My top 5 wild places to visit in Australia

The top 5 wildest places in Australia. 

Hi Guys, my name is Benji Brundin and like many of you I have been suffering through Melbourne’s lockdowns this year, just waiting to get back out into the wild places and thinking of all the places I am yet to visit in this epic land of ours. 

In many ways, I am so grateful for the life I was able to live before we were all locked away into our houses. You see, in 2019 I set a world record crossing all of the Australian deserts, and the year before that I travelled the whole country in a quest to touch the compass points on my motorbike. And so, with international travel looking like its off the cards for 2021, and caravan sales through the roof, 2021 is looking to be a bumper year for travel across our own country. So, I thought I would write my top 5 list of what I believe to be the wildest places to visit in our country. And maybe if you’re planning your own trip next year, you can tick a few off yourself. 

5. The Fitzgerald River National Park.

Located on the southern coastline of Western Australia, The FRNP was a stunning surprise I did not expect to encounter. Approximately halfway between Albany and Esperance that whole stretch of coast is incredibly untamed and rugged. Incredible isolated beaches can be found along this stretch of coast. I was lucky enough to stumble across by complete accident a section of huge granite cliffs and thundering surf. At the base of these cliffs was a small pristine white sandy beach with the mouth of a river tucked away toward the rear. Schools of fish swam lazily passed, unfazed by the human presence.  It was a shipwrecked sailors paradise. 

I spent the better part of the day at this secret beach and ran up and down it butt naked like a child. I did not see another car. 

To get the most out of this park, you will need a 4x4. And take your time, I only got to scratch the surface of what this park has to offer. 

4. The Simpson Desert.

The Simpson desert is located deep in the heart of the vast interior. Just getting here is an adventure in itself. Due to the prevailing winds that blow west to east, it is recommended to cross in the same direction as the dunes are easier to climb from the west, and have a softer, steeper descent on the lee side. 

I spent 3 days crossing this incredible desert on my motorbike; the largest parallel sand dune desert in the world and was constantly awe struck as I climbed to the top and looked out across the endless dunes rippling across the land as far as the eye could see. The sand dunes were just relentless, constantly rising up at me like giant set of rolling ocean swell. 

By the end of each day, I was simply exhausted.

At night I made camp on the clay pans between the dunes. I could hear families of dingoes howling to one another, and the sunset from the top of Big Red was simply stunning. 

This really is an adventurer’s playground, and I would recommend travelling across in 4x4 convoy. 

Make sure you take at least 6 litres of water per person, per day and be sure to stop into Dalhousie springs and soak in the thermal hot springs, you won’t be disappointed. 

3. Fraser Island. 

Located on the eastern point of Australia, Fraser Island took me by surprise. At the time I decided to explore the island, it was almost as an afterthought and I just assumed it was going to be an overcrowded tourist attraction. 

How wrong I was. 

Fraser Island is a natural anomaly. It is the largest sand island in the world, made by the tides from the south washing the sand up on the currents. It stretched north to south with an incredible 75mile beach running almost its entire length on the eastern shores.  It is home to over 74 different species of reptiles, 350 different species of birds and over 50 species of mammals.  One in particular are dingoes. On Fraser Island there are hundreds of dingoes. 

Its vegetation consists of dense tropical jungles, sand dunes and tropical forests. It is the only place in the world where tall rain forests grow in sand. It also has over 100 freshwater lakes and creeks on it. The aboriginal name for the island is K’gari which translates as Paradise they got it right, it is incredibly stunning. 

Make sure you plan to spend at least a few days exploring the island. Be sure to check the tides before you start your trip up the famous 75-mile beach. At low tide its hard packed and a joy to drive on, but as the tides turn, the sand can turn to soup and will easily swallow your 4x4 like quicksand. There are a few different options for resort style accommodation, but if you want to get a little further away from the tourist hoards, head to the northern most point of the island and check out the lighthouse there, some of the inland sand tracks are by far some of the deepest in Australia so a well-equipped 4x4 or motorbike is a must have to get up there. 

2. Cape York Peninsula.

Cape York is still regarded as one of the last great odysseys in Australia. The bush is wild, the rivers deep and full of crocodiles. 

Cairns is the perfect place to launch an expedition to the tip. But to get there you will need to traverse the steep, thick jungle vegetation of the Great Dividing Range, and then close to 1000km of some of the most remote parts of the country. 

It is certainly achievable, and the Peninsula Development Road is becoming more and more accessible each year with long stretches becoming black top. But the hard core adventurers just won’t be able to resist the challenge of the Old Telegraph Track, lines of broke down 4x4s at the beginning of this 100km stretch should be warning enough, but if your well-equipped and feeling confident, then you just have to give this wild unmaintained section of bush a go. I can remember spending 6 days riding my bike up from Cairns until I finally got up to the tip itself. I remember sitting by the little sign. I watched the currents of the Torres Straight roar past, taking turtles and seaweed with it. The walk up to the tip itself takes you up and over a rocky peninsula. From the top you can see out over the islands that pepper the ocean all the way to Papua New Guinea. The palm trees and tropical jungles stop abruptly at the edge of pristine white sandy beaches; Beaches and jungle teaming with wildlife, snakes, crocodiles and wild pigs to name a few. Isolated and untouched. It’s a wild, beautiful savage place.  

It still is one of the last true odysseys left in the world, get in quick before this frontier is opened to every bus and tour group under the sun. 

1.Kakadu. 

And my number 1 wildest place in all of Australia comes in miles ahead of the rest, non-negotiable undisputed champion of Australia’s wild just has to be Kakadu. 

Kakadu is the largest national park in Australia. It’s located about 200 kilometres from Darwin and stretches almost 200 kilometres north to south and over 100 kilometres east to west. It covers an area of over 20,000 square kilometres. Shaped like a giant playing card, it has a huge escarpment wall that stretches from the Katherine Gorge in the south all the way up into Arnhem Land in the north. This wall is a sheer vertical cliff, stretching over 200 metres high in some areas. Most of Kakadu was under a shallow sea nearly 150 million years ago, with the escarpment wall adopting the role of giant immovable sea cliffs.

Up on the escarpment wall, more commonly known as the Stone Country, the land is harsh and dry. Huge crevasses open up under foot as the water of a million years of flood and rain has washed away much of the topsoil, leaving the stony plateau barren and dry. Creeks have cut huge gorges in the soft stone, leaving pockets of dense monsoonal rainforest, protected, by the shadow of the wall, from the harsh tropical sun. Dozens of waterfalls cascade off this wall into the rivers and creeks below. Some run dry in the hotter months, while in the peak of the wet season, they can produce their own cloud systems high above.

Kakadu is also the only national park in Australia that is home to an entire river system. The South Alligator runs from its source in the Stone Country to the coast in the north. It is one of the most densely populated rivers in the world – with big estuarine crocodiles.

Below the escarpment wall stretch the endless floodplains, as far as the eye can see. These flood plains cover almost 70% of the entire park. In the wet season, most of Kakadu is under water as the monsoonal rain floods over the escarpment wall like the raging torrent of a burst river dam.

Here is another fun fact: the whole world’s water quality is measured by the Stone Country. Up on the plateau there is no human impact – no farming, mining or agriculture to pollute the quality of the water for thousands of kilometres – so the water here is used as the benchmark to test all freshwater river systems around the world.

Kakadu is also home to the oldest practising culture in the world. You can walk through the Stone Country and along the escarpment wall and find rock art everywhere. Rock art depicting thylacines (Tasmanian tigers) has been dated at up to 65,000 years old. There are over 280 bird species alone in the park, many of which migrate there to breed during the dry season, and over 70 species of mammals and 117 species of reptiles, including fresh water and saltwater crocodiles. Buffalo, pigs and horses run wild in the park; it isn’t uncommon to see them walking along the highway.

Kakadu is a World Heritage listed site for both cultural and natural universal values; only four other sites hold both titles in Australia. It is rich with history, culture and wildlife. It is rugged and isolated – literally cut off from the rest of the world. It is the wildest place in all of Australia.

I was lucky enough to spend the better part of the dry season here so got to explore the park intimately on the back of my trusty motorbike. If you can only spare a few days here, make sure you get out to Ubirr to check out the sunset, and be sure to stay well away from the water’s edge of any billabongs and rivers you come across, their inhabitants aren’t friendly. If you have time, then one thing I will say is a must do is climb the escarpment wall at the base of Jim Jim Falls and hike across the stone country to the top of the falls. The view from the top is absolutely priceless!

So, there you have it; my top 5.  Just writing the article has got my pulse racing as I reminisce about the wild adventures of days gone by. I hope it has got you excited about your own adventures into 2021. If you’re on the fence, I hope this article somehow inspires you to take the plunge. We only get one shot at this life so make it count. Life is a daring adventure after all so get up and go for it!

If this article has got you excited and planning your next adventure, then please, check out my website daring2venture.com.au and some of the other places I have ticked off; Esperance, The Kimberley, The Canning Stock Route. I talk about these and many other places in my self published book Hunting Fear. Have a look, and if you enjoy a tale of wild adventure, then perhaps this book could be the perfect companion for your next road trip. Safe travels everyone 

The rugged cliffs of the Fitzgerald River National Park.

Sunset in The Simpson Desert.

The coastline of Fraser Island.

The top of Australia; Cape York. 

The top of Kakadu; Taken from the top of Jim Jim Falls.