Destinations

Mighty Morton National Park, NSW

Morton NP’s entire length runs along part of NSW’s eastern highlands, starting roughly 100km south-west of Sydney and ending at its spectacular steep southern extremity, about 80km east of Canberra. It’s the fifth-largest national park in NSW. Like many others in this part of the state, it is defined by a sandstone-derived landscape of steep outcrops and nutrient-poor soil, which supports hardy eucalypt forest and shrubby, biodiverse vegetation on its plateau tops. Stretching across the winding waterways and rapid runs of the Shoalhaven River, Morton includes spectacular waterfalls, glow-worm caves at Bundanoon and orchid-laced gorges in the Ettrema Wilderness. One of its most magnificent features is the jigsaw of jagged pagodas, mountains and mesas of the Monolith Valley in the northern Budawang Range. Reader the full story in AG#135, out now.

Destinations

Land, rediscovered

Four hundred years ago a Dutch explorer made landfall on WA’s remote coastline at Dirk Hartog Island. Alongside this year’s commemorative events, a unique ecological project aims to restore the state’s biggest isle to the wilderness it was in 1616.

Destinations

Galápagos: Islands of miracles

Its mantle of fame spread by Charles Darwin and his generations of scientific followers, the Galápagos archipelago is a fascinating place to visit, with plenty that’s surprising.

Destinations

GALLERY: Discover Dirk Hartog Island

On 25 October 1616, Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog landed on a long, narrow island off the Gascoyne coast in Shark Bay. To mark the 400th anniversary of the first Dutch contact with Western Australia, an ecological project aims to restore the island to the wilderness it was in 1616. Enjoy these stunning pics of WA’s biggest isle and read more in the latest issue of Australian Geographic (AG#134).