The Atlas Obscura Guide To Australia

605 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Australia

Updated November 1, 2024

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Unusual Attractions in Australia

Aerial view of Lake Hillier

Australia

Lake Hillier

An Australian lake whose pink hue defies scientific explanation.

Helensburgh Glowworm Tunnel.

Helensburgh, Australia

Glowworm Tunnel

An abandoned railroad tunnel is now filled with bioluminescent bugs.

Raymond Island, Australia

Gippsland Lakes Bioluminescence

Australian Lake set aglow by Noctiluca Scintillans.

Paronella Park

Mena Creek, Australia

Paronella Park

A castle hand-built by a Spanish dreamer in the Australian tropical jungle.

Putty, Australia

Newnes Glow Worm Tunnel

Once the path of a railway tunnel, now home to thousands of glowing insects.

The portal made of sticks at the Redwood Forest.

East Warburton, Australia

Redwood Forest Tree Art

Woven tree art gives this towering Australian woodland a touch of mystical whimsy.

Entryway to Sanctuary

Mount Dandenong, Australia

William Ricketts Sanctuary

A collection of outdoor mystical statues paying homage to indigenous Australians and ecological stewardship.

The SS Ayerfield

Wentworth Point, Australia

SS Ayrfield

Nature is leading a successful mutiny on this century-old freighter.

See All 605 Things To Do in Australia

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Australia

Frewville, Australia

The Butterfly Room

Hundreds of tiny dead butterfly eyes gaze down at diners in this Australian eatery.

Melbourne, Australia

Mabu Mabu Big Esso

Featuring Torres Strait Islander cuisine and Australia's first indigenous bar.

Providing samples of wild boar ham.

Adelaide, Australia

Something Wild

This store offers tastes of Aboriginal Australia, with some contemporary and global twists.

Specimens at the museum.

Adelaide, Australia

Santos Museum of Economic Botany

A wealth of plants and horticultural curiosities fill this charmingly antique museum.

See all 21 Places to Eat in Australia

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Explore Australia

History & Culture 70

Statues 65

Animals 57

Nature 53

Museums 51

Monuments 49

Art 46

Geology 42

Sculptures 38

Architecture 36

Natural Wonders 35

Memorials 34

Places To Stay 5

Unique Restaurants & Bars 4

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wants to go to Cockatoo Island
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has been to White Rabbit Gallery
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wants to go to Eric the Pliosaur
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wants to go to Paddington Reservoir Gardens
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wants to go to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair

Stories About Australia

Standing no taller than a 10-year-old, the Yara ma tha who watches from the forest canopy—always ready to pounce on its next victim.

The Child-Eating Bloodsucker of Aboriginal Australian Nightmares

The Yara ma tha who is more terrifying than any vampire.

A colorful orgy in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is triggered by the moon.

Australia's Synchronized Coral Spawning Can Be Seen From Space

The world’s largest living structure renews itself in nights of moonlit passion.

by Melissa Scott Sinclair

A near-complete fossil skeleton of Protemnodon viator from Lake Callabonna, missing just a few bones from the hand, foot, and tail.

Giant Kangaroos Once Towered Over Humans at 8 Feet Tall

New studies from a boneyard of fossilized skeletons may reveal why the 'roos grew and hopped the way they do.

by Olivia Young

Podcast: Law of the Tongue

Back when killer whales used to assist humans.

by The Podcast Team

Which nation can claim the pavlova?

This Christmas Dessert Caused a Decades-Long Rivalry Between Two Countries

Two historians are trying to track down pavlova's origins once and for all.

December 22, 2023

Honeypot ants feed on sweet nectar and death.

All Winter, These Ants Make the Ultimate Sweet Sacrifice to Their Colony

Their syrupy death is medicinal for humans, too.

by Shoshi Parks

December 5, 2023

The Batavia's Tale of Mutiny and Murder Gets a New Chapter

Archaeologists have unearthed new details of the 400-year-old bloodshed on a remote Australian island.

by Chris Baraniuk

September 25, 2023

A herd of cattle roam a lush green pasture in Australia, home to several of the world's largest private landholdings.

What Do King Charles III, the Pope, and the Canadian Inuit Have in Common?

Meet the world's largest landowners.

by Frank Jacobs

August 11, 2023

Lists Featuring Australia

'Memory Is Creation Without End'

Justice and Police Museum

Mrs. Macquarie's Chair In Sydney Botanic Garden

The 10 Best Places to Visit Near the Sydney Opera House for Curious Travelers

Including 'Memory Is Creation Without End', Justice and Police Museum, and Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair

Red Seabeach

The otherworldly landscape of Padar Island.

Black Sand Beach

10 Unique Beaches From Around the World

From bright red grass to stranded shipwrecks, these beaches are anything but ordinary.

Including Driftwood Beach, Red Beach , and Padar Island

They were built in 1979.

Running Stairs

Seward Street Slides

When Stairs and Slides Are Hiding in Plain Sight

Play real-life Chutes and Ladders at these obscure thruways.

Including Secret Tiled Staircase, Esmeralda Slide Park, and Howe Street Stairs

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