Southern Realm

Auckland offers a buzzing waterfront and a vibrant arts scene, and provides a fascinating introduction to New Zealand's proud cultural heritage. The centre is home to excellent shopping and a number of fantastic restaurants, while the north of the city has a distinctly more laid-back vibe, and to the west is the city's oldest wine region.

Brisbane has plenty of shopping malls and, with great weather, a fantastic café culture. Amongst the steel and glass skyscrapers are some interesting historic buildings, and with plenty surrounding the city there’s enough on offer to make for an interesting short stay.

The lively town of Airlie Beach is backpacker central, and serves as a transport hub for the many offshore attractions of the east coast. From here you can take a trip out to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, or visit the stunning tropical beaches of the nearby Whitsunday Islands.

Cairns is a buzzing tourist hub, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. A snorkelling trip out to the reef is the most obvious excursion to take here, but other options include riding the Skyrail cableway over the rainforest canopy or swimming in the croc-free saltwater lagoon.

Cooktown is a small place with a big history, named after Captain James Cook, who beached his ship the ‘Endeavour’ here in 1770 after it was damaged on a nearby reef. It’s a remote and sleepy town, and the seafront statue of Captain Cook is the main sight worth seeing.

More of a large town than a city, Darwin is less about what’s contained within the city limits and more about the huge expanse of wild landscape that’s outside it. Closer to Jakarta than Sydney, the city really does feel remote in its tropical perch.

Komodo Island is situated within an area of spectacular natural beauty, home to the famous Komodo dragon. The stunning beaches are tinged with pink thanks to the high concentration of red coral just offshore, and the waters draw intrepid divers from all over the world.

Quieter and less developed than neighbouring Bali, the island of Lombok is an appealing alternative. To the north, the landscape is dominated by the huge crater of Gunung Rinjani, while the south and west coasts are home to some stunning beaches.

The beaches, spectacular volcanic scenery and lush green rice terraces lend Bali a natural beauty that seems to dovetail perfectly with the island’s distinct Hindu culture, which adorns the landscape with stunning temples.

Celukan Bawang is the main port in northern Bali, with quite a different feel to the more touristy parts of the island. Here you can see the magnificent Bugis schooners of Sulawesi, and nearby sights include the former Balinese capital of Singaraja, the wildlife sanctuary of West Bali National Park and the black sand Lovina Beach.

Surabaya, situated on the northeast coast of Java, is Indonesia’s second largest city and the place where the country’s struggle for independence began. The warren-like Arab Quarter is worth exploring, though many visitors use the city as a base for visiting nearby Mount Bromo.

The sweltering city of Semarang, on the north coast of Java, is an intriguing mish-mash of Chinese, Islamic and Dutch colonial influences. We recommend escaping the heat with a trip up into the mountains to visit a coffee plantation, or joining an excursion to the extraordinary temple complex at Borobudur.

Indonesia’s capital is noisy, chaotic and choked with some of the worst traffic in Asia, a sprawling megacity that’s home to over 10 million people. If you can get past all of that then Jakarta has plenty to offer, with the country’s best museums and restaurants, an atmospheric old harbour and a rich mix of cultures from all over the Indonesian archipelago.

Singapore’s heritage as an important trading post means that there is a real cultural mix, with four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Step away from the gleaming towers and you’ll find yourself transported into another world amongst the intoxicating streets of Chinatown and Little India.