Where to watch whales: Gasps of joy and amazement are the norm aboard whale-watching boats off Australia's coast. Seeing these giants of the deep up close is a thrill that's hard to put words to. But for whale-watchers, it's a sight they'll never forget. From July to November, Australia's coastline and waters are the places 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. A guide to the best places to see them right around the coast, from the shore or the water, from Western Australia to Queensland.
Story by Lee Mylne ne

Cruising to Timbuktu: There are few places in the world so evocative and alluring than the legendary African city of Timbuktu.  And cruising the Niger River, one of Africa’s great rivers, to get there is one of the world’s great adventures.  But be warned; if you like your creature comforts, glamorous black tie dinners at the captain’s table and five-star cabins, this trip is probably not for you.  If however, you want to explore a remote piece of West Africa without all the tourist bells and whistles, passing through a landscape that the 21st century (and even the 20th) seems to have passed by, there’s no better way to travel.  Story by Lee Atkinson

Australian features
International features

Australia

Cruising the Kimberley Coast: Most of the magnificent 2500 km Australian coastline between Broome and Darwin is inaccessible by road. On a cruise with Aurora Expeditions, you spend most of every day ashore, exploring and learning about some of Australia's most remote, ancient and achingly beautiful landscapes. Aboriginal painting sites, including the famed Bradshaws, towering sandstone cliffs, cascading waterfalls, secluded bays, and intriguing river systems are revealed, as a wondrous world of almost untouched wilderness unfolds. Story by Lee Mylne

Canoeing Kalbarri: It's one of Western Australia's least known natural wonders, overlooked by the thousands of tourists that refuse to detour of the North West Coastal Highway on their mad rush to get to holiday hot spots further north like Monkey Mia, Coral Bay and Ningaloo. But take the time to drive the 65 or so kilometres west to the coastal village of Kalbarri and its surrounding national park, and you'll be rewarded with some of the most stunning gorge and cliff-top scenery to be found anywhere in the state. Story by Lee Atkinson

River City: To discover why the Brisbane River is central to the city's life, get out on the water – and the best way to do that is aboard the fast, sleek and comfortable CityCats. Story by Lee Mylne

Island-hopping in the Whitsundays: There are 74 islands in the Whitsunday Passage...and even if you only see a fraction of them you won't be disappointed. Cruise between them - from the resort islands to the uninhabited National Park islands - and you'll probably find one where you'll want to stay forever.
Story by Lee Mylne

Hawkesbury Heaven: I'm dreaming of a little house on the Hawkesbury. Like Banjo Paterson, I'd like to leave the dusty, dirty city and head for a place where I could hear the “murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars…”. It's a daydream brought about by a day out with Australia 's Last Riverboat Postman. Story by Lee Mylne

Cruising in Kakadu: The dark shape in the water is indistinct at first. We are gently cruising on Yellow Water billabong, at the end of Jim Jim Creek , in Kakadu National Park . Jim Jim Creek is a tributary of the South Alligator, the largest river system in Kakadu. Yellow Water is a vast, lily-covered lake rich with birdlife and – yes – crocodiles. Story by Lee Mylne

International

Guilin: Taking a boat trip down the Li River as it meanders between towering limestone peaks is one of the world’s most beautiful river journeys, and one of China’s most popular tourist destinations.
Story by Lee Atkinson

The Mighty Yangtze: Cruising the Yangtze is not the experience I've expected. Above the controversial Three Gorges Dam, we slip past massive cities and major industries. Then there is the dam itself, where tour guides spell out exactly what we are looking at and what it all is for, and where our ship takes hours to pass through the lock system. We worry about the lack of wildlife, and if a trip by small boat down a tributary gives us a glimpse of what the Yangtze once was like, it somehow doesn't seem enough. But despite the change, glimpses of "old" China remain in temples and villages along the way.
Story by Lee Mylne tory by Lee My

Gliding through Venice: Take a gondola ride along the canals or a water taxi to the islands to discover Venice as it should be seen. In the city of no roads, the canals are the life-blood of Venice. Story by Lee Mylne

Kayaking in the Dark: My kayak bobs in the calm water in the canyon. In the dark, the rock walls on both sides of me are ablaze with pinpricks of light from hundreds of glow worms. Above, the open sky is competing for attention. We follow the Milky Way back up the river, the silence disturbed only by a flock of black swans as they move away from us. Lake McLaren, near the North Island city of Tauranga, is the only place in New Zealand where you can kayak into glow-worm caves. Story by Lee Mylne

The River Wild: I am the river, the river is me. The words of this old Maori proverb stay in my head as I meet the rapids which punctuate the Whanganui River's steady flow, coursing through farmland and wilderness.
Later, I get another take on this pristine and remote waterway - in a speeding jetboat. Story by Lee Mylne

Lake Taupo – Alive & Active: New Zealand's Lake Taupo was created 26,000 years ago by an eruption so big the haze across the sun was visible in China and Europe . Tour guides like to drop this fact into the conversation when you're gently drifting on the lake in a kayak. Then, deadpan, they deliver the punchline: it is still a live volcano and could blow at any time.
Story by Lee Mylne

The real River Kwai: A hitch-hiking pair of Buddhist monks, resplendent in their orange robes, wait patiently on the banks of Sri Lanka's fast-flowing Kelani River. As our white-water raft approaches, they flag us down and we divert to carry them to the other side. Yes, this is the isle of Serendipity, all right. The Kelani, which was the setting for the 1957 movie Bridge on the River Kwai, is now a magnet for white-water rafters and jungle-trekkers. Story by Lee Mylne