November 2019 - January 2020

Australian Traveller

The most trusted guide to travelling this great country

Australian Traveller2 min read
Editor’s Letter
DOING A BIG LAP of this wide, brown (and ochre and taupe and green) land of ours used to conjure images of grey nomads or dreadlocked backpackers in repurposed delivery vans snaking their way around the edge of the country for months on end. But as t
Australian Traveller1 min read
Pillow Talk
Big Sky Retreats, purveyor of new boutique stays in the heart of Victoria’s Alpine High Country, has debuted the gracious Ridgeview. Located in the town of Bright and taking inspiration from American-style lodges, the four-bedroom property is steeped
Australian Traveller1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Raising The Bar
This speakeasy in the Sydney seaside suburb of Manly is reached through an antique fridge at the back of the newly opened Cove Deli. The basement bar boasts over 250 whiskies, as well as a selection of natural wines, craft beers and a cocktail menu f
Australian Traveller3 min read
WINE & DINE
With plant-based restaurants springing up everywhere and fab vegan-focused cookbooks hitting the market, it’s never been so cool to eat your veggies.We asked Daniel Ng, general manager of Vincent Vegetarian Food, whose new vegan cafe and market is no
Australian Traveller1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Hot Openings
The latest project from Liquid + Larder,The Gidley is a subterranean steak house in Sydney that aims to emulate the great grill restaurants of the world, with an Aussie twist. Head chef Pip Pratt’s menu will elevate char-grilled meat to new heights,
Australian Traveller4 min read
How To Do The Big Lap
At its most literal, the Big Lap describes the journey to circumnavigate the country at its edge, travelling mainly on Highway 1, which clocks in at about 14,500 kilometres and links almost every mainland state and territory capital. In fact it is co
Australian Traveller3 min read
Life On The Road
Jonny Dustow, co-founder of vanlifediaries. com , and van-living musician, has been living in vans for seven years now. • Having a hot shower option when living full-time or part-time in a van is a big thing for me that makes it feel more like a hom
Australian Traveller3 min readAutomotive
Electrifying The Australian Road Trip
WE LIVE IN A BIG BROWN LAND ripe for exploration. In fact, our country is so big that it’s said to be unconquerable; how exactly would an invading force manage a supply chain all the way from Darwin down to Adelaide? They’d be stranded, left for dead
Australian Traveller2 min read
Design Markets
MORE THAN 1200 INDEPENDENT MAKERS SELL THEIR WARES AT THESE BIANNUAL MARKETS. ACCOMPANIED BY LIVE MUSIC AND LOCAL FOOD,THE SHOPPING HERE IS STYLISH, CREATIVE AND FILLED WITH ONE-OF-A-KIND FINDS. MELBOURNE HAS WRAPPED UP FOR THE YEAR, BUT YOU CAN CATC
Australian Traveller3 min read
Old Rivals
“THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM toured England in 1882 and unexpectedly demolished the English team, winning 13 out of 16 matches played,” says Carolyn Fraser, lead curator of State Library Victoria in Melbourne, on the birth of an Aussie legend. “The E
Australian Traveller1 min read
Happy Trails
1. A morning cuppa from one of these MUGS, $12 each, watching the sunrise is the perfect start to a day of exploring; westelm.com 2. Have a classic SWIMSUIT, $240, close at hand for beachside pit stops; bondiborn.com.au 3. Keep your campervan smellin
Australian Traveller2 min read
At The Tippy Top
A journey to Cape York begins in Cairns, heading north through the canefields to the ancient Daintree Rainforest. Stopping at Mossman Gorge in Daintree National Park, take the Ngadiku Dreamtime Gorge Walk with local Indigenous guides to learn the sec
Australian Traveller2 min read
Colour Me Pink
AN OVERWHELMING SENSE of my own ordinariness washes over me as I enter The Pink Hotel Coolangatta, a quirky beachside stay that is a style riot of retro glam, roguish rockstar and California cool. Dressed in blue jeans and a plain white tee, I am at
Australian Traveller3 min readRegional & Ethnic
The Bold And The Beautiful
AT FIRST GLANCE, Daughter In Law’s self-professed good times appear to be spilling out onto the street. Bathing the pavement in a pink-purple neon glow, the Melbourne newcomer is the latest restaurant from celebrated Australian-Indian chef Jessi Sing
Australian Traveller4 min read
Port Stephens, NSW
AT THE TURN of the 20th century, the cool, quiet and classic seaside region of Port Stephens was destined for great things. World-scale great things. It was to be the site of a new capital named Port Stephens City, designed by Walter Burley Griffin.
Australian Traveller6 min read
The Little Lap
I FLEE THE CITY in the morning and, by the late afternoon, I wind up the Gibraltar Range, a lush, Gondwana rainforest portal to the Northern Tablelands. Arriving at Waterloo Station, just outside of Glen Innes, I swing open the farm gate, judder acro
Australian Traveller1 min read
Details
It takes roughly five days to drive the 712-kilometre circuit from Glen Innes to Armidale, but earmark a full week to do it at a leisurely pace. Virgin (virginaustralia.com) flies from Sydney to Coffs Harbour airport, where you can hire a car and dri
Australian Traveller3 min read
Sunshiny And New
WHEN VISITING AN ICON, opportunities are rife for disappointment. The weight of expectation can be a cumbersome burden to bear, informed as it is by past glories, hype and second-hand experiences, both good and bad. Hayman Island is a perfect example
Australian Traveller1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Details
Fly direct to Hamilton Island airport from most major capital cities, then board a one-hour private charter to Hayman Island during which sparkling and snacks are served. INTERCONTINENTAL HAYMAN ISLAND RESORT offers 166 luxury rooms, suites and villa
Australian Traveller3 min read
Into The Wild
IT’S EVERY CHILD’S DREAM COME TRUE, to be locked inside a zoo once the gates have closed and the visitors have all gone home. And I’m living it. There is nothing nefarious about how I have found myself within the grounds of Sydney’s celebrated Tarong
Australian Traveller1 min read
Details
There are daily non-stop flights to Perth from all capital cities in Australia. A killer location next to Kings Park (with views to match), ultra-cool design, and comfort make TRIBE a clever and budget-conscious boutique hotel. tribehotels.com.au Ins
Australian Traveller3 min read
The SUMMER city
Comprising hundreds of shows over 31 days, Perth’s Fringe World Festival is the cultural event of the summer. More than 150 venues across Perth host local and international artists with an action-packed program of theatre, music, dance, visual arts,
Australian Traveller9 min read
Running Deep
WINDOWS DOWN, THE WARM AIR IS SWEET and dank with flowering paperbarks. It’s the start of the Dry and Sab’s tyres slice through the submerged road that is still blended into the adjacent billabong. We’re not in Sydney anymore, where water is defined
Australian Traveller2 min read
From Under The Sea To Crocodile Dundee : A Quick History Of Kakadu
140 MILLION YEARS AGO Kakadu lay under a shallow sea. Fast forward a few years to 2017 and game-changing excavations of a rock shelter at the base of the Arnhem Land escarpment indicate humans reached Australia at least 65,000 years ago, 18,000 years
Australian Traveller5 min read
Against The Grain
IN AUGUST OF 2016, FREMANTLE ARTIST Amok Island was given 31 days and the biggest canvas in the small Western Australia Wheatbelt town of Ravensthorpe to create a traffic stopper. As a result, three CBH Group grain silos bear a mural of the town’s fa
Australian Traveller1 min read
Katanning Crossroads
Located in the heart of the Wheatbelt and nearly 300 kilometres south-east of Perth, Katanning has enjoyed the knock-on effects of the trail, even if its silos have remained paint-free.A series of street art murals by some of the silo artists, instea
Australian Traveller5 min read
Rock Solid
IF YOU GREW UP IN AUSTRALIA and you had a swimming pool in your backyard, chances are you were a pretty popular kid, especially come summertime. Ben Kilsby knows the feeling, although the appeal of his childhood home was less traditional swimming poo
Australian Traveller1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Details
The Limestone Coast stretches along South Australia’s south-eastern coast from Coorong National Park to the Victorian border. Its biggest town, Mount Gambier, is a 70-minute flight from both Adelaide and Melbourne. For road trippers, it is about four
Australian Traveller6 min read
Walking With Icons
WE REACH A WIND-BLASTED, scrub-covered brow atop one of the crumbling, pale orange cliffs that border this stretch of the Southern Ocean. With bated breath we slow our pace in anticipation of the big reveal. This is it: the culmination of four days’
Australian Traveller8 min read
These Unearthly Plains
THE CORDIAL COUNTRYFOLK have learned to identify the strangers by their transport. Not what they arrive in exactly – lustrous all-wheel drives – but by what they carry: a kayak on the roof racks perhaps; maybe a jet ski lolling behind; pool noodles p
Australian Traveller1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Dan’s Hit List:
Start the day just before dawn with a climb up TABLE TOP MOUNTAIN (1) to catch the sunrise over the LOCKYER VALLEY.The early morning is worth it for the views! Pop into THE FINCH CAFE (2) for a well-earned coffee and brekkie. Be sure to try my favour
Australian Traveller2 min read
Turia Pitt
AS A CHILD, OUR FAMILY HOLIDAYS WERE ALWAYS… camping – either at a river or on the beach so we could surf. We’d fish, I’d read books. Pretty nice, really. NOW IF I HAVE TIME FOR A SHORT BREAK, I HEAD STRAIGHT TO… the beach. [My partner] Michael and
Australian Traveller2 min read
What’s On
The two street artists who redefined the US art world in the 1980s are celebrated with love at this unprecedented exhibition. More than 300 artworks including notebooks, sculpture and photographs document how they changed public-space art forever. ng

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