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.

Beyond the winding bitumen and coastal views lies another side to Victoria’s most famous route.

There’s something hypnotic about this stretch of Victoria’s coast. Maybe it’s the way the road hugs the ocean so tightly, or how the cliffs catch the sun in colours you can’t name. Or, for local Victorians who drove this route as kids, maybe it’s the memories of winding through the impossibly tall trees as they seemingly guide you on your journey like wooden guardian angels. Most travellers know it for the 12 Apostles, but there are plenty of alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road equally as worthy of your time.

So, next time you’re in that neck of the woods, park that car, stretch those legs and try these experiences.

1. Discover living culture at Budj Bim

Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism — Walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Breakaway Creek’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is a masterclass in educational storytelling. Join a guided tour with Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism to walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system, where the Gunditjmara people built sophisticated eel traps and stone channels more than 6,000 years ago.

Budj Bim’s aquaculture system predates Egypt’s pyramids by roughly 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest examples of human engineering on Earth. If that’s not enough to get your history-loving family members involved in this road trip, we’re out of ideas.

2. Unwind in the hot springs at Warnambool

woman relaxing at Deep Blue Hot Springs — Let mineral-rich water heal you.

If your legs need a break after a long drive, Deep Blue Hot Springs is your remedy. The geothermal pools sit just metres from the coastline, filled with mineral-rich water that bubbles up from deep underground. Move between open-air baths, waterfall pools and quiet zones made for meditation.

The water in Deep Blue’s geothermal pools comes from an ancient aquifer nearly 850 metres below the Earth’s surface, which, in non-scientific terms, means it’s far more likely to have healing properties than the mineral water you’d find at the supermarket.

3. Take to the air at Princetown

12 Apostles Helicopters flight alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road — See an icon from a different view.

You may have seen the Twelve Apostles from the trusty viewing platform, but a helicopter flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters shows you just how sprawling and rugged this coastline really is.

The trip covers everything from Port Campbell to London Bridge (not to be confused with the UK’s own), giving you a rare chance to watch waves carving the limestone cliffs from above. It’s worth noting that the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles are said to erode by roughly two centimetres each year, so the longer you leave it, the less of the Apostles you’ll see.

4. Step into the past at Flagstaff Hill

Continue the tour through Warnambool at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum , a recreated 19th-century port town. Hear stories from the days when shipwrecks were as common as seagulls, with an astounding 180 ships believed to have sunk along the Shipwreck Coast in less than five years.

The night show, complete with lights, sound, and sea spray, brings the coastline’s most dramatic stories to life.

If you’re staying the night, Simon’s Waterfront offers relaxed dining with fresh local seafood and oceanfront views. Order the catch of the day and toast to the sailors who never made it ashore.

5. Learn to surf in Torquay, Lorne, or Anglesea

kid having a lesson with Go Ride A Wave — Learn how to hang 10. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Whether you’ve surfed before or can barely stand on a board, Go Ride A Wave will have you upright in no time. Torquay’s calm beaches are ideal for first-timers, while Lorne and Anglesea bring a bit more energy for those unafraid to get dunked.

Bells Beach, just down the road from Torquay, has even hosted the world’s longest-running professional surfing competition since 1962. So, for those eager to have a gander at pros using surfboards like they’re an additional appendage, the competition usually runs sometime in autumn.

6. Tackle the trails in Forrest

Barwon Flow Trails Otways Flow MTB — Hire a bike and explore MTB trails through the Otways.

Forrest is a haven for mountain bikers thanks to an expansive network of trails through stunning natural scenery. The Forrest trail network has almost 100 kilometres of singletrack across 36 trails, so there’s something for every level of rider. That’s including more than 60 kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trails winding through the Otways’ dense forest. Cycle through ancient myrtle beech trees and towering tree ferns, with smaller ferns and soft mosses forming a carpet at your feet.

Hire a bike from Forrest MTB Hire and take your pick from easy, scenic rides to more challenging singletracks, such as Red Carpet or Rollercoaster.

7. See wildlife up close in Apollo Bay

bush rat on Wildlife Wonders tour — Get help spotting the locals. (Image: Doug Gimsey)

If spotting koalas and kangaroos in the wild feels like winning the lottery, Wildlife Wonders gives you guaranteed sightings without cages or crowds. Every visit to the sanctuary helps fund the Conservation Ecology Centre which supports endangered species across the Otways, so your business is appreciated by humans and animals alike.

The guided walk takes you through protected Otways habitat where you might spot potoroos (or joey lookalikes for those unfamiliar with a potoroo), wallabies, and sleepy koalas lounging in the trees.

8. Visit the Cape Otway Lightstation

Towering over the sea on a cliff above the Southern Ocean, Cape Otway Lightstation has been guiding ships since 1848. Before the lighthouse was built, Cape Otway was one of the most treacherous points on the Victorian coast, with dozens of shipwrecks occurring in its surrounding waters. Pick the right day, and you may bump into a local willing to tell you about the wreck of Eric the Red .

While at the Cape Otway Lightstation, explore the keeper’s quarters, walk the coastal trails, and take in views that only stop short at the horizon.

And no, contrary to popular belief, the Round the Twist lighthouse is actually located in Split Point, just shy of two hours in the direction of Melbourne. Nothing’s stopping you from embarking on a lighthouse crawl, though.

Plan your next no-stone-unturned journey along this iconic Aussie road at visitgreatoceanroad.org.au.