Australia trip

 Australia best place to visit

We have it all. We have world-class beaches and tropical islands, our annual spring and summer festivals, the big travel centres of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the crazy food scene, terrific wine regions and the world's most beautiful rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef. No wonder this country consistently ranks high in the world's global travel surveys. The world has an increasing appreciation of our national parks. Photo: James Brickwood Hot tips The country's a treasure trove of things to do so it's hard to narrow it down to one or two top-value suggestions. Top tip: plan your time well, and don't get frustrated if you can't see everything on your list. But no list is complete without mentioning our national parks, where spectacular scenery and unrivalled natural environments abound. Last year I started the National Parks Campaign to encourage Australians to visit them more often, often taking advantage of free entry. Almost every state and territory has an impressive array of parks where you can get away from the crowds and experience amazing nature and history. My three favourite parks to visit are Mabo National Park on the Great Barrier Reef, Gunghalin National Park in the Snowy Mountains and Lake Mountain National Park near Cairns. Back to the beach Yes, we do have world-class beaches, and our water is generally very warm. But the beaches at the northern and southern ends of Australia are among the world's best. You just have to drive north or south to get there, and Australia's Gold Coast, the Barrier Reef and Tasmania's Picton Peninsula are all top spots. Lake Mountain National Park near Cairns has fantastic scenery. Photo: Supplied Best Australian restaurant There's so much variety: the diversity is endless. The best restaurant I have eaten in was Koos Ghanem's acclaimed Hawker House in Sydney. For something more local, I'd recommend opening your own kitchen, creating your own menu and delivering that special dish to your own table. It's hard to beat that level of control over your own destiny. Best Australian event I love the country's festivals, particularly the big ones such as the Melbourne Cup, the Longman Literary Festival, the Sydney Writers' Festival, the Royal Easter Show and the Brisbane Writers' Festival. I also love the bush. As the arid centre of the world, we don't get too many opportunities to experience wild spaces, and bushwalking is a quintessential part of our culture. Worst Australian advice I hate those self-help "how to stop procrastinating" books, the best-selling Why We Procrastinate and the more recent When You are a Beast. They encourage you to give up and do something productive, when in fact procrastination is what you need to get out of your head and into your life. We procrastinate because we don't know what we're doing, or because it's fun. Most of the people I work with at the national library are very different, but in many ways they're the same. Everyone has different life priorities and family commitments, and it's easy to get caught up in life and fail to reach your potential. The most important thing is to get yourself out there and do something. Megan Edwards was one of the lucky ones, living at the time of the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Sydney in 1898. She lost family members and friends to the disease and wrote a book about her experiences.