The Isle of Capri, even the name sounds romantic! To stay on the island would be lovely (and cost a king’s ransom), but for a much smaller sum, you can take an all-day tour. The driver met me in the lobby of my hostel and brought me to the harbor in Sorrento, where the boat captain and the rest of the guests were waiting. We climbed aboard Blu Toy, a medium-sized dark blue powerboat, and whizzed off across the azure sea. I sat out on the...

Where I’m staying, just outside the town of Cairns, may look like an ordinary neighborhood, but it’s surrounded by hills covered in rainforest. A short drive away you can catch a cablecar that goes above and through it, or stop and see the giant curtain fig tree. It doesn’t always rain in the rainforest, there’s a dry and a rainy season, or, like now, a relatively dry rainy season. A short jaunt and you’re in the...