Australia’s Grand Slam summer of tennis means you can enjoy January with a courtside view of the tennis greats. Start the new year watching eight prestigious pairs of men and women play at Perth’s Hopman Cup. See international players warm-up for the Australian Open in sunny Brisbane and historic Hobart. Get spectator seats to top tennis at the Medibank International in Sydney’s Olympic Park. Watch the world’s best men, women and doubles teams compete in Melbourne’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, at the end of January.  Off-court, enjoy a host of live entertainment and the vibrant summer lifestyle of Australia’s cities.

Australia always loves a party, and few are as big and exuberant as Australia Day on January 26.  Australians of all ages and backgrounds join the formal and informal celebrations across the country’s beaches, backyards and parks. In Sydney, flag-waving crowds converge around iconic Sydney Harbour for the action-packed program. There’s a traditional Aboriginal ceremony in the Royal Botanic Gardens, a huge barbeque in Hyde Park and all-Australian music acts in the Rocks. Tall ships, small ferries, yachts and surfboards race across the harbour and Air Force planes swoop over Circular Quay. Of course you can’t miss the most electric display of national pride in the evening – the spectacular harbour fireworks.

Sunny, subversive, cosmopolitan and camp – welcome to Sydney during its annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Whether you’re straight, gay, old or young, you’ll love the gleeful, glamorous energy rippling through the city from late February. Celebrate the festival opening at Fair Day – a huge community party in Sydney’s inner-west. Watch a convoy of sequins, satirical slogans and spray tans wind along Oxford St in the world’s biggest gay pride parade.  Dance the midsummer night away in the Royal Botanic Gardens or at the powerhouse finale party. Enjoy queer and quirky performances at the Sydney Opera House and venues across the city.

Autumn in Canberra is heralded not just by the fiery colours of the deciduous trees, but by the iconic Canberra Balloon Fiesta. Over nine crisp mornings in March, a colourful cavalcade of hot air balloons take to the air from the lawns of Old Parliament House. Watch the magical display with thousands of other early risers or take a hot air balloon ride yourself. Either way, it’s a great way to start your Canberra day, especially when accompanied by a hot breakfast and live entertainment. Afterwards, get out and visit Canberra’s national museums, galleries, wineries and auburn-tinged parks.

In Melbourne, there’s no missing the Australian Grand Prix, which takes over Albert Park for four days in March. You’ll hear the distinctive pitch of elite Formula One racing cars across the city. At the purpose-built track, watch the world’s fastest drivers vibrate past you at speeds of up to 300km an hour. See a showdown between Australia’s V8 Supercars or check out luxury models such as Ferrari, Porsche and Lotus at their rubber-burning best. Off-the-track, you can join any number of events that showcase Melbourne’s social and cultural life.

Each year in the first light of April 25, Australians gather at dawn services across the country to honour the soldiers who have lost their lives at war.  Anzac Day is held on the anniversary of the tragic Gallipoli landing of 1915 and has evolved into a day of homage for all soldiers who have since served at war. The national ceremony, attended by the Prime Minister and Governor General, is held at Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Join the dawn service, experience the emotion of the lone bugle playing the Last Post and pay your respects to the soldiers who serve their countries in conflicts across the world.

Don’t miss the gourmet extravaganza of the Tasting Australia festival, which runs for eight days in April and May. It features more than 40 events running across Adelaide and iconic wine regions such as the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Coonawarra and Adelaide Hills. Take a cooking class with celebrity chefs from Australia and around the world. Or match your food and wine at a long vineyard lunch.  Debate food-related issues or join the two-day Feast of the Senses on Adelaide’s riverbanks. Throughout the festival, South Australia’s bountiful fresh produce is on show at special fetes and farmers’ markets.

This May, head to Kununurra for the Ord Valley Muster, a two-week celebration of East Kimberley life. You’ll join thousands of friendly locals at more than 50 events across the region’s rugged and magical landscapes. Dress up for a 4WD adventure bash, swim across Lake Argyle or mountain bike along the Gibb River Road. Taste fresh Kimberley produce and enjoy Aboriginal music and dance.  Get swept away in a street party, dig for diamonds or watch rough-riders at a rodeo. Not-to-be-missed is the Kimberley Moon – the flagship music concert on the banks of the Ord River.

For a truly unpredictable sporting event, get your tickets to the Camel Cup, held each July in Alice Springs. The only sure thing about this event - where riders race temperamental camels around dusty outback tracks – is there will be high hilarity.  In the one race, riders dressed as grooms race the camels half way round the arena, where they collect their blushing brides for the race to the finish line. In between the heats you can take part in rickshaw races or compete to be the most fashionable on the field in the Mr. and Miss Camel Cup. Belly dancers, food stalls and bars add to the carnival atmosphere.

You might wonder if the locals are suffering heat stroke when you see them build boats out of beer and soft drink cans at the Darwin Beer Can Regatta in August.  This mock-serious sporting event began as a creative way to clean up litter left by the workers rebuilding Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. Today the boats are as long as 12 metres and carry some serious artillery, including flour bombs and water pistols. Hundreds of locals cheer for events that range from a no-holds-barred boat race called Battle of Mindil and tug-of-war competitions on the beach.

Don’t miss the Garma Festival in August - a vibrant five-day celebration of Yolngu culture at Gulkula in north-east Arnhem Land. Local clan and neighbouring Aboriginal groups gather to see traditional Yolngu song, ceremonial dancing, clan designs, spear making and hunting. Non-Aboriginal visitors are also welcomed to take part in this rich cultural exchange.  See internationally-acclaimed artists and learn about bush-tucker and bush medicines from the women or speak-making and throwing with the men. Each practice tells the ancient Yolngu story of this sacred place, where the Dreamtime ancestor Ganbulabula brought the didjeridu into being.

They have a wicked sense of humour in the Northern Territory. How else can you explain the Henley-on-Todd – an annual sailing and rowing regatta held on a dry river bed in Alice Springs? On the last Sunday in August, the sandy Todd River turns into a race track for a crazy crew of Flintstone-style boats. You’ll see vikings shooting water cannons from their battle ships and life-savers hauling distressed swimmers from the sand. There are bottomless yachts and white water kayaks, five-person boogie boards and sand skis. Even those wary of water can join the fun - by anchoring boats or shoveling sand into a 44 gallon drum.

Australia might stop for the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November. For the rest of the Spring Racing Carnival no-one in Melbourne sits still. This whirlwind of horse racing, fashion and fun starts in September and doesn’t end until mid-November. Flemington Racecourse is the stage for big-name race days such as Derby Day, the Melbourne Cup, Oaks Day but all tracks across the state are part of the action. You don’t have to know racing to love this vibrant social tradition, which heralds the return of sunshine and spring warmth to Melbourne. Plan your attendance at a trackside soiree or just explore the city against a backdrop of barely-contained carnival excitement.

The Australian cricket season, which lasts from November to February, pits Australia against other top cricketing nations in matches in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth. Christmas in Melbourne heralds the Boxing Day Test at the iconic MCG.  Capacity crowds also fill out the epic grounds at the Gabba in Brisbane, the Wacca in Perth and Sydney’s SCG. Australia’s top-ranking cricket team play against different touring nations each year. The West Indies and Pakistan, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia’s challengers for the ‘Ashes’ - England.

You don’t need to be a sailing buff to enjoy watching the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, one of the world’s greatest blue-water classics. Beginning on Boxing Day, December 26, the race is an iconic part of our Australian summertime.  See the yachts sail out of the harbour heads with a picnic, barbeque or boat cruise on Sydney Harbour. Cheer as they cross the finish line in time for new year’s eve celebrations in Hobart. In between, marvel at the sailors’ fortitude, and fret with the rest of Australia as they battle the turbulent passage of Bass Strait.