20 Best Sights in The Outback, Australia

Focusing on the desert, which makes up 70% of the Australian landmass, this 128-acre site contains a range of plants and animal species in several Australian ecosystems—including a large nocturnal-animal house. You can also do a tour at night, when animals such as bilbies and echidnas are most active. At daily presentations, Indigenous guides discuss the different plants and animals that have helped people traditionally survive and thrive in such an arid desert environment. Don't miss the twice-daily birds of prey presentation at 10:30 am and 3 pm. Allow about four hours to explore the park, which is located about 7 km (4 miles) west of downtown Alice Springs.

The most distinctive building in this complex is the Museum of Central Australia (A$8 entry), which charts the evolution of the land and its inhabitants—human and animal—around Central Australia. Exhibits include a skeleton of the 10½-foot-tall Dromornis stirtoni, the largest bird to walk on earth, which was found northeast of Alice Springs. Also in the precinct are the Aviation Museum (free), Central Craft (free, prices for workshops vary), and Araluen Arts Centre, which is home to art galleries showcasing the contemporary Aboriginal art movement and the works of watercolorist Albert Namatjira, known for his depictions of the Central Australian landscape. The precinct is located 2½ km (1½ miles) southwest of town, and is on most tourist bus itineraries. The on-site theater has regular screenings and events.

This 700,000-acre property features some of the most ruggedly beautiful country in the Kimberley. El Questro has a full complement of recreational activities like fishing, swimming, horseback riding, and helicopter rides, and offers individually tailored walking and four-wheel-drive tours. Four independent accommodation facilities are on-site, each different in style and budget: the luxury Homestead (from A$3,285 per night with a two-night minimum-stay requirement and a policy that guests must be ages 16 and up); the safari-style tented cabins at Emma Gorge Resort (from A$350); air-conditioned Riverside Bungalows (from A$175); and Riverside Campgrounds (from A$30 per person per night) at El Questro Station. Each has a restaurant, and rates at the Homestead include drinks and food, laundry, and activities. Alternatively, you can choose to take a full-day tour of El Questro with included trips to Emma Gorge, Zebedee Springs, lunch at The Station, a Chamberlain River Cruise, and round-trip transport from Kununurra (A$268). Not renting a four-wheel-drive vehicle? Take a shuttle from Kununurra starting at A$110 each way to Emma Gorge Resort, A$135 each way to El Questro Station, and A$140 each way to El Questro Homestead.

The Kangaroo Sanctuary, which was made famous in the BBC documentary series Kangaroo Dundee, is the passion project of Chris “Brolga” Barns, whose life’s mission is to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned kangaroos and educate people about how they can easily do the same. All you need to do is pay attention while you’re driving, and if you spot a deceased kangaroo on the side of the road, check to see if there’s still a living joey in its pouch, since they’ll often survive the impact of a vehicle and can live for up to four more days after it. You can visit on a prebooked sunset tour, just as the 'roos are waking from their day sleep, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, where you will get the chance to take turns holding and feeding baby kangaroos. The price includes a bus transfer to the property, no self-drive is permitted.

Opened in 1916, Sun Pictures is the world's oldest operating outdoor movie theater. Here, silent movies—accompanied by a pianist—were once shown to the public, while these days current releases are presented in the very pleasant outdoors. Drop in and have a look during the day for free or stick around for a charming movie-viewing experience that hearkens back to another era.

Thorny devils, frill-neck lizards, some of the world's deadliest snakes, and "Terry" the saltwater crocodile inhabit this park in the heart of town, opposite the Royal Flying Doctor Service. From May to August, viewing is best from 11 to 3, when reptiles are most active. There's also a gecko cave and free talks conducted daily at 11, 1, and 3:30, during which you can handle small critters and pick up pythons.

What do children who live hundreds of miles from the nearest school do for education? Find out at this informative visitor center, which harbors a working school within its walls. Discover how distance education has been delivered to the country's most remote parts since 1951; from pedal-operated radio systems to interactive online classes, it's come a long way. During your visit you may have the opportunity to watch a live lesson being taught in one of the broadcasting studios; outside school hours, you can see a recorded lesson.

Open Monday through Saturday, Broome Camel Safaris offers 60-minute morning rides (A$50), or one-hour sunset rides (A$70). As a special treat, ladies on tour receive a complimentary pair of freshwater pearl sterling-silver earrings by Dahlia Designs, a local jewelry company.

This research facility has an excellent air-conditioned crocodile museum and education center. There are more than 1,200 crocodiles here, from babies to giants up to 16 feet long. The saurian section of the zoo includes the croc-infested Bellairs Lagoon and pens for breeding and raising. The park also has enclosures with lions, American alligators, cassowaries, primates, turtles, emus, dingos, capybaras, and wombats, among other animals. Crocodylus Park has daily feedings, plus a Jumping Crocodile Boat Cruise that gets you a little closer to these magnificent creatures.

Right in the heart of Darwin City, this is the place to go swimming with saltwater crocodiles and live to tell the tale. The big crocs are fed daily at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 4:30 pm, and you can pay extra for the Cage of Death, a not-for-the-faint-of-heart experience where visitors are lowered into croc-infested pools in a clear perspex container. Bring your swimsuit along and take a photo of you swimming alongside these impressive creatures (again, you're in a completely separate pool). Feedings and presentations happen at different times throughout the day in the four main sections—fish, big crocs, turtles, and nocturnal reptiles—during which you can take your turn feeding young crocs and holding a variety of reptiles.

Due to its isolation and sparse population, the Northern Territory played an important role in the expansion of aviation in Australia, and the Darwin Aviation museum traces the history of flight Down Under. Planes on display include a Japanese Zero shot down on the first day of bombing raids in 1942, a massive B-52 bomber, Mirage, F-111, and a RAN Wessex Helicopter that was involved in the cleanup of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. The most recent aircraft added to the collection is a RAAF F/A-18 classic hornet fighter jet. There’s an exhibition on The Great Air Race from London to Darwin in 1919, as well as one on female aviators.

The best views of Darwin Harbour are from Stokes Hill Wharf, a working pier that receives cargo ships, trawlers, defense vessels, and, occasionally, huge cruise liners. It's also a favorite spot for Darwinites to fish, and when the mackerel are running, you can join scores of locals over a few beers. The cluster of cafés becomes crowded on weekends and when cruise ships arrive. On the city side, in the Waterfront Precinct, is the Wave Lagoon (entry is A$9) and a free, stinger-free (safe from jellyfish) swimming lagoon. Both are popular on hot days. The Waterfront is also home to some of the city's best restaurants and cafés, and is where free festivals and movie nights are held during the dry season.

World War II came to Australia when 188 Japanese planes bombed Darwin on February 19, 1942, killing 235 people and injuring an additional 400. This high-tech, newer section of the museum at East Point—opened in 2012 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the attack—tells the story of the people who were there that day, the events that led up to and followed it, and Darwin's role in the war. The Defence of Darwin Experience is the highlight—when you hear the air raid siren, head to the back of the museum and enter the theater to view an intense, multisensory telling of what happened that day, complete with loud explosive sounds, strobe lights, and flash effects. It's part of the Darwin Military Museum, which has lots of guns and other military equipment on display, as well as some original buildings that were there during World War II.

First planted in 1886 and largely destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, the 103-acre site today displays rain forest, mangroves, and open woodland environments. There are more than 450 species of palms growing in the gardens. A popular walk takes visitors on a self-guided tour of plants that Aboriginal people have used for medicinal purposes for centuries. The Children's Evolutionary Playground traces the changes in plant groups through time, while the plant display house has tropical ferns, orchids, and other exotic plants to check out. Head to Eva's, a lovely café nestled in a Heritage-listed church within the gardens—it's open from 8 am to 3 pm for breakfast and lunch, and offers a variety of tasty baked goods, coffee, and tea in case you need a break.

Entering through the jaws of a giant crocodile, this huge wildlife park founded by the legendary Australian documentary filmmaker opens up each day from 2 pm to 5 pm to reveal the Kimberley's native species in a variety of habitats. You'll get to see dingoes, cassowaries, a litany of bird species, American alligators, and, of course, hundreds of saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. Don't miss the famous croc feeding tour at 3 pm daily, a one-hour guided walk through the vast property where you get to watch the guide feed salties, freshies, and American alligators, and meet several problem crocs who were brought to the park after wreaking havoc in some of the surrounding estuaries.

Morning, presunset, and sunset rides are available every day on Cable Beach north of the rocks. The morning ride lasts for 40 minutes and costs A$50; the presunset ride runs for 30 minutes and costs A$40; the sunset ride takes an hour and costs A$80.

This much-visited tourist attraction in Alice Springs has a theater, interactive displays, and a full-scale replica of the fuselage of the service's current Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. The site has long been the radio base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which directs doctors (using aircraft) on their house calls to remote settlements and homes hundreds of miles apart, making it a vital part of Outback life. The center features historical displays, a holographic audiovisual show portraying RFDS founder Reverend John Flynn, tours that run every half hour throughout the year, and a lovely café at the back.

With 1,544 acres of natural bushland, this impressive park is dedicated to the Northern Territory's native fauna and flora. In addition to saltwater crocodiles, emus, olive pythons, and blue-winged kookaburras, among other animals, the park also has an underwater viewing area for observing freshwater fish and a nocturnal house kept dark for late-night creatures. The treetop-level walkway through the huge aviary allows you to watch native birds from the swamps and forests at close range. Daily events include feedings, guided walks, and a birds of prey display: see the website for daily schedules. There's also a free shuttle train to help you get around.

This fascinating museum, which is housed in the Old Alice Springs Gaol, tells the stories of the brave, strong women of the Red Centre, with exhibits showing the important role women played during WWII, and how women of all races helped shape Australian politics, education, medicine, aviation, sports, and pretty much every aspect of today’s society. You’ll also be able to tour the old jail, which began as a prison for both sexes but became an all-male prison in the 1980s, and hear the stories of its former inhabitants through an interactive audio display.

You can hand-feed hundreds of fish at this beach on the north-western end of the Esplanade. At high tide people wade into the water with buckets of bread to feed the schools of batfish, bream, catfish, milkfish, and mullet that come inshore in a feeding frenzy.