Closer to Darwin than either Kakadu or Katherine Gorge, the Northern Territory's Litchfield National Park is arguably a more convenient daytrip destination.

Litchfield National Park is, of course, known for its amazing magnetic termite mounds, but you'll also find there numerous waterfalls dropping from the sandstone plateau known as the Tabletop Range and the weathered sandstone pillars which as a group comprise The Lost City, much like the ancient ruins of some fabled land.

• Litchfield National Park
• Kakadu National Park
• Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park
• Where to Stay in the Northern Territory

Photo: Florence Falls at Litchfield National Park © Tourism NT

I'm not sure if that's the longest name for a canoe. But the canoe called Ngatokimatawhaorua is reputed to be the largest war canoe in the world. You find this canoe at Waitangi, birthplace of the New Zealand nation, near the Treaty House where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. Also close by is the Maori Whare Runanga (Meeting Place) which was completed in 1940 and is a finely detailed construction with carvings representing the major Maori tribes.

Ngatokimatawhaorua is named after the great canoe of Kupe, traditional Polynesian ancestor of the Maori people. Waitangi is in New Zealand's scenic, historic Bay of Islands north of Auckland.

• Waitangi: Birthplace of a Nation
• What Is the World's Longest Place Name?
• Visit the Bay of Islands
• Bay of Islands Photo Gallery
• Where to Stay in the Bay of Islands

Photo: The canoe at Waitangi © Tourism New Zealand

It must be Migaloo. They think it's Migaloo. If it is, Migaloo's back.

For several years since 1991, the albino humpback whale named Migaloo has been spotted off the eastern Australian coast during the whale migration season.

As the whales travel north from the Antarctic to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, they have been seen close to the coast and have been spotted frolicking in Sydney Harbour close to the Sydney Opera House and in Manly Cove... and near many towns and islands along the New South Wales and Queensland coasts.

But what about Migaloo? According to the Pacific Whale Foundation, Migaloo is the only known occurrence of an all-white humpback whale, and has been compared to the fictional Moby Dick.

Now Migaloo has been sighted off Queensland's Gold Coast after having been spotted in Byron Bay yesterday.

Welcome back, Migaloo. Glad to see you back in Australia.

• Migaloo: The All-White Humpback Whale
• Whale Migration Season

Photo: Migaloo © Pacific Whale Foundation

July in Australia is one of the best months for skiing and other snow activities.

You can ski in New South Wales in the Snowy Mountains, Victoria in the state's Alpine regions, and Tasmania in some of its high-altitude national parks.

The Australian ski season, which by tradition started on the Queen's Birthday holiday weekend in June, ends on the Labor Day weekend in October. Depending on snow conditions, ski resort operations may end earlier or later than October.

In the New South Wales Blue Mountains — because Christmas occurs in the Australian summer — the Winter Yulefest celebrates Christmas in July.

• Australia in July
• Skiing in New South Wales
• Skiing in Victoria
• Skiing in Tasmania
• Yulefest in the Blue Mountains

Photo: Cross-country skiing in Kosciuszko National Park © Australian Tourist Commission