Learn about Aboriginal plant use and marvel at the flora and fauna at this tropical oasis of 38 hectares of native Australian gardens. The Cairns Botanic Gardens area is divided into four distinct areas: Flecker Gardens, Centenary Lakes, Mount Whitfield Conservation Park and Tanks Art Centre.

As one of the most beautiful and appealing caves in Ha Long Bay, Sung Sot is a dazzling work of nature, astonishingly vast in size, despite its inconspicuous appearance from the outside. The rocky entrance down into the cave, coated in dense vegetation, leads to two large limestone-laden chambers, each meticulously decorated with a millennia-old ceiling of delicately formed stalactites. The impressive rock formations are colourfully lit up and can be admired from the comfort of a smooth walking path that traverses the cave.

Portugal is known for its beautiful Roman Catholic art, spanning many centuries. The earliest pieces date back to the 15th century and include woodwork, silver and gold artefacts, even furniture with wooden engravings. There is also the occasional painting by a Dutch, French or Flemish artist.

Christmas Island’s narrow reef supports bountiful marine life, including 88 coral species and more than 600 species of fish. It’s an underwater wonderland for divers, with clear warm waters, coral reefs and spectacular wall dives. Soft corals, feather stars and gorgonian corals grow along vast walls which plunge into a seemingly bottomless abyss. The fish community is distinctive because the island is a meeting place for Indian and Pacific Ocean fish species. It’s one of the few locations in the world where you’ll see Indian and Pacific Ocean fish swimming side by side. Some of these species interbreed to produce hybrids. Christmas Island has more hybrid fish than anywhere else in the world, making it a marine hybridisation zone of international significance. In addition to the hundreds of species of tropical fish, dolphins inhabit the island’s waters and whale sharks regularly visit during the wet season. Whale sharks generally first appear when the red crabs are spawning at the start of the wet season — they converge to supplement their plankton diet with crab larvae. Locations like Flying Fish Cove, Ethel Beach, Dolly Beach, West White Beach and Winifred Beach offer scuba divers and snorkellers a rewarding marine experience. At Flying Fish Cove and Ethel Beach shore diving is possible depending on the time of the year. There is excellent fishing, with sailfish, tuna and wahoo among some of the fish to be caught. You’ll find boat ramps at Flying Fish Cove and Ethel Beach.