Australia is a country of contrasts and superlatives - and nowhere is this more evident than in and around Sydney. This youthful city is renowned for mixing innovation and dynamism with a limitness capacity for fun and laid-back living. Travellers return time and again in a vain attempt to keep pace with its fast-moving culinary, cultural and social scene.

An hour's drive beyond the city limits lies another world - of open landscapes, with a frisson of adventure in the air.

Mountains, empty beaches and the endless outback await exploration - or simply offer the chance to to relax and marvel at the natural wonders all around.