The beer-drinking pigs of The Pub in the Paddock - currently a pair called Pinky and Priscilla - have long been famed in Tasmania's Pyengana Valley. But there's much more to this green and fertile region, including a boutique cheese-maker, the cascading St Columba Falls and some great yarns around the bar.

If the thought of pedalling about 150km over a few days is daunting, take heart...at your own pace, it's lots of fun,and mostly flat terrain. New Zealand's Central Otago Rail Trail takes you through some of the loveliest parts of the South Island, with stops for pub lunches, good coffee...and a comfortable bed at night. Do it all, or just a day's ride.

This classic touring drive starts on the mid-north NSW coast at Coffs Harbour and coils its way up through the rainforest and the New England Tablelands to finish in Armidale.  Highlights include Bellingen with its strip of cafes and galleries, mountain-top Dorrigo, high plateau gorge country and plenty of waterfalls. 

Although you can drive between Tasmania’s two main cities, Launceston and Hobart, in just a couple of hours, to do so would be to miss out on some of the island's most dramatic scenery and best food and wine.  Meander instead across the north-east corner of the state before heading south along the dramatic east coast.

Winding its way up the Great Dividing Range from Illuka near Grafton on the NSW north coast to Glen Innes, this must-do drive passes through three World Heritage-listed national parks. Get back to nature and step out on a full-day hikes that take you deep into the heart of the Gondwana rainforests.

You see some strange things beside the road in country Australia, but Western Australia’s Tin Horse Highway is about as weird, wacky and wonderful as it gets.  Here, on a 20km stretch of road near the tiny southern wheatfields town of Kulin, the local farmers have spent the past 15 years trying to outdo each other by decorating the roadside with tin horses. At last count, there were more than 50, each bigger, better and more outlandish than the last.

Paris may be a city for walking, but the rest of France is a country made for driving – either fast A-to-B trips along smooth multi-laned motorways that take you from one end of the country to the other in a few hours, or slow meandering forays along twisting country roads dawdling from one delightful medieval village to another.

You don’t have to be rich to enjoy the best of Vienna. Here’s 10 great ways to get the best out of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities for free or next to nothing with tips on the best ways to enjoy free music, free art and cheap-as-chips tours, as well as plenty of Viennese indulgences that won't break the bank.

600,000 people, 9402 streets, 158 mosques, 44 bakeries and more carpet showrooms, slipper souks and magic lantern shops than you could care to count. The World-Heritage-listed medina in Fez is the largest in the world, but there’s more to Morocco’s most ancient imperial city than souks and shopping.  Here’s our top 10 things to see and do in Fez.

The whales are coming! From July to November, Australia's coastline and waters will be the place to see the annual migration of Humpback whales as they head north from Antarctica to their warm breeding grounds and then return with their calves. Our guide outlines the best places to see them from right around the coast, from Western Australia to Queensland.

Are you convinced that there was a mix up at the hospital when you were born and that you really belong on a grand country estate rather than in an inner-city apartment? Here are 10 magnificent Australian mansions where you can book in and pretend like you own the place – at least for a night or two.

India is one of the most colourful countries on earth. And nowhere more so than Rajasthan, the land of palaces and forts, maharajahs and temples, mustachios, towering turbans, painted elephants and architectural masterpieces. It's home to some of the country’s most magnificent monuments, not the least being the Taj Mahal. 

Australia's first saint, Mary MacKillop, may have put Penola - the town where she established her life's work - on the map, but there's much more to this lovely part of South Australia. From the fascinating Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre, take a walk down Petticoat Lane, still lined with heritage cottages, and stay overnight in the elegant old hotel once owned by Mary's uncle and where she stayed. Get out of town too - drive through the vineyards of Coonawarra to discover the wonderful World Heritage-listed Narracorte Caves and the boardwalks of Bool Lagoon.

Espiritu Santo is Vanuatu’s largest island. It’s a laid back, back-to-basics type of place, with no high rise, no nightclubs and hardly any bars or restaurants. But it does have bath warm water, coral reefs, white sand beaches and some of the world's best diving on the wreck of the SS President Coolidge.

For most people who holiday in Bali, Denpasar is little more than the name of the airport into which they fly before heading off to their hotel in Kuta or Seminyak, hillside bungalow in Ubud, pool villa in Jimbaran or beachfront resort with kids club in Nusa Dua. If you want to get a sense of the real workaday modern Bali, head to the capital Denpasar. The city is well worth a look, and despite its (deserved) reputation as a sprawling, traffic-choked metropolis you can see the best of the sights on an easy one-day walking tour.

Australia’s outback is a place of endless surprises. The bush stories and legends fail to prepare most people for its stark beauty.  Just as the tales of starving pioneers and dying explorers mean many are surprised at just how lush it can be. Pack your bags and load up the 4WD, it’s time to hit the red dust highway on one of these top 10 outback road trips.

Getting away from the crowds in Phuket can be a challenge. But if you’re prepared to get wet, and aren’t afraid to squeeze yourself through tiny cracks in rock walls, the hidden hongs of Phang Nga Bay conceal vast roofless caverns full of hanging gardens of ferns and vines and orchids, where monkeys roam the treetops and waterbirds fish amongst the roots of the mangroves that cling to the edges of the lagoon and cicadas sing. The only way to get there is by kayak or sea canoe which means you’ll leave most of the tourists cruising the bay in long-tail boats far behind.

As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu was re-discovered by modern explorers 100 years ago. This ancient world has fascinated travellers ever since, and in July the people of Peru - and an expected influx of visitors - will celebrate that discovery. Whether you travel to Machu Picchu by road, discover it at the end of a trek, or get there aboard a train, this amazing place will stay in your memory forever.

No visit to the Northern Territory's Top End would be complete without a beer at an outback pub and dropping a line in the water in hope of catching a big barramundi. Drive, take a boat, or a heli tour from Darwin in search of some of the hidden gems.

Discover one of Melbourne's hidden secrets, only accessible during summer. Take a $2 punt ride across the Yarra to Herring Island, a bush land retreat where you can follow the tracks through an informal sculpture park and browse in the small art gallery.

No visit to Shanghai is complete without a stroll down The Bund with its dishy art deco heritage or a cruise down to the Huangpu River. From the new world order of Pudong and the maze of tiny back alleys in between, we’ve got everything covered in this Top 10 things to see and do in China’s most exciting city.