📍17 Epic Ideas For What To Do For Australia Day For Outdoor Adventure Types. (2025.)

LOOKING FOR THE BEST THINGS TO DO ON AUSTRALIA DAY?
There’s no better way to celebrate all the things that make Australia one of the best countries in the world to live and visit than spending its most famous national day exploring its incredible destinations and attractions, reconnecting with its multi-cultural identity and lapping up its renowned laid-back lifestyle.
And there are so many ways to go about it. Whether gathering with friends and family or setting off on a solo adventure, it provides the perfect opportunity to appreciate all the things that make the Land Down Under such a unique and enviable nation. From exploring new landscapes to engaging in thrilling outdoor activities and experiences to the classic BBQ and relaxation by the beach, lake or river, there’s no shortage of ways to make the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet Of Australia extraordinary.
But if you’ve found yourself stuck and are looking for the best things to do on Australia Day, you’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re a nature lover or city slicker looking for new terrain to uncover, someone who prefers lapping up the atmosphere in the cities, escaping the crowds and going remote or an adrenaline junkie thrill-seeking their next adrenaline rush, here are some incredible ideas that showcase the diversity and spirit of this beautiful country, along with some suggestions of destinations and attractions or popular places and some of my favourite lesser known ones, so dive in!
👉 My top picks for what to do on Australia Day:
- Immerse Yourself In The Underworld Of Caves & Caverns.
- Sandboarding Down Towering Coastal Dunes.
- Take To The Skies With A Scenic Or Aerobatic Flight.
Planning Your Trip? Use My Favourite Resources!
Tours/Experiences: I recommend Viator.
Accommodation: I recommend Booking.com.
Flights: I recommend Aviasales.
Car Rental: I recommend economybookings.
Outdoor & Adventure.
1. Head Out Into The Country For A Scenic Drive.
There’s something so quintessentially Australian about spending the national holiday hitting the road and enjoying a scenic drive in the countryside. It’s the perfect way to escape the crowds and appreciate its breathtaking and unique terrain in your own little travelling box of zen.
Plus, it’s a fantastic opportunity to time with family and friends of all ages and abilities and even more so if you didn’t have the time to plan something else as it’s one of those things that you can decide where to go until the very last second before departure, and stopping wherever you please along the way.
Some of my favourite routes I’ve travelled are Queensland’s Falls Drive through the Scenic Rim and Main Range National Park, all the main roads through Kosciuszko National Park and Waterfall Way, both in NSW and Boboyan Road through the middle of the ACT.
Or you could just go where the road takes you for a more spontaneous trip. And to make things interesting, make a game out of it by letting the passengers decide the next direction you head in. And if it’s not unanimous, they have to dual it out in a game of Paper, Scissors, Rock, and go whichever direction the winner wants.
2. Burn Calories Walking Unconquered Hiking Trails.
Australia is home to some gorgeous terrain, so if you’re physically inclined to break a sweat and immerse yourself in nature, there is a plethora of fantastic trails to undertake, making Australia Day the perfect time to conquer one you haven’t completed before.
Climbing Mount Kosciuszko, the continent’s highest mountain is a phenomenal 18km return full-day hike rewarding summiters with magnificent panoramic views of the country’s alpine rooftop, making it the perfect outdoor adventure to celebrate the national holiday. (Although, in January, there is unlikely any snow.)
However, a trail like that is likely to be busy on a national holiday, so if you prefer something quieter, there’s no shortage of excellent under-the-radar walking trails too, such as the 2.5km Booromba Rocks trail in the ACT’s Namagdi National Park and the 14km Warrie Circuit in Springbrook National Park.
3. Rock Climb Up Sheer Cliff Faces.
For thrill-seekers, rock climbing is the perfect way to turn your Australia Day into an adrenaline-filled adventure. With sheer cliff faces, rugged gorges, and stunning rock formations scattered across the country, there’s no shortage of places to test your limits and vertical ascension prowess.
The famous Blue Mountains, west of Sydney in New South Wales offers epic climbing opportunities with magnificent escarpment views while Queensland’s gorgeous Glass House Mountains have breathtaking terrain suitable for both beginner and seasoned climbers. If that’s too far out of the way, the Kangaroo Point Cliffs in Brisbane provides the unique experience of scaling up sheer cliffs with a spectacular backdrop of skyscrapers and a meandering river. And if you prefer coastal scenery, Australia’s got that in the bag too with the seaside cliffs of Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park a magnificent place to go for that.
4. Immerse Yourself In The Underworld Of Caves & Caverns.
The problem with Australia Day is that it’s in the middle of summer, and for a country infamous for its searing hot temperatures, being outside during this season isn’t always the most inviting. Sure, you can stay inside your home or somewhere with air-conditioning. Or you could head underground and explore nature’s subterranean world where the temperature always maintains a much more pleasant climate.
And there are some fantastic ones to explore. From the Capricorn Caves near Rockhampton in Queensland and Western Australia’s Margaret River Caves to NSW’s Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains and the Yarrangobilly Caves in Kosciuszko National Park, where I discovered a dragon/demon mouth, exploring the magnificent formations that exist right under our feet is a fascinating way to appreciate the country’s incredible geological processes on a day celebrating all the things that make it great from a new perspective while escaping the searing summer heat.
5. Go Wild Swimming In A Natural Waterhole.
Of course, if you don’t mind getting wet, there’s no activity more classically Australian than finding a waterhole and swimming in one of nature’s scenic basins to cool off and make the most of those days that feel hotter than hell.
And this country has some spectacular ones. Fern Pool in Karijini National Park and Bell Gorge in the Kimberleys are two gorgeous places you can swim in Western Australia, while some phenomenal places I’ve swum at include Rainbow Beach’s Seary’s Creek, Maryborough’s Wangi Waterholes and Mt Tamborine’s Cedar Creek Falls in Queensland and Tosha Falls near Byron Bay and the Thermal Pool at the Yarrangobilly Caves in NSW and Florence and Wangi Falls in the Northern Territory’s Litchfield National Park.
6. Sip Cokes On A Pool Floaty Lakeside.
Lakes are also an excellent place to spend Australia Day swimming if the activity is permitted. And if it is, it also provides the perfect opportunity to blow up a pool floaty (the more ridiculously shaped the better and spend the afternoon floating on the surfaces with your sunglasses on sipping ice-cold Cokes as the clouds drift by.
Places like Lake Eildon in Victoria, Talbingo Dam in NSW’s Kosciuszko National Park and Lake Awoonga near Gladstone in Queensland not only allow you to have a frolic in the water but they are accompanied with breathtaking scenery, making chilling out like this even more spectacular and inviting!
7. Spend A Few Hours Doing A Relaxing Paddle.
As great as national and public holidays are, the one thing that sucks about them (and school holidays too) is places are way busier than they normally are, making them less inviting for people who prefer being in the presence of fewer people.
And that’s what makes paddling the perfect way to enjoy the great outdoors this Australia Day. You can canoe, kayak or stand-up paddleboard out onto lakes, rivers, or the ocean, finding your own little slice of paradise and quietly celebrating what it means to be Australian while appreciating the landscape from a quiet place on the water.
It’s certainly one of the most serene ways to spend the day. And with gorgeous places like the glassy Noosa Everglades, the escarpment-bordering Cania Dam, the illustrious Sydney Harbour & the cave-and-cliff dotted Clyde River, you’re absolutely spoilt for choice.
8. Skip Across The Water On A Jetski, Waterski or Wakeboard.
For an adrenaline-packed Australia Day, there’s no better way to earmark the occasion than by utilizing the water for some high-speed fun. Plenty of rivers and lakes permit jet skiers or boaties pulling along water skiers or wakeboarders to tear around the terrain such as at Lake Jindabyne or Lake Borumba if you have your own watercraft.
But if you don’t, there are always places where you can rent one and carve up the water on a guided safari tour, such as on the Gold Coast or Brisbane, which can take you on an exhilarating adventure to places like South Stradbroke Island and Moreton Bay! Or even go jetboating which is wildly fun and always one of my favourite activities that has a similar vibe, but you don’t have to drive.
9. Go Swimming, Surfing or Boogieboarding At The Beach.
Is there anything more quintessentially Australian than a day at the beach? It’s one of the country’s most defining natural features. And with over a whopping 10,000 gorgeous beaches occupying nearly 50% of its 25,670km coastline, it’s not hard to see why they’ve become such a mecca for locals and tourists alike, especially when those sunny summer days and hot heatwaves roll around.
And there’s no better time to visit one of these beautiful places than on its national holiday. However, because they are so iconic and synonymous with the Land Down Under, popular places like Bondi Beach in Sydney and the entire Gold Coast are even more extraordinarily busy on a day like this, especially when January is almost always swimming, surfing and boogie boarding weather.
It’s awesome if you enjoy soaking up the fun atmosphere of thousands of beachgoers revelling in our enviable beach scene. But if it’s not, you’re in luck, because the country has literally thousands of other beaches to enjoy. From hotspot destinations such as Noosa on the Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay in the Northern Rivers to small seaside towns such as Evans Head in the Richmond Valley and Bargara near Bundaberg, there’s a beautiful beach for everyone.
Note: Frolicking around in the ocean and boogie boarding is best done between the Red and Yellow Flags, where lifeguards select the safest spot and patrol the area with eagle eyes.
10. Go For A Long Stroll Along Secluded Sands.
Or if you prefer walking along the foreshore, rather than splashing around in the water, (or maybe even a bit of both), there’s no shortage of outstanding places to do that either.
Alexandria Beach in Noosa National Park is a gorgeous walk framed by two spectacular rugged headlands while Rainbow Beach’s famous stretch of coloured sands stretches from the town to the headland are two of the more popular trails that feature exceptional scenery.
Meanwhile, other excellent lesser-known places to visit are Bundjalung National Park which has striking black rocks and Broadwater National Park, which has towering white sand dunes, located side of Evans Head.
11. Sandboarding Down Towering Coastal Dunes.
For an even more unique and thrilling way to spend Australia Day at the beach, some of these coastal destinations have prime opportunities to go sandboarding!
The Stockton Sand Dunes, near Port Stephens in New South Wales and Little Sahara on SA’s Kangaroo Island are two of the most exceptional places to go with a huge amount of steep, sandy terrain to secure for yourself. Or if you don’t have a 4WD or a sandboard, you can always hire one from a place nearby and they’ll take you out to where 40m high behemoths await!
12. Book A Day Trip Out To An Island.
The Land Down Under is also home to plenty of incredible islands, making a great way to spend the national holiday is to book a day trip out to one of them and let the company do most of the organising and navigating so you can have a breezy day enjoying the attractions, appreciating the landscapes and getting all the highlights.
The Great Barrier Reef has plenty of magnificent coral cays you can visit for a day providing exceptional opportunities to snorkel with curious turtles, friendly reef sharks, rays of various shapes and species and so much more.
What’s also fantastic about this iconic marine ecosystem is that because it runs an extensive length along the Queensland coastline, there are many excellent coastal departure points to see its incredible underwater landscape, with Lady Elliot Island being one of the best as it includes a breathtaking scenic flight there and back, from major cities such as Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Bundaberg.
Two other islands that are also fantastic to book a day trip to are K’gari (Fraser Island) and Moreton Island as both these places are 4WD only, which not everyone has, and also if they do, a trip requires plenty of planning to be able to tackle the terrain and pack for camping and all that. Whereas a guided tour is a great way to see and experience the best of these outstanding destinations, such as swimming in the former’s gorgeous Lake Mackenzie and snorkelling at the latter’s famous Tangalooma Wrecks.
13. Dedicate Time To Searching For Wild Animals!
Another thing Australia is renowned for is its incredible wildlife, much of which is unique and endemic only to the Land Down Under, with characteristics that few to no other species in the world have, such as the kangaroo, which constantly gives birth to live young that it looks after in its pouch, the koala, a tree-dwelling creature subsists off very few species of eucalyptus trees which are highly poisonous to other animals, the echidna, a spiky, egg-laying mammal and most bizarrely, the platypus, which has a confusing cornucopia of features that all defies stereotypical categories.
These are great animals to go searching for, with kangaroos and their subspecies being, by far, the easiest to come across, and national parks and nature reserves are always the best places to start looking.
But there are also many other Australian animals to see as well with some locations being meccas for a particular species, which makes them a great day trip destination for the national holiday if you want to practically guarantee your chances of seeing them.
For example, Rottness Island in Western Australia is famous for its ridiculously cute quokkas which are nicknamed the “happiest animals in the world”, in Queensland, Bundaberg is the mainland’s largest turtle nesting site, with January being when all the super adorable babies emerge from their warm sandy nests and make their way to the ocean, while K’gari (Fraser Island) is renowned for having the largest purebred dingo population left in the country while Phillip Island in Victoria is home to the largest little penguin colony in the world.
14. Immerse Yourself In An Underwater World Snorkelling/Diving.
Continuing with the theme of searching for animals, there’s also plenty of them to see below ground too! The aforementioned Great Barrier Reef islands are magnificent for day-tripping to and come face-to-face with many marine animals of the deep as is the Tangalooma Wrecks at Moreton Island, but they are far from the only place where you can discover the underwater world.
The Gold Coast’s Wave Break Island also provides fantastic sheltered snorkelling opportunities, while just off Byron Bay, Julian Rocks also attracts some beautiful sea creatures, making it a great open-water experience. But it’s not just the ocean that has the goods.
You can find some great ones without going into the briny deep. Two places that I loved snorkelling in that weren’t the sea were Florence Falls in the Northern Territory’s Litchfield National Park during the wet season and Seary’s Creek at Rainbow Beach, which both had fantastically clear underwater terrains that were fascinating to see.
15. Spend Time Out On The Water With A Day Cruise.
Another great way to escape the crowds for Australia Day is to head out on the water for a cruise. And with just about every major city having a river and close to the ocean, there is no shortage of excellent choices, with some offering incredibly unique experiences that you don’t come across all that often.
Some of these include orca/killer whale watching in Esperance, heading out in a historical tall ship across Sydney’s spectacular harbour or riding in a LARC! amphibious vehicle across the beaches and creeks of Eurimbula National Park from the gorgeous township of 1770.
16. Take To The Skies With A Scenic Or Aerobatic Flight.
An even more elevated way to make January 26th unforgettable is by booking a scenic flight, helicopter or balloon ride, where you can enjoy incredible views of the urban or natural landscape.
Soar over breathtaking cities, coastlines or other incredible landmarks such as the Northern Territory’s Jim Jim Falls and Western Australia’s Horizontal Falls or a Great Barrier Reef coral cay where you get a 2-for-1 flight and day tour to Lady Elliot Island.
Alternatively, if you prefer high-octane exhilaration, there’s no better way to satisfy that adrenaline junkie inside than by being a passenger in a high-intensity aerobatic flight that’ll make you feel like a Top Gun: Maverick badass dodging enemy fire in a series of tight manoeuvres that include barrel rolls, Cuban-8’s and loop-de-loops and so much more.
Experience these crazy stunts in a gorgeous Red Baron aircraft over the spectacular scenery of Sydney, or in a nimble Yak-52 Russian Wardbird over the illustrious Gold Coast, or even a super sleek L-39 Albatros jet fighter over the Scenic Rim’s Lake Wyaralong.
17. Or Another Tour Or Activity More Niche.
The country also has plenty of other various and unique activities that are perfect for undertaking and enjoying on a day like Australia Day. Think things like a guided canyoneering tour in the spectacular Blue Mountains, or through the waterfalls of the Behana Gorge near Cairns, being driven around a racetrack at high speeds by a professional driver at Willowbank Raceway or jet propelling yourself into the air with water during a Gold Coast flyboarding experience and so much more.
Sites that I love to use to search for these activities are Viator, Get Your Guide, Klook, Experience Oz, Red Balloon and Adrenaline.com.