Head North for the Tropic Sun

If you're not particularly fond of the winter cold — winter begins in Australia and New Zealand on June 1 — consider a trip north to Australia's tropical regions.

For those wishing to visit the Great Barrier Reef, one of the destinations of choice is Cairns in Queensland which is a popular jump-off point to the Reef.

If you're driving north along the Pacific coast, there are many coastal Queensland cities and towns from which you can take a ferry to one of the resort islands on the Reef.

• Great Barrier Reef
• Cairns: Gateway to the Reef
• Islands in the Sun

On the other side of the continent, there's Broome and Cable Beach in Western Australia to consider, and in the Northern Territory there's Darwin and Kakadu.

Photo: Snorkeling off Heron Island, courtesy P&O Australian Resorts