Africa, 30 years after the original.

Aussies are flocking to the real-life inspiration for a Disney hit

More than 30 years ago the chair of Walt Disney Studios went on a safari and the impact of that trip is still felt today.

  • by Sue Williams
New Zealand’s Alps to Ocean bike ride is an epic six-day journey.

New Zealand’s most popular cycling trail is truly epic

From the foothills of the Southern Alps to the foreshore of the Pacific Ocean, this trail delivers a spectacular variety of terrain – and you can do it on an e-bike.

  • by Rob McFarland
Advertisement
Arnhem Land is a unique region of Australia that’s almost all Aboriginal freehold land, stretching from the Gulf of Carpentaria in the east to Kakadu National Park in the west.

One of the world’s last untouched places is right here in Australia

Indigenous life has an incredibly long history in Arnhem Land, and it feels an absolute privilege to be given a glimpse of it.

  • by Sue Williams
Nothing quite prepares you for Antarctica.

The one destination no traveller can ever be fully prepared for

There’s an astonishing prep list before you can even set foot on the White Continent. But, in this harsh environment, even the most prepared can expect the unexpected.

  • by Katrina Lobley
Vumbura Plains camp: Wildlife freely come and go from this lagoon.

A place where water is more valuable than diamonds

Without annual floodwaters, this part of the world would be incapable of supporting life. Instead, it’s teeming with it.

  • by Justin Meneguzzi
Costa Rica’s natural attractions are stellar.

Five of the world’s most thrilling places to see wildlife

One of the thrills of a visit to the world’s wild places is seeing how the (non-human) locals live.

  • by Sue Williams
Don’t adjust your screen … the rainbow delights of Grand Prismatice Spring up close.

The world’s first national park is nature’s own Disneyland

Yellowstone is huge and it attracts more than 3.5 million people a year, so it’s best to plan your visit carefully.

  • by Caroline Gladstone
The Dolomites are stitched with more than 600 via ferratas.

Enjoy gobsmacking beauty along these five hot new adventure trails

Derring-do types who thrive on challenging experiences in far-flung places, look no further.

  • by Andrew Bain
Advertisement
The Alps, soaring in summer.

Austria’s mountains are even more stunning when there’s no snow

A snowflake when it comes to snowflakes, our writer explores things to do in Austria that don’t involve skis.

  • by Keith Austin
We’re far enough north in the summer that the sun never sets.

A place where the sun never sets (though you still might not see it)

Tourism is still a rarity when exploring this part of the Arctic.

  • by Jamie Lafferty
Greenland feels so far away from anywhere else, yet offers so much.

Greenland: The island to end all islands

In Greenland, the unknown is part of the attraction, whichever regions you visit.

  • by Tatyana Leonov
The Transcaucasian is a network of trails covering 3000 kilometres  that cross the Caucasus Mountains of  Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

You only live once: 13 travel experiences that will change you

From showering under waterfalls to epic mountain hikes, these ideas will reignite long-forgotten desires or spark new and unexpected ambitions.

  • by Julietta Jameson
Plunging into Antarctica’s freezing waters

Plunging into Antarctica’s freezing waters

Blue skies and placid waters notwithstanding, it's counterintuitive to swim in the inhumanely cold waters of Antarctica.

  • by Catherine Marshall
A grizzly bear safari is not like any other safari

A grizzly bear safari is not like any other safari

When you are hoping to get close to wildlife, the general rule is to keep quiet. For grizzlies, you do the opposite.

  • by Ute Junker
Advertisement
Australia and New Zealand’s ‘walking wonderlands’

Australia and New Zealand’s ‘walking wonderlands’

Here is a selection of Australasian walks that we hope will inspire you to reach for your boots and strike out somewhere new.

Travelling solo is the best way to meet other travellers.
Opinion

I turned 50 and decided to become a backpacker again. Here’s what I learnt

Turning 50 is one of those milestone events that can instigate all manner of plans and resolutions. Some buy a sports car or take salsa lessons. I decided to go backpacking.

  • by Rob McFarland

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/adventure-and-outdoors-20230314-p5crya.html