Picture a lake and it's likely you're thinking of a blue stretch of water. In most cases you'd be right, but there's something in the water at Lake Hillier near Esperance that defies expectations. The water is pink — not just pinkish, but startlingly, vividly pink. When seen from above, you can see it juxtaposed against a strip of green bush, a stretch of white sand and then the deep blue of the Indian Ocean. Scenic flight tours can be booked from Esperance.

Mena Creek sits in the tropical rainforest of Far North Queensland, best known for its cassowary population but it's Paronella Park that makes it truly unusual. Built from 1929 by Spanish immigrant Jose Paronella on a five-hectare property beside Mena Creek, the site features a crumbling Spanish-style castle surrounded by manicured gardens and tropical rainforest. It's one of Queensland's most distinctive heritage sites and unlike anywhere else in the country.

About two hours north of Perth, Nambung National Park is home to one of Australia's most otherworldly landscapes. Thousands of ancient limestone pillars rise from golden desert sands, formed around 25,000 to 30,000 years ago after the sea receded and left deposits of shells that were gradually exposed as coastal winds stripped away the surrounding sand. Some stand up to 3.5 metres tall. You can drive the designated loop road or walk between the formations, and the area is a prime stargazing spot with sunset and late-night tours available. Spring brings wildflowers to the desert edges, while winter mornings are cooler and quieter which is ideal for photography.

Established in 1917, Cook was once a busy outback town with its own hospital and full range of facilities. Today it's home to just four residents, a ghost town frozen in time along the Nullarbor rail line. The train still stops here, giving those residents a chance to open the shop and offer tours to passengers passing through. Many of the original buildings remain standing but are off limits to visitors — which only adds to the eerie atmosphere.

Termites may be among Australia's most unwelcome houseguests, but in Kakadu and Litchfield national parks they've produced something genuinely extraordinary. Fields of cathedral termite mounds rise up to eight metres from the ground, towering, sculptural structures built by insects with no blueprint and no tools. A guide will help you spot the best examples and explain the engineering behind them.

Australia's opal mining capital sits in one of the most inhospitable stretches of the outback, where summer temperatures regularly exceed 40°C. The solution the town's residents landed on was straightforward: go underground. Homes, shops, churches and even a hotel have been carved into the earth, staying naturally cool while the desert bakes above. The result is a town unlike any other in the country, part frontier settlement, part science fiction.