Rotto-island

One of the first luxury lodges in the outback, Seven Spirit Bay is a wilderness lodge like no other. Accessible only by boat or air – the lodge has a private airstrip – it’s a wonderland for wildlife.

If evidence is needed that Australia does everything that little bit differently, Canberra is it. Most countries elect a geographically central city or a highly populated metropolis as the capital. Australia resolved political wrangling between Melbourne and Sydney by choosing neither. After several years of scouting, Canberra was selected as the capital in 1909, legislated in 1911 and officially designated the capital of Australia on 12 March 1913.

Coffs Harbour has tried its hand at a few things over the years – it’s been a centre for timber export, sugar cane and sugar mills made an appearance, butter was made here, and there was a brief stint of gold mining, but one thing dominated them all: bananas.