Greg Ansley finds The Ghan offers luxury in unforgiving wilderness.

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to fly to Melbourne alone, pick up a rental car, drive north out of the city for an hour-and-a-half, then find several places off the beaten track where I would be buffed and pampered to my heart's content.

James Frankham ventures into the Tasmanian wilderness to test his kayaking skills and the strength of a new relationship.

That's funny, I think as I reach out to open the door leading from the courtyard back into my Darwin hotel, there's a rope twisted around the door handle.

Karen Michelmore goes in search of a traditional feast in the Northern Territory's world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.