The raw majesty of Australia's outback, the awesome beauty of its marine environment, the breathtaking splendour of its forests and the continent's unique wildlife provide fertile terrain for anyone who revels in the call of the wild. While many of Australia’s adventure activities present a serious challenge to legs and lungs, there are also plenty that come with a soft bed and a well-chilled glass of wine at the end of the day.

Swimming with sea lions, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Sea lions are the chimpanzees of the sea. They’re agile, fast and playful - and they thrive on interaction with humans. Guarding the entrance to Baird Bay on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, Jones Island is home to the only sea lion breeding colony on the Australian mainland. Apart from the Galapagos Islands, this is the only place where visitors can swim with wild sea lions.

From their base at Baird Bay township, Allan and Trish Payne take small groups out to visit the sea lions that they have known for years. Clad in a wetsuit, visitors slip over the side into neck-deep water while the sea lions make tumble turns just a few centimetres away.

These are wild animals and the choice of whether to interact is strictly theirs, but judging from the way they stream out from the shore when the boat arrives, there seems little risk that they will ever get bored with human company.

After the sea lion encounter, the boat pulls into deeper water where visitors can swim with the resident dolphins. Allan and Trish also offer plush, self-contained accommodation in one of two lodges overlooking the bay.

For more information visit www.bairdbay.com

Riding high, Victoria
In the alpine towns of Victoria’s high country, the horse riding skills of the mountain cattlemen are as alive as they were in the pioneering days when they first started driving their cattle up into summer mountain pastures. 

Based at Spring Spur Homestead in the lovely Kiewa Valley of north-eastern Victoria, Bogong Horseback Adventures can put just about anyone in the saddle for a short trail ride - or a 3, 5 or 7-day packhorse adventure.

For the visitor in search of a genuine boots and saddles experience complete with frosty mornings on the high range, stories around the campfire and nights under the stars, there is nothing else quite like it.

Despite the rugged nature of the surroundings, the trips are comprehensively organised. All food, camping equipment, helmets, horses and guides are supplied, and the meals en-route are perfectly calculated to satisfy appetites honed by a day in the saddle.

The mountain scenery is sublime, and one of the highlights is the camaraderie that develops among the group. As well as the packhorse camping trips, Bogong Horseback Adventures also conducts horsemanship clinics and bush skills courses.

For more information visit www.bogonghorse.com.au

Hiking the Gondwana Rainforest Reserve, New South Wales
A mosaic of reserves and national parks along the state’s east coast, these World Heritage rainforests represent a major stage of the earth's evolutionary history.

Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals that have altered little since the age of the dinosaurs. Waterfalls, abundant wildlife, forest swimming holes, giant trees and walking trails also make these forests prime terrain for hikers.

Gibraltar Range National Park is known for its wildflowers, including waratahs, the state emblem, which are at their best in spring. The many streams that are born on this high granite plateau have gnawed deep, sheer-sided gorges from the escarpment, frequently plummeting from the heights in spectacular cascades.

Dorrigo National Park rises to a height of over 800 metres and covers a rugged chunk of the coastal escarpment. Here the many streams that flow from the New England plateau to the west tumble over the cliffs and disappear into the valleys to the east.

The southernmost extent of the Gondwana Rainforest Reserve, Barrington Tops National Park is a vast, undulating, basalt-capped plateau that rises sharply from the surrounding valleys to a height of almost 1,600 metres, a world of gushing streams, waterfalls, frosted forests and soaring cliffs.

For more information visit www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

Wildflower hikes in the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales
The alpine trails of Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains of southern New South Wales are among the state’s finest summer bushwalks.

During the warmer months, the granite flanks of these mountains are covered with tiny, delicate snow daisies and yellow buttons daisies, sometimes interspersed with patches of summer snow.  Add rippling hills, alpine lakes, twisted snow gums and gurgling streams and it’s a version of the great outdoors that’s hard to resist.

The most popular of all the national park’s walking trails is the hike to the 2,228m summit of Mt Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak, which can be approached via several different routes.

The easiest way is via the Crackenback Chairlift from Thredbo Village, from where it’s a moderate two-hour walk over a well-formed track to the summit.

Several more hiking trails begin at Charlotte Pass, including the Main Range Walk, a 21-kilometre circuit track and one of the most inspiring one-day walks in the country.

Starting from the snow gums at Charlotte Pass, the trail dives down to cross the Snowy River and climbs on the other side of the valley through wildflower meadows, past glacial lakes and through the headwaters of some of Australia’s greatest rivers and over Carruthers Peak to the ultimate conquest of Mt Kosciuszko.

For more information visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks

Adventures in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area
While Sydney is justly famous for its golden beaches, just a 90-minute drive away, the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area stands in stark contrast.

Rising to a height of over 1,000 metres and spread across an area of more than a million hectares, this densely forested sandstone plateau has been etched by rivers into trough-like valleys with sheer-sided walls, making this a paradise for hikers, campers and adventure seekers.

The area has a number of spectacular walking trails, as well as an outstanding array of adventure tour operators  who can provide logistical and guiding support for rock climbing, mountain biking or canyoning expeditions.

One of the finest of the mountain walks is the National Pass, which begins at Wentworth Falls above the Jamison Valley and zigzags down the sheer cliff face, then doubles back to cross the base of the falls and along a narrow ledge to the glorious Valley of the Waters.

One of Australia’s classic walks, the Six Foot Track follows the route of the original 1884 horse track that was created to take tourists from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves.

Rising high to cross mountain ranges and falling into deep valleys on the other side, the track takes walkers through a range of habitats and past a number of spectacular natural features, including creek crossings, caves, sheer sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and incredible panoramas of richly forested valleys.

For more information visit www.visitbluemountains.com.au

Wildlife kingdom, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Barely 16 kilometres off the southern coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island - "KI" to the locals - feels like another country.

Its very separateness has insulated it against introduced species such as rabbits, foxes and feral cats that have wreaked havoc on Australia’s mainland, and as a result, the whole island resonates with the sights and sounds of wild Australia.

High among the island's stellar attractions is Seal Bay, where visitors can stroll along the beach just a few metres from Australian sea lions as they sleep, feed their young, bellow and occasionally, squabble. KI is also prime territory for monotremes, the egg-laying mammals that are one of nature’s strangest experiments.

Visitors would have to be unlucky to drive the length of the island without catching sight an echidna, the spiny insect eater that curls itself into a football-size globe of spikes when disturbed.

Measuring 145 kilometres across and 60 from north to south, Kangaroo Island demands time. A single day is barely enough to take in the highlights, but visitors who spend a couple of days at least can watch kangaroos grazing on the margins of D’Estrees Bay at dusk, see fairy penguins returning to their burrows at Penneshaw, swim at the glorious sweep of Snellings Beach, admire the bounding wallabies of the Lathami Conservation Park and sample some of the freshest seafood ever.

For more information visit  www.tourkangarooisland.com.au

By Michael Gebicki on behalf of Tourism Australia.