New South Wales is the oldest and most populated State in Australia: it is also the most talked-about and walked-about. Perhaps this is because this one State manages to fulfill everything that a visitor might expect of the country as a whole: when people think of Australia, they will usually think of beaches (New South Wales has plenty, including the world-famous Bondi Beach), wild terrain (New South Wales teems with natural parks and reserves) and, of course, iconic symbols such as Sydney Harbour and its remarkableOpera House, whose architecture looks like sails full of wind, celebrating the city's nautical connections and also emphasising the sense of energy that permeates this city.

It is unlikely that Captain Cook could have foreseen Sydney's rapid ascent into a world-premier city when he first decked at what is now Sydney Harbour in 1770, claiming the State for the British and proclaiming it New South Wales. But what existed before the growth of the settlements - and what continues to exist - is the serenity that can be found amidst the State's breathtaking natural scenery.
New South Wales is vast and varied and the variation never fails to startle: from snow-capped mountains with excellent skiing facilities to long, golden sandy beaches, and from the utter emptiness of the Outback to the cosmopolitan vitality of the State capital – New South Wales has it all.

Geography
The landscape ranges from the subtropical north to the Snowy Mountains in the south, which contain Australia’s highest point, Mount Kosciuszko. There are over 1,300km (800 miles) of coastline with golden beaches and picturesque waterways and rivers, including the 1,900km- (1,200 mile-) Murray River.