Travel is about the moments that bring us closer to each other, fill us with awe and help us reclaim our calm. And whether you’re visiting New South Wales for a long weekend or taking your time on a big adventure, you’ll collect memories to carry with you forever. Here’s where to get started …

Reconnect with nature

Refresh your soul as you immerse in a landscape of waterfalls, rock formations and ancient rainforest in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness of the Blue Mountains, an hour’s drive west of Sydney. Find new vistas to stop you in your track on hiking trails for everyone from beginners (try the 800m Three Sisters walk) to seasoned trekkers (join a guided three-day hike on the Six Foot Track) and every adventurer in between. And spend the night gazing upon a billion stars from your transparent Bubble Tent in Capertee near Lithgow.

Lap up the Royal treatment

Choose your own adventure in the Royal National Park, just 50 minutes south of the city. Hire a canoe from Audley Boatshed, near the Royal National Park Visitor’s Centre, and explore rivers and secret beaches, or hike a section of the Coast Track, which runs for 26km between Bundeena and Otford. Stop in your tracks at every twist of the trail as you encounter towering waterfalls, mysterious rockpools and lush palm forests.

Free your mind on the open road

Revel in a sense of freedom and a dizzying array of possibilities on a road trip along the NSW South Coast. Follow the stunning Grand Pacific Drive south of Sydney over the Sea Cliff Bridge to the Shoalhaven and Jervis Bay, where you’ll find friendly kangaroos and white sandy beaches to call your own. Venture further south on the Oyster Trail to Pambula, where Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tours will transport your taste buds.

Bond with a gentle giant

Gaze into the enormous eye of a humpback whale and you’ll feel a moment of pure joy as you realise your curiosity is reciprocated. Dive into a life-changing connection as you snorkel or swim at a respectful distance from these magnificent creatures during the humpback whale migration season from May to November, with Dive Jervis Bay in Jervis Bay south of Sydney, or JettyDive in Coffs Harbour, a 5.5-hour drive north of Sydney. Play with a pup of a different kind as you swim with seals near Montague Island off the seaside town of Narooma, on the NSW South Coast.

Make memories worth bottling

Enjoy the good life in Country NSW as you explore cellar doors with your favourite people. Go with the flow on a winery tour in Orange, sampling cool-climate varieties like pinot noir and chardonnay, and bond with your loved one at the award-winning Lakeview luxury couples retreat. Stock up on cabernet sauvignon and riesling at nearby Mudgee, and enjoy a hot air balloon flight over rolling hills and vineyards — guaranteed to leave you happily breathless.

Feel on top of the world

Stand on the roof of Australia and let the feeling of satisfaction that you’ve conquered Mount Kosciuszko sink in. You don’t need to be a mountaineer to reach the peak of Australia’s highest mountain – the intermediate 13km Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk starts near Thredbo and takes about five hours. Indulge your adventurous side by exploring the expanding Snowies Alpine Walk trail network, including the recently opened Guthega to Charlotte Pass walk.

Discover a new rush

Make friends again with your joyful inner child in the Worimi Conservation Lands, a moving playground of towering dunes sculpted by powerful winds in Port Stephens, around a three-hour drive north of Sydney. Feel your adrenaline spike as you bounce down giant sand dunes, explore 10-storey dunes by quad bike on an adventure tour and learn about the area’s rich First Nations culture with Aboriginal-owned Sand Dune Adventures. That moment when you find sandy grains in your mouth from smiling too much? It’s as solid gold as this ever-changing sandscape.

Press play on your new passion

Nestled among the North Coast’s rivers, rainforests and reefs, the Tweed Area’s natural playgrounds invite you to re-centre yourself and discover what makes you feel most alive. Breathe in the beauty of Gondwana forests, find a pristine waterfall in Mount Jerusalem National Park, discover a new rush as you learn to surf, explore the Tweed River, follow the recently extended Northern Rivers Rail Trail or explore your creative side in Murwillumbah. The invigorating beauty of this wild playground rubs off on you — even if you just want to kick back and do nothing at all.

Find your party people

Be moved by Aussie music royalty at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in the New England hub of Tamworth in January. Discover creative installations in unlikely spaces during the Open Field Arts Festival in Berry in June. Cut a rug with glamorous drag queens at Broken Hill’s Broken Heel Festival in September, or pitch your tent at the Deniliquin Ute Muster, also in September in the Murray region town of Deniliquin, where you can laugh and play alongside your 20,000 new mates.

Recharge on the river

Go with the flow on a houseboat as you float down one of the mighty rivers that have carved their own paths across NSW. Breathe in the tranquillity as the bush unfurls around your floating home on the Hawkesbury, north of Sydney, or drive further north and cruise the great lakes around Forster. Feel the need to get completely off the grid? Make your way to the Murray region and explore Australia’s longest river by houseboat. Find a sense of calm as you wake up each day to the chorus of birdsong across the river’s glassy waters.

Switch off in paradise

Lean into a digital detox on UNESCO World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island, where the lack of mobile reception frees your mind and the spectacular natural surroundings makes unwinding easy. Lose yourself in the moment as you wander through rainforests, climb Mount Gower and swim or dive with 450 different types of fish. Marvel that Ball’s Pyramid — the world’s tallest volcanic stack — was born from fire six million years ago as you snorkel around this watery wonderland. Reflect on an incredible day back at your luxe suite at Capella Lodge, on the secluded southern end of the tiny island, or the laidback Arajilla Retreat.

Connect with something big

Some moments make us realise this world is bigger than us — like when you enter Mungo National Park, outside Mildura in southwestern NSW, for the first time. Gaze out in awe at the park’s otherworldly formations on a 4WD tour across terrain that’s like nowhere else on Earth. Reach out to the spiritual heart of this ancient land, where the 42,000-year-old remains of Mungo Man and Mungo Woman were discovered, on a walking tour with an Aboriginal ranger.