This museum is a good introduction to Alice Springs and the surrounding region and it has an emphasis on Central Australia’s natural history.
Museum of Central Australia
Museum of Contemporary Art
With an enviable location overlooking Sydney Cove from Circular Quay West, the Museum of Contemporay Art has a good collection of artworks including a number of excellent temporary exhibits.
Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)
The brilliant Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Berriedale, north of central Hobart, is Australia’s largest privately funded museum and is considered by many to be Hobart’s top tourist attraction.
MONA’s permanent collection includes more than 400 artworks that are complemented by a programme of temporary exhibits. The museum’s modern artworks include many confronting and unique pieces, which make the museum more fun than most other art museums.
Although local buses stop nearby, the nicest way to travel to MONA is to take the 30-minute ferry trip from Brooke Street pier ($20–50 return). There is also an express bus ($20 return) to the museum.
Museum of Sydney
Situated on the site of the original Government House, the Museum of Sydney delves into the history of Sydney from early Aboriginal culture through colonial times to the modern city that you see today.
Museum of Tropical Queensland
The Museum of Tropical Queensland is an excellent new museum, which is situated next door to Reef HQ and focuses on the history and nature of North Queensland.
Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve
Overlooking the harbour and marina, Muttonbird Island is a great retreat and ideal spot for whale watching. It is accessible by foot via the causeway from Marina Drive.
Nambung National Park (Pinnacles Desert)
Nambung National Park is best known for the spectacular Pinnacles Desert and its proximity to Perth makes it a very popular day-trip.
If you have a car you can take the scenic drive that takes you past the more impressive areas. If you don’t have access to a car, a number of companies run day-trips from Perth.
The main features of the Pinnacles Desert are the limestone columns, some of which stand up to four metres tall.
The park includes the Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre, which has informative displays about the park. The Desert View Trail (1.5km, 45 mins) is an easy walk that starts at the centre and takes you through the Pinnacles.
Nan Tien Buddhist Temple
The Nan Tien Buddhist Temple is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The temple has become an integral part of Wollongong’s multicultural community with an increasing number of locals adopting Buddhism.
Nannup coach stop
Transwa coaches stop on Brockman Street in Nannup.
Nannup visitor information centre
Naracoorte Caves National Park
South Australia’s only World Heritage area is comprised of several caves that feature fragile stalactite and stalagmite formations. The caves have earned their World Heritage listing because of the extensive collection of fossils that have been unearthed here.
Fossils found in the caves provide a unique glimpse into the past and the Wonambi Fossil Centre inside the park has an excellent display featuring animatronic depictions of the extinct marsupial megafauna that lived here around 200,000 years ago.
One of the caves is home to a colony of the rare southern bentwing bat and infrared video cameras have been set up that allow you to view the bat from the Bat Cave Teleview Centre.
There are various tours of the different caves, each with its own unique features.
An hour-long tour takes you to a large fossil deposit in the Victorian Fossil Cave where you get to experience the cave’s World Heritage values.
Alexandra and Cathedral Caves offers a beautiful glimpse of cave decorations.
Tickets for the Alexandra Cave and Wonambi Fossil Centre also include entrance to Wet Cave, which features a self-guided walk that is ideal if you want to explore the cave at your own pace.
Cave tours cost $9 for Wet Cave, $20 for Alexandra Cave and $30 for Victoria Fossil Cave. Entry to the Wonambi Fossil Centre costs $13, although the combined entry ticket to Wonambi Fossil Centre and Wet Cave is better value at $15. Admission to Bat Wonderland (which also includes entry to Blanche Cave) costs $25.
Most of the cave tours are fairly tame, focusing mostly on the caves’ natural history but there are also some excellent value adventure caving tours that operate in Stick-Tomato, Blackberry and Fox Caves. Adventure caving trips cost $60.
Narryna Heritage Museum
Narryna Heritage Museum in Battery Point – around a 20-minute walk from Hobart’s city centre – is a large colonial townhouse dating from the late 1830s that is now a museum with exhibits detailing Tasmania’s colonial history with an emphasis on the maritime and mercantile history of Battery Point and Salamanca Place.
National Capital Exhibition
The National Capital Exhibition is a small museum showing the planning, construction and growth of the city. This should be the first thing you see in Canberra as it gives you a good understanding of how the city is laid out.
National Film & Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is located on the campus of the Australian National University. Set in a beautiful Art Deco building, it includes much of the nation’s film, radio and television history, including recordings of many early programmes.
National Gallery of Australia
Canberra’s National Gallery houses Australia’s most extensive art collection. The collection is eclectic enough to span Aboriginal masterpieces, Monet’s Water Lilies and Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles.
National Glass Art Gallery
Wagga’s unique National Glass Art Gallery has two storeys of glass artwork exhibits.
National Holden Motor Museum
The National Holden Motor Museum in Echuca features a collection of restored Holden cars that include some rare models, but it’s only really of interest to motor enthusiasts.
National Library of Australia
The National Library aims to hold copies of everything published either in or about Australia. The library is adding to its collection at the rate of 500 items every day.
National Motor Museum
This museum provides a good overview of Australian motoring history with over 300 cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. The National Motor Museum also features relics from South Australia’s colonial past and interpretive exhibits in the recently opened Holden Pavillion of Australian Motoring.
National Motor Racing Museum
This is worth seeing if you’re a motor racing fan and interested in learning more about the sport from an Australian perspective.