While Australia is a big continent, it is also one of the favorite places to discover on foot for many visitors and locals. Although its outback is interesting for backpackers and hikers, Australian islands are equally attractive for walking. And with 8,222 islands, visitors have a lot of hiking options to choose from, but the following ones should be at the top of anyone’s list.
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1. Whitsunday Island
Whitsunday is actually a group of 74 individual islands on the East Coast of Australia. These islands are located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the largest one among them is Whitsunday Island. It has bewildering pearly white beaches with Whitehaven Beach being the most popular of them all.
The location is a famous campground so you can discover it on foot and enjoy nature at the same time in a couple of days tour. Hill Inlet Lookout is a trail situated in the Whitsunday Islands National Park Queensland and it will take hikers around 40 minutes to finish. On the other hand, Ngaro Sea Trail will take you across forests and grasslands with special meaning to Ngaro descendants.
2. Lord Howe Island
The newest great walk in Australia these days is Seven Peaks Walk in Lord Howe Island. This 45 km hike will take you on a five-day journey through riveting Australian landscapes and wildlife. However, Seven Peaks Walk differs from other Great Walks in Australia for offering accommodation at luxurious Pinetrees Lodge.
Here, your smartphones won’t have reception and Wi-Fi so you will be completely engrossed in nature surrounding you. However, this five-day walk will allow you to see marine life as well as mountainous terrains with light hikes every day and enough time to rest. There are no poisonous animals or plants here and the climate is comfortable for walking.
3. Bruny Island
If you want to walk a less known trail, then Bruny Island is for you. This island is located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania. What makes it unique is that it’s so far south that it is the closest land to Antarctica as you can get on foot.
However, that means it’s home to seal colonies and penguins which are always welcoming encounters. Towering cliffs truly make this area a breathtaking sight, while rainforest walks will show you some of the most magical wildlife on the planet. The ocean is clean and reflects how all the waters on Earth should be if we paid more attention to the environment.
4. Fraser Island
Being the largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island is not so great for swimming though. The waters here are rough and dangerous, but lakes, on the other hand, are perfect. The best way to experience the magic of Fraser Island is by hiking through its eucalyptus forests and resting by the lakes.
K’gari (Fraser Island) Great Walk is a 90km walk that will take you 6 to 8 days to finish. However, you can go on easy walks which are part of the trail and choose half-day strolls or one-day adventures. This trail will take you over sand dunes and important historical and cultural sites of the area, which makes it a completely engrossing experience.
5. Tasman Island
Tasman Island may be accessible by boat or helicopter, but once you arrive there, you can continue experiencing it by foot. Hiking tours Tasmania offers include easy and medium walks which you can choose based on your fitness ability. The most popular are the Three Capes walking tours. Three Capes track is opened in 2015 and today it’s the benchmark for bushwalks.
This is a four-day walk which takes hikers over 46km of track over the raw Australian landscapes of unique beauty. There are three huts in the way which offer accommodations, books, charging stations and kitchens for the hikers who want to spend time in the peaceful wilderness.
6. Moreton Island
A natural wonder, Moreton Island is close to Brisbane and thus perfect to go to over the weekend and escape the city fuss. Since most of it is National Park, the hikers will be surrounded by astonishing natural beauties and sights. Unlike the nearby Fraser Island, Moreton has wonderful beaches and is perfect for sandboarding and dolphin watching.
Rous Battery track is a 9.8km trail with World War II remnants scattered on the way and it will take you 3.5 hours to finish in one direction. If you want to see the whole Moreton Island, go on a 1km walk to Five Hills Lookout on the road to Cape Moreton.
Finally
No matter if you choose one of the islands from this list or some other of 8,000 of them, you will have a memorable adventure. Australia is a perfect country to discover on foot and no matter what kind of trail you choose, you will have fun and amazing experience. Just pick the trail that is agreeable with your physical fitness and allow yourself to be enchanted by nature and cultural heritage.