8 epic getaways in Australia you’ll never forget

Australia

07 May 2025

These experiences are often the type you dream of but never make happen. From iconic railways to remote outback places and wild treks, it’s time to plan big.

1. Board The Indian Pacific

Travelling with: Quentin Long

To understand this country, its culture, both ancient and modern, is to understand this landscape. And in just five days onboard the Indian Pacific, you gain an intimate understanding. The eastbound itinerary from Perth to Sydney that launched this year abounds with a host of enticing new Off Train Experiences. Commencing alongside this itinerary is an all-new cabin class, Gold Premium, suffused with sleek design touches that reflect the landscapes the train journeys through. Onboard, there’s ample time to enjoy excellent food, wine and superb service, but the Indian Pacific is so much more than that. It’s a journey across the landscapes that have shaped the people in it, from the Traditional Custodians to industrial and agricultural pioneers. It’s one of the few truly great transcontinental journeys in the world.

the Gold Premium cabin onboard the Indian Pacific — The suite spot is Gold Premium.

2. Aussie station stays

Travelling with: Imogen Eveson

Agritourism is on the rise across Australia as farms and cattle stations diversify their income streams by offering travellers a taste of life on the land. There’s nothing like the sense of perspective that comes from staying on an outback station the size of a small European country. And places such as Callubri Station in NSW , Quobba Station in WA and Bullo River Station in the NT offer very comfortable digs indeed to do just that in. When it comes to experiencing the raw beauty of regional and rural Australia, farm stays such as Budgalong Spicers Creek – which offers off-grid safari-style accommodation on a 2800-hectare sheep and cattle farm near Mudgee, NSW – can’t be beaten.

a luxe safari style lodge at Budgalong Spicers Creek — Bed down at Budgalong Spicers Creek. (Image: Stephanie Hunter)

3. Fly Australia with Captain’s Choice

Travelling with: Lara Picone

If you don’t have months to devote to trundling around the country, schedule in the highlights on a 16-day private jet tour with Captain’s Choice . With wheels down in places such as Exmouth, Coober Pedy, Uluṟu and Kangaroo Island, you and 34 other guests will travel in absolute comfort and stay in luxury accommodation along the way.

a private jet tour with Captain’s Choice — Do the lap by wing on a private jet tour with Captain’s Choice.

4. The Larapinta Trail, NT

Travelling with: Lara Picone

An expedition along the extraordinary Larapinta Trail in Central Australia is somewhat of a pilgrimage for those of us stalking quietude and nature absorption. But to truly connect with Country, take to the trail with a First Nations guide. A new partnership between Indigenous-owned 100% Finke River Culture & Adventure and Intrepid Travel will lead travellers on a trek enabling a richly layered understanding of the landscape and cultural heritage.

the Larapinta tour with Benjamin Kenny, Intrepid Travel Australia — See the Larapinta through a First Nations lens. (Image: Intrepid Travel Australia)

5. Arnhem Land, NT

Travelling with: Lara Picone

A journey of truly epic scale and life-affirming immersion, the 13-day Outback Spirit Arnhem Land Wilderness Adventure is one for your archive of remarkable life experiences. The journey begins in Cairns and concludes in Darwin, but what happens in between is an erudition in the world’s oldest living culture. You’ll spend nights in luxury safari camps and days exploring the Cobourg Peninsula, Mt Borradaile and the sacred Arafura Swamp.

the Murwangi Arafura Swamp Boat, Arnhem Land — Cruise along the Arafura Swamp. (Image: Saskia Wilson)

6. The tip of Australia, Qld

Travelling with: Lara Picone

Scooting through the pointy end of northernmost Queensland and Cape York delivers big frontier energy. If this edge-of-world-type adventure appeals to your wandering heart, you can go about it a few ways. Our recommendation for the more refined adventurer is BFC Air Safaris’ nine-night excursion , which covers 4800 kilometres of the region by plane. For those with a body-on-the-line kind of attitude, join Cape York Motorcycle Adventures for a loud and dusty exhilarating escapade on two wheels. Those with cultural curiosity should opt for a 4WD and camping adventure with Jarramali Rock Art Tours .

a 4WD and camping adventure with Jarramali Rock Art Tours — Opt for a 4WD and camping adventure with Jarramali Rock Art Tours. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

7. Aussie safari parks

Travelling with: Lara Picone

Find magnificent beasts and safari encounters on home soil at Australia’s conservation-forward zoos. In South Australia, Monarto Safari Park sprawls over 1500 hectares, making it the largest open-range safari experience outside Africa. With Monarto Safari Resort opening its doors, animal lovers can now stay in tantalising proximity to the Wild Africa precinct. Sydney beloved Taronga Zoo also provides quarters close to zoo residents at its luxe Wildlife Retreat. While in Victoria, pair a visit at Werribee Open Range Zoo with a stay at the grand Lancemore Mansion Hotel Werribee Park.

Oryx at Monarto Safari Resort — Oryx at Monarto Safari Resort. (Image: Angus Northeast)

8. Cruise the Murray River

Travelling with: Lara Picone

For those who err on the side of gentle adventure, slipping through one of Australia’s most iconic waterways on a luxury houseboat is highly compatible with relaxation. Embark in South Australia’s Paringa and be shown the ropes of navigating your floating home before motoring (rather slowly) into the Murray River sunset. With boats that sleep from two to 12 guests, this journey can be a romantic voyage or a water-top celebration as you watch rich-red ridges and bush-hemmed river bends pass by.

cruising the Murray River — Relax on the Murray. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

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The Macedon Ranges is Victoria’s best-kept food and wine secret

By Emily McAuliffe

31 Oct 2025

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat , now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate , whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor , who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will , who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods . “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling — Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield , embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House .

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument , which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds .

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens , hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)