Mild to wild: 10 epic under-the-radar adventures in Australia

Fear factor 3 out of 5

The lowdown Alice Springs’ emergence as a top mountain-biking destination has been natural in all ways. With more than 100 kilometres of trails looping out from the town’s edge, pedalling here is as much an exploration of the desert as a bike ride, with trails finding natural lines onto exposed rock slabs, over rust-red boulders and through sandy creek beds. About the only thing that bucks this organic approach to riding is the rare chance to access the trails by helicopter, taking to the skies with your bike before settling back to earth deep within the trail network.

Don’t miss The helicopter commute can drop riders at one of three points along the network, all of which ultimately lead to Hell Line, the longest trail (15 kilometres) in the network. It climbs onto the West MacDonnell Ranges (though not steeply) before rounding an old cattle yard and heading back towards town, intersecting a couple of times with the Larapinta Trail.

Essentials Make it a winter bike migration for the most pleasant trail conditions. Trails aren’t particularly long, but you’ll need some decent bike fitness to get the best from them. See alicespringshelicopters.com.au

Beyond Skyway, Blue Mountains, NSW

Fear factor 4 out of 5

The lowdown Sure, you’ve been in a cable car before. You may even have crossed between Blue Mountains cliffs on the Scenic Skyway. But have you ever thought about climbing out through the roof of that cable car – the longest in the Southern Hemisphere – and standing atop its roof, with a drop almost the height of the Eiffel Tower beneath you? Most visitors are content to stay inside the confines of the Scenic Skyway cable car, taking in the views from behind the windows, but the more exposed and exciting Beyond Skyway experience will have you harnessed and climbing through a manhole in the ceiling to seemingly hover above the valleys, waterfalls and cliffs of the Blue Mountains.

Don’t miss Have you really felt the exposure if you don’t wander to the roof’s edge and lean out over the treetops 270 metres below your feet? You’re tethered and safe, so go on …

Essentials There are no fitness requirements to experience Beyond Skyway, just a willingness to feel exposed. See beyondskyway.com.au

Sinkhole snorkelling, Mount Gambier, SA

Fear factor 2 out of 5

The lowdown Draw a circle about 20 kilometres around Mount Gambier, and inside it you’ll find 95 per cent of Australia’s sinkholes. Dip into these sinkholes and the ponds around them with a snorkel and mask (or diving tanks) and you’ll find water as transparent as air – to snorkel here is to feel as though you’re flying on water, with visibility reaching to dozens of metres.

Don’t miss Kilsby Sinkhole, set on a farm owned by the Kilsby family for 130 years (and a one-time weapons research site), provides the best introduction to sinkhole snorkelling. The farm owners run regular guided trips, leading snorkellers through an open tunnel and onto a pontoon inside the sinkhole. The gin-clear water plunges away 27 metres, and yet the floor of the cave is surreally visible in intense detail. It’s a remarkable water world to be discovered across an hour of snorkelling – keep an eye out for the former house pet, a native long-necked turtle – that now inhabits the sinkhole.

Essentials The water in the sinkholes is a fairly constant 15 degrees year-round. Bookings essential. See kilsbysinkhole.com

Exploring gorges, Karijini National Park, WA

Fear factor 3 out of 5

The lowdown Deep in the Pilbara, a natural masterpiece is etched into the earth. Running like veins through the red-raw mountains of Karijini is a network of deep gorges that, as a collective, might well be the most beautiful in Australia. These gorges blur the lines between hiking and canyoning, providing an array of minor challenges – from steep and loose walking trails, to acrobatic scrambling manoeuvres, to swim-through passages – and a wealth of major scenery.

Don’t miss Choosing a favourite Karijini gorge is like choosing a favourite child but I’m going with Knox Gorge. Initially, it appears to be one of the most ordinary of the gorges but, like a good thriller, it develops into one of the most magnificent. At one point, Knox sends walkers scrambling onto low ledges across the base of its cliffs, their chests pressed hard to the cold rock as they edge above a deep pool. Just beyond, the accessible section of gorge ends at a pool inset into the floor. Beyond it, Knox disappears spectacularly into a slot and plunges away into Red Gorge.

Essentials Visit Karijini in the dry season, around April to October, and always carry plenty of water. Life’s an Adventure runs a seven-day Karijini National Park Walk trip, exploring most of the gorges. See lifesanadventure.com.au; exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au

Cycling the Seven Peaks, High Country, Victoria

Fear factor 2 out of 5

The lowdown Australia has few mountain rides to rival Europe’s grand alpine climbs, at least until you set wheels on the Seven Peaks. This collection of seven rides to seven High Country summits – Mount Hotham, Falls Creek, Mount Buffalo, Dinner Plain, Mount Buller, Lake Mountain and Mount Baw Baw – is Australia’s literal peak cycling challenge. Riding one peak will put sting in your legs; riding all seven, climbing more than 7000 metres over 160 kilometres, will put you in exclusive cycling company.

Don’t miss Mount Baw Baw is the lowest of the seven summits, and yet conversely also the most gruelling. One of Australia’s toughest climbs, the ride from the Gantry has an average gradient of more than 11 per cent ramping up beyond 20 per cent around notorious Winch Corner. Ride this one and you can truly call yourself a climber.

Essentials Fitness is king on this mighty challenge, so train up on some decent climbs and remember that what goes up must come down – the most dangerous moments on mountain rides are on the hurtling descents. Plan on a summer ride, when the peaks are clear of snow. See ridehighcountry.com.au

Burrawa Climb, Sydney, NSW

Fear factor 3 out of 5

The lowdown Every day atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge, hundreds of people stare across the city on BridgeClimb tours. But while the view from 134 metres above the harbour is superb, it’s even better when overlaid with the city’s most enduring story – that of the Eora people who lived and hunted here for tens of thousands of years. The Burrawa Climb combines all the challenging qualities of the BridgeClimb – the exposure, the ladder climbs, the vertiginous ascent and descent of the arch – with a modern city providing a surreal background to millennia-old stories.

Don’t miss On a Burrawa Climb, there’s far more to the view than you can see with the eye, with modern details seeming to fade as the First Nations’ history unfolds.

Essentials The total ascent of the bridge, from toe to tip, is about 100 metres and requires some comfort on ladders and the exposed arch. Burrawa Climbs operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays. See bridgeclimb.com

Swimming with dolphins and seals, Port Phillip, Vic

Fear factor 2 out of 5

The lowdown Just 50 kilometres from the centre of Melbourne, there’s a patch of water that is the city’s true wild side. Pinched between Queenscliff and Sorrento, it’s an underwater world occupied by seals and dolphins. Roll off a boat here and you can watch dolphins glide gracefully beneath or beside you and swim among curious Australian fur seals. And unlike most marine wildlife trips which involve long sails in search of the animals, you can be among these creatures just minutes after motoring out into the bay from Queenscliff or Sorrento.

Don’t miss The mood starter on See All Dolphin Swims trips is a quick stop where guests are encouraged up a ladder onto the roof of the boat to leap into the sea – a jump of about four metres in height. After this, settle back into the boom net hanging from the side of the boat, skimming centimetres above the surface of the sea.

Essentials All Dolphin Swims trips depart twice daily, and the water temperature is most inviting in summer. Swims are short and close to the boat, so Olympian strength or endurance isn’t required. See dolphinswims.com.au

Stand-up paddleboarding, Cobbold Gorge, Queensland

Fear factor 2 out of 5

The lowdown Stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) are a common sight along Australia’s coastlines and estuaries, but they’re an oddity in the arid outback … unless you’re at Cobbold Gorge. Through Queensland’s youngest gorge, SUPs squeeze between 30-metre-high cliffs and beneath Australia’s first fully glass bridge, gliding among a population of freshwater crocodiles.

Don’t miss Though Cobbold Gorge was unearthed only 30 years ago by station owners, there’s now a plethora of ways to experience it – on boat tours, helicopter flights or crossing the glass bridge – but it’s the morning and evening SUP tours that most intimately reveal this gorge that managed to remain hidden from station owners for almost a century. The navigable section of the gorge is about 850 metres in length.

Essentials The best time to paddle is in the dry season, from about May to September. The paddling is gentle, making it accessible even if you’ve never done it before. See cobboldgorge.com.au

Whitewater sledding, Meander River, Tasmania

Fear factor 2 out of 5

The lowdown In rivers that rage across adrenaline-fuelled countries such as New Zealand, Slovenia, Norway and Zambia, there’s an adventure activity known variously as whitewater sledging, river boarding and hydrospeeding. On Tasmania’s Meander River, there’s a tamer version with participants clinging to li-lo-like sleds as they skid and bounce through two kilometres of grade I and II rapids that provide just enough churn to feel adventurous, but not enough bump to feel dangerous.

Don’t miss The quietest moment of the ride is also its most memorable. At the bottom of the fourth rapid is a long stretch of flat water known as Flat Zen. Here, sledders are encouraged to lie on their backs on the sleds as they drift gently downstream, staring up into the treetops that line the northern edge of Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Essentials Sledding trips operate from November to April, when the Tasmanian air and water are at their warmest. The adventure is gentle, requiring no previous experience or particular fitness. See meanderwildernessexperiences.com

Kayaking, Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, SA

Fear factor 2 out of 5

The lowdown The Port River is a place of surprising natural significance, given that it fringes South Australia’s largest port and is less than a 30-minute drive from Adelaide’s city centre. At Port Adelaide, a wide stretch of the river is protected as the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, a marine park home to resident dolphins and visiting transient dolphins, as well as the site of Australia’s largest ship graveyard. The best way to experience the sanctuary is in a kayak, paddling among the river’s playful inhabitants. Bring your own kayak and you can also paddle through the ship graveyard, where more than 25 ships have been scuttled and abandoned.

Don’t miss For all the scene-stealing dolphins and wrecks, some of the best moments of paddling here are found in two tiny estuaries that leak into the river from Torrens Island. A 10,000-year-old mangrove forest covers their banks, creating a slalom-like course, requiring you at times to duck, bend and lean in the kayak to get around or beneath the trees.

Essentials Kayak tours and hire are most reliable around weekends and operate all year. The paddling is gentle, with little flow to contend with. Dolphin Sanctuary Kayak Tours hires out kayaks and runs guided tours from Garden Island. See dolphinsanctuarykayaktours.com.au

This cover story is an edited extract of the new book Ultimate Adventures: Australia, published by Hardie Grant Explore, RRP $45

Taking it to the extremes

Diving with great white sharks, off Neptune Islands, SA Slip beneath the Southern Ocean waves in a cage to go eye to eye with the sea’s apex predator. See rodneyfox.com.au

Canyoning, Cradle Mountain, Tas Go down, not up at Cradle Mountain, as you squirm through Dove Canyon in a puzzle of abseils, swims, slides and high leaps into deep pools. See cradlemountaincanyons.com.au

Sleeping on a portaledge, Mount Buffalo, Vic Go where only rock climbers usually dare hang, dangling from 250-metre-high cliffs for the most exposed sleep of your life. See unleashed-unlimited.com.au

Abseiling, Mount Buffalo, Vic Same cliffs, same levels of courage as you take the world’s highest commercial abseil – 220 metres of air on an 11-millimetre-thick rope. See brightadventurecompany.com.au

Bungy jumping, Cairns, Qld The fastest and yet slowest three seconds of your life on Australia’s only bungy jump – a 50-metre plunge into tropical forest. See skyparkglobal.com