5 emerging experiences in Australia

Journey with our writers as they take you into Australia’s top 5 emerging travel experiences from our 100 Emerging Destinations and Experiences series.

1. Get exclusive access to Australia’s cultural assets

Travelling with: Megan Arkinstall

Money-can’t-buy experiences can, in fact, be bought, thanks to Cultural Attractions of Australia. This collective of the country’s most iconic galleries, sporting grounds and performing arts venues has tailor-made experiences that everyday folk wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Derek Oram Sandy performing at QAGOMA — Witness the cultural performance of Derek Oram Sandy at QAGOMA. (Image: Lewis James Media)

Imagine viewing masterpieces in Canberra’s National Gallery of Australia when the doors are locked to the general public. Or spending an exclusive evening immersed in Indigenous art and dining at Brisbane’s QAGOMA. What about gaining behind-the-scenes access to the players’ rooms and inside the century-old scoreboard at Adelaide Oval?

It’s also worth splashing some cash on a private dinner under the 24-metre blue whale skeleton at WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth.

Australia's remarkable cultural assets — Ramingining artists, The Aboriginal Memorial, 1987-88, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased with the assistance of funds from National Gallery admission charges and commissions in 1987. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

2. Street art comes out from underground

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

You know the graffiti movement has gone global when it cements itself in the regional NSW town of Griffith. Head to Banna Lane in its backstreets to find a wall of works that includes a striking rendition of painted honeyeaters signed by artist Thomas Jackson.

The UK-born Australian artist draws inspiration from nature to paint large-scale murals of wildlife listed as vulnerable species.

a woman looking at a Katherine Street Art — Explore Katherine Street Art. (Image: Tourism NT/Elise Derwin)

There is a long-held tradition of street artists acting as social commentators to present their interpretation of the world and what they see as important. And there are great examples of street art providing more context to the built environment everywhere from Newcastle to Dubbo, Kiama, Perth, Shepparton and Katherine.

the banna lane festival — The Banna Lane Festival has brightened up Griffith. (Image: Caitlin Withers)

Progressive councils across the country have recognised that life looks different when viewed through the eyes of a street artist and are now inviting them into public spaces to tell stories about their cultural identity. Our urban environments are all the better for it.

These intense layerings of paint on plaster or brick add more than splashes of colour to the edges of society’s broader fabric. It’s an expansive, albeit ephemeral, archive of people and community.

the Perth street art scene at Banna Lane 2022 — The Perth street art scene even has its own Instagram handle: @perthstart. (Image: Caitlin Withers)

3. Spotlight on inclusive travel

Travelling with: Elizabeth Whitehead

An estimated 1.3 billion people around the globe living with a disability, accessible tourism is a fast-growing area. Sydney was recently ranked by the Valuable 500 – a business collective striving for disability inclusion – as one of the top 10 most accessible cities in the world. While features such as public transport, wheelchair accessibility at attractions and the 2100-plus Braille street signs across the city were highly rated, there’s still plenty of room for improvement – in Sydney and beyond.

a person on a beach wheelchair — Sustainable travel must also cater to differently-abled people. (Image: Parks Victoria)

Luckily, technology is changing the face of travel by providing tools that allow people with disabilities to better navigate the world. One example is Vacayit, an app that uses compelling, high-quality audio stories to help blind and low-vision visitors connect to place with more than 120 guides around Australia. The app is compatible with assistive technology such as screen readers, transcripts and voice search to be more accommodating to users.

The tourism industry is also becoming more mindful of the diverse needs of visitors. The result is a more inclusive range of offerings, such as the beach wheelchairs available in Victoria’s coastal national parks, and thoughtful touches such as free sensory backpacks at WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth to help accommodate children prone to overstimulation. Ultimately, inclusive travel recognises that we are all unique and that the joys of travel should be accessible to all.

a person on a wheelchair overlooking the vast seascape — See the beauty of the world from a different perspective. (Image: Parks Victoria)

4. Do the big lap of Australia by sea

Travelling with: Kassia Byrnes

There’s a new way to see Australia arriving in 2025 and it comes with comfort, luxury and nautical miles. Viking has announced a Grand Australia Circumnavigation cruise, which will make its way around our stunning coastline and beyond over 32 days.

Viking Cruise in Sydney Harbour — The Grand Circumnavigation Cruise arrives in 2025. (Image: Viking Cruises)

Wave goodbye to Sydney Harbour before sailing up the coast to Cairns with stops in the Whitsundays and more before hitting the Arafura Sea at the Top End. From here you’ll divert to Indonesia for stops in Komodo and Bali before circling back to where you started via Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Phew!

Stop off at breathtaking locations like Hamilton Island. (Image: Viking Cruises)

5. The tiny trend making big waves

Travelling with: Emily Murphy

Surrounded by a lush green pine forest, I step out of my car and am greeted with silence as I’ve never heard it. Calm, peaceful, sleepy serenity. I’m physically only two hours south of Sydney, but mentally I’m a world away. We pack our things into wheelbarrows and tread down the steep hill, a few hundred metres into the wild unknown. Enveloped by ferns and leafy canopies, I’m amazed this can be found so close to the city.

The trees open into a clearing, and then we see her. Jojo, our Unyoked cabin. With cabins all over the country, Unyoked was created to help people understand how nature can make us better and allow us to weave it into our lives easily and regularly.

Jojo Unyoked in Illawarra — Discover the joy of seclusion in Jojo. (Image: Declan Blackall Photography)

Jojo welcomes us with her charm, comfort and all-encompassing luxury. The plush KOALA queen-size bed sits surrounded by two giant windows overlooking the small valley below, the same serene views you’ll soak in from the bathroom’s rainfall shower.

The next two days are filled with fire-making, games of UNO and Scrabble, kitchen experiments, walks in the forest and a whole lot of lying in bed watching and hearing wildlife float by the windows. I leave feeling more connected to nature than I have in as long as I can remember.

Ashi Unyoked in the Northern Rivers — Ashi is another cosy Unyoked cabin in the Northern Rivers of NSW. (Image: Jessie and Trent)

The pure perspective of how big nature is and how small we are in comparison reminded me I need to show more love and give more space to the world around me. Unyoked isn’t the only company going off-grid for nature. The trend is growing, with tiny houses springing up like mushrooms after rain.

Nook on the Hill in the Grampians — Enjoy an outdoor bath at Nook on the Hill in Grampians/Gariwerd.

For an immersive tiny house in the foothills of Victoria’s Grampians/Gariwerd, Nook on the Hill is built almost entirely from repurposed materials. Complete with a stunning outdoor bath, this tiny house is the perfect cosy escape.

Heyscape Fiona cabin in the Serpentine — Fiona the Heyscape cabin is the perfect hideaway in the Serpentine. (Image: Martin Callow Photography)

Over in WA, you’ll find Heyscape – tiny cabins for those who love being immersed in nature, but also love a comfortable bed with the blinds drawn. In Queensland’s Lamington National Park, part of The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, Binna Burra Lodge has just opened its new Tiny Wild Houses.

Binna Burra Lodge's Tiny Wild Houses in Lamington National Park — Bunker down in Binna Burra’s Tiny Wild Houses.

Part of the historic rainforest lodge’s post-bushfire rebuild, they have an entire glass wall providing stunning vistas of the Ships Stern Range. If you’re looking for capital in Canberra, Cubby and Co offer ‘naked’ stays, encouraging guests to leave technology behind and reconnect with loved ones, nature and the stars.

The Mornington Peninsula is a coastline of contrasts, where convict and military history meets shipwrecks, wild seas and adventures above and below the surface.

The Mornington Peninsula can be the kind of place where salt-tangled hair feels like a badge of honour – proof you’ve been somewhere wild, raw and real. Peel back the layers and you’ll discover stories that anchor this region to something other than its famed food and wine.

This land is the traditional Sea Country of the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung people. Long before grapevines were planted and artisanal goods were crafted, the Bunurong Traditional Owners lived in deep connection with the land and sea. Today, places such as Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary echo that tradition, with families exploring its rockpools in search of colourful sea stars and crabs at low tide and learning how these fragile ecosystems have been cared for across countless generations.

a group of people visiting the Port Nepean National Park — Take in the rugged coastal landscape at Port Nepean National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

A visit to Point Nepean National Park feels like stepping back through time. The fort, built in 1882, protected the narrow entrance to Port Phillip Bay until the end of the Second World War. It was here that the first Allied shot of the First World War was fired – at a German cargo ship trying to escape just hours after war was declared. Nearby, the old Quarantine Station, one of Australia’s first permanent quarantine facilities, established in 1852, still stands. Walking through the hospital and disinfecting complex evokes stories of those who arrived from faraway shores.

Not far from here is a story of survival that inspired the Aussie phrase ‘you’ve got Buckley’s chance’. In 1803, escaped convict William Buckley vanished into the bush near what’s now Sorrento. Everyone thought he had no hope of surviving, but he reappeared 32 years later, having lived with local Aboriginal people.

Even the waters here hold history. The infamous stretch known as The Rip, just three kilometres wide at the entrance of Port Phillip Bay, is among the most treacherous waterways. Countless ships were lost here in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and in 1967, Australia’s own Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming off the coast, never to be found.

a seal swimming in Port Phillip Bay — A seal swimming in Port Phillip Bay. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

But for all its danger, the sea here also holds extraordinary beauty. Dolphins are often seen near Sorrento’s cliffs, while below the surface, seagrass meadows and rocky reefs teem with life. Marine tours offer a viewing to this underwater wonderland, while back on terra firma, walking trails lead along beaches, through coastal scrub, and over rock pools.

And if you think you’ll forget about the Mornington Peninsula once you’ve left? You’ve got Buckley’s chance.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the suite interior at InterContinental Sorrento — Luxury interiors at the historic InterContinental Sorrento. (Image: Greg Elms)

Point Nepean Discovery Tents is immersive glamping beside the historic Quarantine Station. Or upgrade to luxury at the 1875-built InterContinental Sorrento .

Playing there

an aerial view of Cape Schanck Lighthouse — Make your way to the Cape Schanck Lighthouse. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

Bayplay Adventure Tours offer eco-adventures from snorkelling with sea dragons to kayaking with dolphins and cycling Point Nepean. Cape Schanck Lighthouse is fascinating to explore on a guided tour, which takes you into the lighthouse and keeper’s cottage.

Eating there

Portsea Hotel is a beautifully restored 1876 Tudor-style pub right on the beach, serving seasonal local fare.