Top 10 Aussie food and wine festivals you’ve never heard of

Adventurous epicureans can plot their itineraries around awesome Aussie food and wine festivals that happen year-round.

1. Full Moon Festival, Byron Bay, NSW

It’s not that Byron Bay’s Full Moon festival is underground exactly. It’s that 2022 will be the first time the Aussie food and wine festival is being held in the Northern Rivers town. Full Moon, curated by Luna Wine Store ’s co-owners and sommeliers Russ Berry, James Audas and Tom Sheer is aimed at educating consumers about natural wines that have been produced with little intervention.

Wine tasting at Full Moon Natural Wine Festival Byron Bay — The inaugural Full Moon festival in Byron Bay will focus on natural wines. (Image: Kitty Gould)

Ticketholders attending the May 14 event, to be held in Byron Bay’s magical Secret Garden venue, will enjoy a two-hour tasting session for $65 with all profits going to the Koori Mail’s Rebuild Fund to help those impacted by the devastating floods in the Northern Rivers.

Cape Byron Lighthouse at dusk — Ticket profits will go towards helping those impacted by the recent Northern Rivers floods. (Image: Destination NSW)

2. Babinda Harvest Festival, Qld

Blink and you’ll miss Babinda on the way to Cairns or Townsville. But the pocket-sized village is definitely worth a detour, especially during the annual Babinda Harvest Festival . The festival, which sprouted in Tropical North Queensland 59 years ago, is now the most anticipated day of the calendar year. The down-home country festival takes place in October, and offers exciting activities for the whole family including tractor-pull rides, live entertainment and fireworks. The population in Babinda is very multicultural, so expect to enjoy some of the best homemade cannoli outside Italy.

3. The Curated Plate, Sunshine Coast, Qld

After launching on the Sunshine Coast in 2019, The Curated Plate is back in 2022 in a new, more intimate format based around the Sunny Coast’s premium local produce. The 10-day festival is designed to celebrate the region’s restaurants, chefs, farms and artisan producers at events dotted around the stunning coastline and sprawling hinterland.

Spanner Crabs in Mooloolaba for Curated Plate, Sunshine Coast — The Curated Plate shines the spotlight on the Sunshine Coast’s premium local produce. (Image: Tourism Events Queensland)

Expect everything from bespoke dinners, to cooking demonstrations, and a pop-up marketplace showcasing local producers such as Walker Seafoods and Hinterland Feijoas as well as Brouhaha Brewery and CAVU Distilling. The event, to be held from July 29 to August 7, is known for its roster of celebrity chefs. Check the website for the full program.

A meal at The Curated Plate Sunshine Coast — Expect everything from bespoke dinners to cooking demonstrations and a pop-up marketplace. (Image: Tourism Events Queensland)

4. Taste of Kakadu, NT

The aim of the Taste of Kakadu festival is to provide visitors with insights into the culture and unique food history of Indigenous Australians while learning a little something about the Northern Territory along the way.

A demonstration at Taste of Kakadu — Taste of Kakadu offers insights into the culture and unique food history of Indigenous Australians. (Image: Tourism NT)

Set within the World-heritage listed Kakadu National Park, the hosts of the cultural food festival rekindled knowledge passed down over 65,000 years ago to curate the bush food festival that is attracting new audiences from the city. The three-day weekend, from 27–29 May, celebrates Kakadu’s cuisine, culture and country. Although the 2022 program is yet to be finalised, expect hands-on workshops, cooking demonstrations, bush tucker guided tours, and culinary cruises around Yellow Water/Ngurrungurrudjba.

Enjoying samples from Taste of Kakadu in Northern Territory — Sample bush tucker at Taste of Kakadu. (Image: Tourism NT)

5. Mango Madness Festival, Darwin, NT

There are few fruits as appealing on a sultry day in the Top End than a juicy mango. Tastings, talks and cooking workshops are an integral part of the Mango Madness Festival dedicated to the fleshy, oval tropical fruit that is eaten ripe, used green for pickles and chutneys or blended into a smoothie. The Mango Madness Festival is now in its third year and has become an annual family event. Highlights of the festival include the search for Darwin’s best mango drink, cooking workshops as well as the obligatory mango-eating competition. The festival is held annually in October or November. Check the website for details.

6. RedFest Strawberry Festival, Cleveland, Qld

Aaah strawberries. We love to eat them fresh, dipped in chocolate, fattened up in a flute of fizz or sprinkled with lemon juice and icing sugar on crepes. But you can forget all the niceties surrounding this sweet, soft, seed-studded red fruit when you start going for gold and smooshing as many strawberries in your pie hole as you can during the Strawberry Eating Competition at RedFest . The community-focused food event, held 2-4 September, will be held in Cleveland on the western shores of Moreton Bay, Queensland, and will include live music performances, fair rides, fresh produce and cooking displays.

Fresh picked strawberries RedFest Cleveland Queensland — Strawberries in the spotlight at RedFest.

7. Kingaroy Baconfest, Qld

You will be giving thanks to the bacon gods for this Southern Queensland festival devoted to the cured meat, of which there is a bounty of at the 19-21 August event. Tell your vegan mate a porky pie about where you’re going for the day so you can enjoy pigging out on everything from bacon ice cream to bacon fries. The Kingaroy BaconFest will also include a smoke-off competition, Wine & Swine night, and bacon-themed fashion pageant. Enter the Rasher Run cycling event so you can counter the calories at the event, which includes a Wine Garden and Bacon Community Artisan Market selling everything from bacon-themed aprons to bacon jam and Don’t go Bacon my Heart tea-towels that nod to the farming community in the South Burnett region of Queensland.

8. Thorpdale Potato Festival, West Gippsland, Vic

A lot of under-the-radar food and wine festivals around Australia were created to lure people into the regions. And the bonus of visiting the Thorpdale Potatoe Festival in the West Gippsland region of Victoria is that it is used not only as a platform to sell a crop like potatoes but as a way of promoting the area, in this case, the Thorpdale district in the beautiful foothills of the Strzlecki Ranges. West Gippsland has a proud history of growing potatoes in its rich, red volcanic soil. Mark March 2023 in your calendar and start training like an Olympian for challenges such as potato picking, packing, and stacking as well as mash-potato eating and sack racing to celebrate the return of the festival, which has been on pause for the past two years.

Festivities at the Thorpdale Potato Festival — Packing it in at the Potato Festival in Thorpdale, West Gippsland.

9. Meeniyan Garlic Festival, South Gippsland, Vic

Expect the festivities at the annual Meeniyan Garlic Festival in South Gippsland to be deliciously pungent with 120 different stallholders selling everything from garlic-laced beer and ice cream to garlic gin and garlic jam. Chefs and a group of about 20 artisan growers traditionally descend on the Meeniyan Recreation Reserve during the annual festival, held during the month of February or March, when the strong-smelling bulb is at its best. Co-creator of Meeniyan Garlic Festival and deputy chair of the Australian Garlic Industry Association, David Jones, says the garlic festival puts the region known as Prom Country – which nods to Wilsons Promontory National Park – on the map.

Meeniyan Garlic Festival is an Aussie food festival in South Gippsland — The focus is firmly on all things garlic at Meeniyan Garlic Festival in South Gippsland.

10. Taste Great Southern, WA

WA’s Truffle Kerfuffle is well and truly on the radar of food-focused travellers from around the globe. But the Taste Great Southern festival will also appeal to epicureans who will appreciate the region’s status as one of Western Australia’s premier food bowls. While the region is most celebrated for its forests full of towering karris and jarrah trees, the small pocket of WA is also on the map for its farm-gate tourism.

Chef and plated meal at Taste Great Southern Aussie food and wine festival — The Taste Great Southern food and wine festival celebrates the region’s status as WA’s premier food bowl. (Image: Amazing Albany)

The Taste Great Southern festival, held from 5-15 May, will feature more than 20 chefs, long-table lunches, degustation dinners and markets designed to showcase fresh local produce ranging from oysters to avocadoes, truffles, marron and cheese.

Exploring the world’s largest sand island starts with the perfect K’gari homebase.

The morning light is still soft, but it’s already a perfect sunny day. We left our K’gari homebase at Kingfisher Bay Resort with our guide, Peter Meyer, at 9 am to make the most of our time to explore all that the world’s largest sand island holds. The size of K’gari is hard to grasp until you arrive here. This is no sandbar. Stretching 120 kilometres, unique lakes, mangrove systems, rainforest, 75 Miles of beach, historic shipwrecks, small townships and even one of Queensland’s best bakeries are all hidden within its bounds.

But first, one of the island’s most iconic sights: the pure silica sand and crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie.

Laying eyes on it for the first time, I’m finally able to confirm that the photos don’t lie. The sand is pure white, without the merest hint of yellow. The water fades from a light halo of aqua around the edges to a deeper, royal blue, the deeper it gets (not that it’s particularly deep, six metres at most). The surface remains surprisingly undisturbed, like a mirror.

Arriving with our guide before 10 am means that no one else is around when we get here. Which means we have the pleasure of breaking the smooth surface with our own ripples as we enter. As a self-confessed wimp with chilly water temperatures, my fears are quickly assuaged. Even in the morning, the water stays around 23 degrees – perfect for lazing about all day. But we have more sights to see.

Exploring K’gari

ariel of in lake mckenzie on k'gari fraser island — Relax in the warm waters of Lake McKenzie. (Image: Ayeisha Sheldon)

This was the Personalised 4WD tour offered by Kingfisher Bay Resort, and my absolute top pick of experiences. Over the course of the day, we had the freedom to create our own bespoke itinerary (plus a provided picnic lunch along the way), with an expert guide who had plenty of stories and local expertise to give context to what we were looking at. From the history of the SS Maheno shipwreck, which survived the First World War only to be washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935, to a detailed description of how an island made of sand could sustain such diverse flora.

If it’s your first time to K’gari, the Beauty Spots Tour is another great option. Departing daily from Kingfisher Bay Resort (you’ll start to notice a trend, as many of the tours do start and end here), an air-conditioned, 4WD bus takes guests to the island’s most iconic locations, including the best places to swim, like Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek. The latter offers a gentle current, perfect for riding with a blow-up tyre out towards the ocean.

The next day, for a look at a completely different side of K’gari, I joined one of Kingfisher Bay Resort’s Immersive Ranger-guided tours to kayak through the mangroves of Dundonga Creek. This long, snake-like stretch of creek winds its way inland from the ocean outlet we entered by, at times too narrow for three kayaks to be side-by-side. Small insects buzz from leaf to leaf, while birds call overhead. Occasional bubbles indicate we’ve passed some fish that call this place home.

kayak tour through the mangroves at k'gari island — Learn about the island’s mangroves from your Ranger. (Image: Reuben Nutt/ TEQ)

If kayaking isn’t for you – or if, like me, you simply want more – other ranger-led experiences include nature walks and a dedicated Junior Eco Ranger Program for kids ages five to 12 (these run every weekend, and daily over the peak December holidays). Just ask for a timetable of upcoming tours when you check in.

While during whale season, Hervey Bay Whale Watch & Charters operates tours from the hotel’s jetty to get up close to the famous Humpback Highway of Hervey Bay, from 7 November to 31 May, attention turns to the Aqua Oasis Cruise . Departing from the resort every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for resort guests, adventure along the island’s remote western coast, pointing out wildlife like dolphins, turtles, flying fish and eagles along the way.

The cruise drops anchor so guests can jump into the water using the boat’s equipment – from SUP boards to inflatable slides and jumping platforms. Then refuel with a provided lunch, of course.

Unwind at sunset

two people drinking cocktails at sunset bar, kingfisher bay resort — Unwind at the Sunset Bar. (Image: Sean Scott)

As much as days on K’gari can be filled with adventure, to me, the afternoons and evenings there are for unwinding. Sunsets on K’gari are absolutely unbelievable, with Kingfisher Bay on the west side being the best spot to catch the colours.

The Sunset Bar , located at the start of the resort’s jetty and overlooking the beach, is the ultimate location for sundowners. Let chill beats wash over you as you sip on cool wines, beers and cocktails in a relaxed, friendly vibe. Personally, a cheese board was also absolutely called for. As the sun sinks, the sand, sea and horizon turn a vibrant shade of orange, with the jetty casting a dramatic shadow across the water.

When the show is over, head back to the hotel for dinner at the Asian-fusion Dune restaurant, or the pub-style Sand + Wood. But if your appetite is still whetted for more lights and colours, the evening isn’t over yet.

Settle into the Illumina stage for Return to Sky, an immersive light and sound show leading viewers on a captivating journey through K’gari’s stories and landscapes.

Indulge and disconnect

woman setting up massage room at kingfisher bay resort Island Day Spa — Find bliss at Island Day Spa. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Of course, there is a type of traveller who knows that balance is important, day or night. While Kingfisher Bay Resort offers more than one pool for guests to spend all day lounging by (they’ll even serve you food and drinks while you do it), you’ll find me at the Island Day Spa.

The masseuses could match the magic hands of any big city spa, and I felt the warm welcome as I walked into the light, breezy reception. Choose from a range of botanical facials, beauty treatments and soothing massages using traditional techniques (obviously, I couldn’t go past a relaxing massage). All products used contain organic, native botanical ingredients with nutrient-rich plant extracts to soothe skin and mind. To really indulge, try out one of the packages, couples treatment or even a pre-wedding day offering.

Getting there

kingfisher bay resort 4wd tour driving passed ss maheno on k'gari island — The world of K’gari awaits. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Getting to K’gari is shockingly easy. Find daily flights into Hervey Bay from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Kingfisher Bay Resort offers a shuttle bus between the airport, their headquarters in Hervey Bay and the ferry to take you to K’gari.