Dream trip: The best of Australia in just 24 hours

This magical 24 hours begins on the Great Barrier Reef, at one of its most low-key but gorgeous destinations: Lady Elliot Island. Set off the coast of Bundaberg at the southern end of the reef, Lady Elliot is a coral cay with many attractions, not least – for the purposes of this endeavour – an airstrip, which means our imaginary plane can take off in an hour or so.

Until then, it's time to enjoy Lady Elliot's underwater splendour. Ordinarily you would go scuba diving here at one of 20 dive sites for some of the best subaquatic experiences in the world, where you can reliably spot manta rays, eagle rays, turtles, sharks, even humpback whales.

However, diving before flying is a no-no, so I'm taking a leisurely snorkel at Spiders Ledge, a site where rays, turtles and sharks are frequently spotted by those paddling above. See ladyelliot.com.au

8am Scenic flight to Hobart, Tas

It's my plane, and I will do what I want it to. That's why this morning's flight to Hobart is a bizarrely circuitous one. We're taking off from Lady Elliot and, while I'm eating breakfast on board, setting a course over Outback Queensland for Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia.

I'm keen to do a little fly-over of Wilpena Pound, one of this country's most spectacular natural sites, a huge natural amphitheatre surrounded by bushland.

After Ikara, we're making a steep turn left towards another of Australia's most scenic locations: Mungo National Park in NSW.

There's so much to see of this heritage-listed lunar landscape, from the famed Walls of China, to the Lake Mungo lunettes, to Vicar's Wells. After that, finally, we turn south, across Bass Strait, bound for the Tasmanian capital. See parks.sa.gov.au and visitmungo.com.au

12pm Marion Bay, Tas

I'm willing to acknowledge that there are plenty of people who would consider three whole hours dedicated to lunch on a day of such tight turnarounds and think: this is a complete waste. Three hours? For pure sustenance? Fair enough.

But that, however, is to ignore the splendour of a long lunch, of an experience that captures so much of what is great about Australian cuisine, Australian produce, and even Australian scenery.

Or more to the point here, Tasmanian cuisine, Tasmanian produce, and uniquely Tasmanian scenery.

For lunch I'm dining at Van Bone in Marion Bay, a 30-minute drive from Hobart airport. The passion project of chef Timothy Hardy and his partner, designer and manager Lauren Stucken, Van Bone is a stunning creation, a 20-seat restaurant with panoramic views of the rugged Tassie coast.

The menu here changes almost daily, though the constants are the wood oven and charcoal grill, and the respect for seasonal, local ingredients.

After a 14-course lunch here, I'm taking a stroll down to the Marion Bay Viewing Platform to snap a few photos before being whisked back to Hobart airport. See vanbone.com.au

4pm Scenic flight to Melbourne

Again, I have my own aircraft, so I'm not just going to blast straight up to Melbourne and miss so many beautiful sights along Tasmania's coast. This isn't quite as circuitous as the first flight, but still, l will be directing the pilot to begin by flying over Maria Island, just off the coast from Marion Bay, before continuing up to Freycinet and taking a leisurely cruise over Wineglass Bay.

After that, a quick look at Flinders Island, before heading over to Essendon Airport in Melbourne (slightly more convenient to the city, and quieter than Tullamarine). See tasmania.com

5.30 pm National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic

It's time now for a little culture, and where better to take that in than Melbourne, surely our country's capital of such pursuits? To be honest I would quite like to spend the next four hours watching a footy game at the MCG but we don't have time for such things on this itinerary – there's an entire country to cover.

Instead, I will content myself with an hour-long visit to the National Gallery of Victoria, which opens late in the evening during the warmer months for its NGV Summer Nights program.

There have been so many world-class exhibitions staged at the NGV over the past decade or so, including deep-dives into the works of Picasso, Van Gogh, Goya, the French Impressionists, and most recently Alexander McQueen (until January 29) as well as multiple exhibitions of leading Indigenous artists.

It doesn't matter what's on, really – an hour spent at the NGV is always worth it. See ngv.vic.gov.au

6.30pm Carlton, Vic

Culture, of course, comes in many forms. While I'm still digesting the visual feast of the NGV, I'm also jumping in a cab and heading over to Carlton to visit my favourite purveyor of fine wines, Gerald's Bar, for a drink and a snack.

This, to me, is the sort of venue Melbourne does best: classy and yet understated, sophisticated but friendly, and set in the suburbs, in the sort of area that doesn't feel like it's a dedicated nightlife district, but rather just a community space with multiple uses and a diverse crowd.

You never know what they'll be pouring by the glass at Gerald's – it changes every night, depending on the mood of staff and customers – but there will always be something interesting, something tasty, something local.

Paired with a snack from the bar menu, I have enough to keep me going until a late dinner rolls around. See geraldsbar.com.au

7.30pm Takeoff to Sydney, NSW

Night is falling as I make my way back to Essendon Airport and reboard the fantasy plane for an hour-long jaunt up to Sydney. No sightseeing this time, just a straight shot to Kingsford-Smith Airport, where another taxi awaits.

9pm Sydney, NSW

There's a difficult decision to make here: do you eat dinner with a perfect view of a national icon, or do you eat dinner within that national icon? In other words, do I dine at Quay, Peter Gilmore's award-winning fine-diner set on the lip of Circular Quay, with its uninterrupted vista of the Sydney Opera House?

Or, do I dine at Bennelong, yet another highly regarded eatery helmed by Gilmore, this time set within that iconic landmark?

I'm choosing the latter. There's just something so amazing, so distinctly Australian, about sitting down to dinner under the gloriously vaulted ceilings of the Sydney Opera House, with its views of Circular Quay, the Sydney CBD, and the majestic Harbour Bridge.

It helps, too, that Bennelong's menu is kept to a relatively restrained three courses – though obviously three elegant, refined courses – because after a mammoth 14-course lunch, you probably don't need the fine-dining extravaganza that is Quay.

Bennelong's wine list features plenty of carefully cellared Australian stand-outs too, so I'm in for one impressive dinner. See bennelong.com.au; quay.com.au

12am Sydney, NSW

The night isn't exactly young but there's still time for enjoyment. Next up, I'm enjoying a leisurely walk around Circular Quay and on to Maybe Sammy for a quick nightcap before they call last drinks.

Having featured at an impressive number 29 on the most recent World's 50 Best Bars list, Maybe Sammy is a clear stand-out on the Sydney nightlife scene, and the perfect place for a classy cocktail among a crowd who won't be going too crazy, despite the advanced hour.

Once the bright lights are switched on, it's time to head back to the airport for one last flight. See maybesammy.com

2am Flight to the Centre

In this fantasy we don't have to concern ourselves with such things as airport curfews.

So, it doesn't matter that at 2am I'm fastening my seatbelt as we taxi out to the runway and depart for Yulara, deep in the Red Centre.

The flight time is a little over three hours, which is just enough to grab some sleep and touch down in time for one very special event.

6am Uluru, NT

There are some truly stunning places to see the sun rise in Australia. The mainland's easternmost point, Cape Byron, is one of them. The Gold Coast hinterland is a spectacular place to take it in.

You could be atop a Tasmanian mountain, catching a wave at Bondi Beach, or even sitting on a dune at Cable Beach in Broome and it would be a great choice.

However, I just can't go past Uluru. This is probably the most movingly spiritual and visually spectacular site in all of Australia at any time of day; however, to witness it at dawn, as the sun hits the rock and it warms grey tones into that familiar deep red, to listen as the desert wakes up and to just feel the magic of this place is a sensation that can't be recreated anywhere else.

And so the final hour of my fantasy 24, doing Australia in a day, will be spent watching the sunrise at Uluru.

I plan to do it in the company of a local Anangu guide, a Traditional Owner who is able to pass on stories and context of what I see before me, what this land means to those who have inhabited it for tens of thousands of years. It's a fitting end to a perfect day in Australia. And of course, the beginning of another one. See parksaustralia.gov.au

IF I HAD 48 HOURS…

This is better. A little more wiggle-room. A little more chance to cover the entire country – although of course it's still impossible to hit every great destination. Still, adding another 24 hours to my time, beginning at 8am in Uluru, does provide an opportunity to extend this adventure across the country.

KATA TJUTA, NT

After Uluru it makes sense to continue on to Kata Tjuta nearby for another exploration, again in the company of one of the area's Traditional Owners. This is a spectacular site that would be one of Australia's most famous, if it wasn't for that giant rock close by, and an hour here to walk and look and learn would certainly be appreciated. Later, I can board my plane at Yulara and take a scenic flight north over Kings Canyon, before turning back to the south. See parksaustralia.gov.au

KANGAROO ISLAND, SA

Anyone else hungry? By the time I've done Uluru, Kata Tjuta and flown over Kings Canyon I will most definitely be peckish, and I'll be having my lunch today on beautiful Kangaroo Island. Gastronomo's "Enchanted Fig Tree" is a dining experience like no other, an alfresco restaurant set in the dappled shade of a 120-year-old fig, where guests are treated to the finest in KI drinking and dining. See gastronomodining.com.au

ADELAIDE, SA

It's just a short flight now over to Adelaide, and a quick drive into Adelaide Hills, where there will be time to visit a winery or two – maybe Shaw + Smith, and Murdoch Hill – and a gentle stroll through the gorgeous wilderness here before heading back down into Adelaide for dinner. There are so many great places to eat here, but I'm going for Parwana, an Afghan restaurant that tells such a story of migration to Australia. See southaustralia.com

MARGARET RIVER, WA

Departing Adelaide, I'm flying west to Busselton, and alighting in time to catch dawn at Bunker Bay a little further south. In real life I'm a terrible surfer, but in this fantasy I'll catch a few waves before considering somewhere for breakfast. See margaretriver.com

IF I HAD 72 HOURS…

Oh, the possibilities! An extra 24 hours on top of that 48 gives you some real room to move, and to truly visit every corner of this massive land of ours. It should come as no surprise that from Margaret River, I'm fixing my gaze every northward.

NINGALOO REEF, WA

There's little time to spend in Margs, unfortunately, because it will take almost three hours to fly up to Exmouth, and then jump straight onto a boat to head out to Ningaloo Reef. Here I'm chasing one of Australia's iconic experiences: swimming with whale sharks. Even if those magnificent creatures fail to show up, this is an amazing location, one that remains vastly underrated by many of us east-coast-dwellers. See westernaustralia.com

THE KIMBERLEY, WA

To the plane! We're off again, this time far, far north, along the baking WA coastline and into the Kimberley. Once again, I'm chasing the bucket-listers. The plane can touch down in Broome and allow me to switch to a seaplane for a scenic flight over Mitchell Falls, and then a watery landing in Talbot Bay. Here, I'm hoping to experience the famed Horizontal Falls, that rushing of a colossal tide through a narrow gap in the rock, which can be tackled in a speedboat. And there's still time to catch the seaplane back to Broome for one final flight. See westernaustralia.com

CAPE HILLSBOROUGH, QLD

We're racing the clock here, and the sun, as we fly east to Mackay, in Queensland, and leap into a car for the 45-minute drive up to Cape Hillsborough National Park. The reason for the hurry is to be here at dawn: this is another of Australia's iconic sunrise spots, where you can sit on the beach surrounded by native wildlife, including plenty of kangaroos, and watch as the sun cracks the horizon and another glorious day begins. See parks.des.qld.gov.au