Nature knows what makes a good photo – so much so that it has created the perfect vista of Kalbarri National Park through this wind-eroded structure, on the land of the Nanda people. It’s easy to access this seemingly precarious stack of layered tumblagooda sandstone via a one-kilometre return walk from a sealed lookout.

These craggy granite forms dominate the landscape in this section of Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island, believed to be the land of the Ramindjeri, Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna, Nharangga and Barngalla people. Much of their surface is covered in pumpkin-coloured lichen, made even more vibrant when contrasted against the bright blue of the Southern Ocean.

Visit at the wrong time and you’ll miss it: Montgomery Reef, on the land of the Dambimangari people, appears and disappears with the tides. Time things perfectly – as the tide is going out – and you’ll see scores of mini waterfalls spring up and pour down the sides of the exposed coral shelves.

One of the Dreaming stories the Traditional Owners – namely the Kaytete, Warumungu, Warlpiri and Alyawarra people – tell is that Arrange, the Devil Man, who was passing through the area, dropped clusters of hair on the ground that turned into Karlu Karlu’s granite boulders. The rounded “marbles” are stacked up to six metres high and located south of Tennant Creek.

Although you can traverse the rugged trails up and around this mountain, its splendour is best appreciated from below. There’s a perfect panorama from the far side of Dove Lake that encompasses both peak and lake.

Australia still has some secrets. Somewhere between Coober Pedy and Lake Eyre, in the quiet central north of South Australia, these multicoloured sandstone hills stand proud on the land of the Arabana people. They can only be seen from the air and before being recently “discovered”, they were known only to those who ventured deep into this part of the outback.

Eons of exposure to salty breezes and ocean swell have warped and weathered the sandstone cliffs on Maria Island, home of the Puthikwilayti people. The end result is an outcrop of rock stained with concentric circles in rich golden hues and featuring honeycomb patterns. A marked two-kilometre walk, best tackled around low tide for safety, takes you right beneath the cliffs.

Mungo National Park, a meeting palace of three traditional territories (that of the Ngiyampaa, Paakantji and Mutthi Mutthi people) contains a collection of other-worldly sand and clay formations. The Walls of China, in the park’s south-east, are one of the most iconic. The lunette’s rain- and wind-sculpted sedimentary layers have been found to contain impressive Aboriginal artefacts.

Emerging dramatically from the Southern Ocean, these formations are the main attraction along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, home to the Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung people. Only eight of the limestone pillars still stand, spaced out along the coast.

This is probably the closest you’ll get to a lunar excursion – these chalky pillars look eerily similar to a moonscape. They’re located in the Nambung National Park on Yued land, just over two hours’ drive north of Perth.

This undulating formation – more than 100 metres long and 15 metres high – is located on Noongar land near Hyden, about a 3.5-hour drive east of Perth. If you visit after it rains (one of the rare times this pseudo-wave actually holds water), you might even be treated to a smattering of just-bloomed wildflowers.

The tiger-striped Bungle Bungles are the big-ticket item in Purnululu National Park (of the Gija and Jaru people) but Cathedral Gorge – a soaring natural amphitheatre hidden deep within the range – is more than worthy of a detour. The acoustics are reportedly incredible so give it your best cooee.

A number of crevices and crags make up this natural wonder on the Eyre Peninsula, close to a windswept beach of the same name on Nawu land. The two most impressive features are The Woolshed, a gargantuan cavern in the granite; and The Tub, a 50-metre-wide slice in the rock.

Lord Howe Island has a surprising Hawaii-esque beauty. About 25 kilometres south-east is Balls Pyramid, a rocky arrowhead that shoots more than 550 metres up from the ocean floor that’s also the world’s tallest sea stack. It’s a popular diving and birdwatching spot, with seabirds circling the point every hour.

The centrepiece of the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound has been home to Adnyamathanha people for tens of thousands of years. The peaks of this natural amphitheatre form an almost-perfect ring around the glowing ground inside.

Florida doesn’t have a monopoly on everglades. In fact, another everglade environment – subtropical marshland characterised by a network of branching waterways – is found in South East Queensland along the Noosa River, home to the Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi). Explore this lush spot by kayak.

Hidden in a crevice of vermillion rock dotted with the occasional hardy, scrubby tree is an oasis of cool teal water – the Australian outback at its finest. The pool, in Karijini National Park’s Hamersley Gorge on the land of the Banjima, Innawonga and Eastern Guruma people, is fed by a waterfall so it’s always fresh.

The popularity of Ningaloo – Western Australia’s counterpoint to the Great Barrier Reef – has soared in recent years as people head west to swim alongside the gentle giants of the sea: whale sharks. Located off the coast of Coral Bay, it’s about a 12-hour drive north (or two-hour flight) from Perth. The region, home to the West Thalanyji-Yinigudara people, boasts over 140 protected Aboriginal sites, spanning ceremonial and burial sites and is also the site of the oldest Aboriginal jewellery recovery; a 32,000 beaded necklace.

The stone columns that form these sheer cliffs in south-east Tasmania – home of the Pydairrerme people – reach for the sky like long, skinny needles. Rising about 300 metres above sea level, there’s no need to avoid them if you’re afraid of the vertiginous drop – they’re best viewed from a boat.

Though the bay itself is beautiful – as most West Australian beaches are – Shark Bay earns a place on this list for a very particular feature. One of the world’s only two collections of living marine stromatolites live in the shallows, growing less than a millimetre each year, it’s long been revered by its Traditional Owners, the Malgana, Nanda and Yinggarda people and contains several significant burial sites, rock shelters and hunting locations.

While the Blue Mountains villages of Katoomba and Leura are charming, it’s this distinctive rock formation that people take the daytrip west from Sydney for. The viewing platform is usually busy so a sunrise visit offers the chance to appreciate the splendour set on Gundungarra and Darug Country without the crowds.

The Daintree’s lush tropical flora hides the impressive saltwater crocodile, dinosaur-like cassowary bird, harmless golden orb spider and countless creatures found nowhere else in the world. Take a guided walk from a Traditional Owner (this is the home of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people) to get a real understanding of this unique ecosystem — Walkabout Cultural Adventures offer half or full day experiences.

The Snowy Mountains might be most popular when they’re, well, snowy but there’s also plenty to do at Australia’s highest peak, Country of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu, Ngunnawal and Monaro Ngarigo people, when the weather is warm. A series of walking and cycling tracks wind up and around the mountain – the easiest of which is the 13-kilometre (return) Kosciuszko Walk that begins with a chairlift ride to the trailhead.

Uluṟu, home of the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people, might get the lion’s share of attention when it comes to hulking red rocks but these bornhardts are just as incredible. Also known as The Olgas, Kata Tjuṯa is made up of 36 domed rock formations encircled by tranquil walking trails.