If you’re the kind of traveller who likes to get off the beaten track a little bit and have some unique experiences on the road, then this list is for you!
If you’re the kind of traveller who likes to get off the beaten track a little bit and have some unique experiences on the road, then this list is for you. While a Sydney Harbour cruise is a must-have experience in Sydney, and diving the Great Barrier Reef is an amazing opportunity, Australia also offers some more eccentric tourist attractions that appeal to those of us with a slightly quirky taste in fun. We’ve put together a guide to a few alternative tourist attractions that won’t fail to impress!
Cane Toad World
If you’ve been to the Northern part of Australia, you’ll no doubt have encountered the slimy little creature that wreaks a lot of devastation: the cane toad. The most hated animal in Australia because of the damage it does to native wildlife, the cane toad is not often given a lot of publicity—unless it’s about how best to kill them!
One place in a small town called Gordonvale outside of Cairns has dedicated itself to giving this much-loathed amphibian a bit of airtime, in the appropriately named ‘Cane Toad World’. Here you can view a mural of the history of can toads in Australia, let the kids play in the playground featuring cane toad slippery slides and brush up on your biological knowledge with a lesson on the evolution of the species in Australia. Once you’re done, you can head back to Cairns and experience a real live cane-toad race at the pub!
Cockroach Racing
That’s right, you heard us—cockroach racing. Most people wouldn’t want to be within miles of these creepy little critters, but one Brisbane pub invites them in with open arms on Australia Day (January 26th) so that they can be raced against one another and bet on! The Story Bridge Hotel in Brisbane is a hub of activity all year around, but one Australia day it takes on a particularly odd vibe as the eyes of everyone in the room are focused on erratically moving insects. Definitely an experience worth having!
Wycliffe Well Holiday Park
If you’re the kind of person who thinks the X-Files are a thinly-veiled documentary of real life and believe every UFO story you read about online, then Wycliffe Well is the perfect place for you to get your alien fix. Known as the UFO capital of Australia, this bizarre holiday park is built on the site of several UFO sightings. Throughout history, there are many documented cases of people seeing UFOs flying over the area that Wycliffe Well Holiday Park now calls home, and they have certainly jumped on the bandwagon, with newspaper clippings, little alien statues and merchandise for sale. To meet some very interesting people and perhaps have a brush with another world, head for this Northern Territory gem. The truth is out there….
A visit to Australia wouldn’t be complete without a few beaches, kangaroos and of course a Sydney Harbour adventure, but for those who like their international travel to be served…well, a little bit rare…then these kind of quirky Australian experiences are for you. Get your Cane-Toad enthusiasm brewing, your cockroach-racing skills up to standard and your ‘take me to your leader’ tee shirt packed. All you need is travel insurance and a ticket and you’re on your way to the holiday of a lifetime!