New South Wales is Australia's most popular state, with everything from rolling green countryside, beautiful rainforests, outback areas, ski fields and miles and miles of pristine sandy beaches. Whether you live in the city or the country, you'll enjoy a high standard of living with relaxed, friendly locals and a year-round climate so gorgeous you'd friend it on Facebook if you could.

The state capital is Sydney, the biggest and most exciting city in Australia, and home of the most awesome New Years Eve fireworks in the world!

What else rocks in New South Wales? For country music fans, there's the city of Tamworth; for a more relaxed, laid-back, alternative lifestyle there's Byron Bay in the north; there's also Newcastle and Wollongong, two large, dynamic industrial cities not far from Sydney. And in the far west of the state there's the historic outback town of Broken Hill (from the movie Crocodile Dundee).

There's no doubt the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House top the list of fabulous places to see in New South Wales. But the state is loaded with all kinds of other less-well-known places that are definitely worth checking out.

Visit the Kiama Blowhole, 120kms south of Sydney, and get drenched in a 25 metre high sea spray from this volcanic rock formation. Take the 'ghost tour' in Jenolan Caves, a 40km multi-level open cave network in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Talk to the animals at the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo (it's easy with no fences separating you from the animals!)

Go to the central west town of Parkes and check out the massive CSIRO radio telescope observatory that helped bring the 1969 Apollo II moon landing to TV sets around the world. Explore the "haunted" underground tunnels beneath the historic Fort Scratchley military museum in Newcastle. Go to the southern border city of Albury and take a paddle steamer cruise on the Murray River. And if you like things that are really big, there's the famous 13 metre Big Banana theme park at Coffs Harbour and Barellan's 11 metre high tennis racquet made of solid steel!

All NSW Government Schools and TAFE NSW Institutes are government-owned, operated and accredited. The NSW Government Schools network is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and TAFE NSW has been a leading education provider for over 120 years. Both are recognised internationally.