In both New Zealand and Australia, we pride ourselves on our "big things" - whether it's a carrot in Ohakune or a banana in Coff's Harbour.

Just after we rolled back the clocks and settled again into the dark evenings and, in my opinion, the depressing half of the year, I amused myself with one of those silly online quizzes.

Daniel Clark, founder of travel app Townske.

Why aren't there any boomerangs on the Tiwi Islands? Because they never came back, our guide Thaddeus deadpans.

There are swathes of blackened trunks and spindly ghosts of trees, killed when the sap boiled from the heat of bushfires.

Artists take centre stage in Sydney's 20th Biennale, finds Eli Orzessek.

There is a spot at the highest point of Hamilton Island where time stands still.

The divide between Melbourne and Sydney is a bit like that of Wellington and Auckland.

Queensland's party island has a new lease on life and now provides a back-to-basics outdoors experience, finds Eli Orzessek.

I may have been slightly judgmental when I turned up for a standup paddleboarding lesson and discovered my instructor was a teenager.

Food options are limited on the island, so it's best to come prepared. The nearby Great Keppel Island Hideaway has a bar and bistro, but it's fairly basic.

On a hot air balloon ride over the Gold Coast you're treated to magical views, as warm ocean currents meet a lush green hinterland for 30km from Coolangatta to Southport.

A wildlife sanctuary on a plateau above Cairns teems with a colourful array of warblers, waders and raptors.

North of Adelaide, the Stuart Highway undulates through a bucolic landscape of cereal fields, sheep farms and vineyards.

The hit TV show Thunderbirds could have been set in Cairns. Any one of the surrounding mountains could double as International Rescue's hideout.

Queensland's Outback works to a very specific weather pattern and it's nothing so ho-hum as four seasons a year.

It's not all up, up and away in a hot air balloon, discovers Shandelle Battersby.

There's no better way to see Lamington National Park than from its canopy of flowering and fruiting trees.

Take a walk on the wild side without having to go all the way to Africa, says Lynette Eyb.

Overlooked Perth offers Anna King Shahab more dining options than she can possibly hope to sample at once.

An unexpected visitor sends Ewan McDonald scurrying for his life.

Graham Reid has an unexpectedly rewarding time in Newcastle, NSW.

A free guided tour in Perth's Kings Park is a great way to get a feel for the subtly beautiful Western Australian flora, finds Anna King Shahab.

If smashing plates or eating seafood is your bag, Megan Singleton finds fun for you.

Danielle Wright finds plenty on offer in Warrnambool, including the town's newest attraction, Maremma dogs.

Following the broken lines, Jennifer Ennion shifts into overdrive to reveal the highlights of Australia's open roads.

Floral carpets put spring in Anna King Shahab's step on this coastal trail.

Native-born Australians ignore elegant, artistic Adelaide - and Mark Chipperfield is glad.

David Leggat pauses to stretch his legs while on one of Australia's most picturesque road journeys, between Melbourne and Adelaide.

If you are going to the Melbourne Cup it's important to be dressed for the occasion - and to make the most of what the city has to offer while you're there.