Five Best Outback Spots To Tie The Knot

Anita Revel Anita Revel
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Civil Marriage Celebrant Anita Revel has tied knots in some fantastically remote places in her time. Here she explores some of the most memorable spots in which she and her colleagues have borne witness to those magical words: I do.

1. Diamonds Are Forever

Pentecost River, East Kimberley, WA

It was on the banks of the mighty Pentecost that Hugh and Nicole first smooched in Australia the movie. The river runs right through the Home Valley Station, an onsite training academy for Indigenous men and women from the East Kimberley, an area famous for sparkling pink Argyle diamonds and ochre and violet skies at twilight.

 

“I have officiated many ceremonies with a didgeridoo being the only beautiful music bouncing off 350-million-year-old cliffs."

 

With the river crossing open for just a few months each year, the region is accessible by 4WD only in the dry season (April-Oct). Just because Home Valley is remote, however, doesn’t mean it’s rudimentary. You’ll be won over as you cruise down the driveway between the giant boabs, emerging into an oasis of green lawns, stylish buildings and modern eco-campsites. Their Grass Castles – stylish, self-contained cabins – make perfect honeymoon suites.

 

Your wedding cars (provided by Home Valley) are gleaming 4WDs with huge tyres. Your ceremony will likely be witnessed (and applauded) by campers enjoying the sunset lighting up the Cockburn Ranges. But that’s all part of the magic.

As you toast your future happiness, gaze up at the stars sparkling from horizon to horizon and be reminded that diamonds are forever. So too will your memories be of this dazzling region.

2. By Air, Land and River

Katherine Gorge, NT

At Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge), brides can arrive at the top of the first gorge by helicopter and return to the launching area via water. The mere groom (and the rest of the wedding party) travels by boat 30mins up the Katherine River into the first of 13 gorges. Apart from the occasional “Wow!" not much is said on the way in. All eyes are on the sheer 60m walls that will later act as the perfect acoustic arena for the wedding service at the base of the cliffs.

 

“I have officiated many ceremonies with a didgeridoo being the only beautiful music bouncing off 350-million-year-old cliffs," says NT celebrant Nola Sweetman. “They also come in handy for the certificates – no table needed, I always find a rock ledge for the signings."

 

The earthy, gold and bronze tones of the gorge also make for stunning photos and ambience. Nothing is more memorable, however, than the bride assuming her position as figurehead on the boat ride home; the water is like a silver ribbon threading its way through the red-tinged cliffs, forming a perfect backdrop for wedding photos at the front of the boat.

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3. Stand in an Albert Namatjira Painting

Bamurru Plains, Mary River, NT

With more than 230 species of birds that call this catchment area home, and a plethora of wildlife roaming the savannah woodlands at twilight, it’s a good idea to fly in to Bamurru Plains during daylight hours.

 

The nine safari suites of Bamurru Plains luxury bush camp are on a working buffalo station on the floodplains of the Mary River region halfway between Darwin and Kakadu’s hub, Jabiru. The station’s western boundary, the Sampan River, harbours one of the world’s largest crocodile populations, as well as an abundance of Barramundi and Jewfish to keep any fishing addict happy.

 

Bilawara Lee, a celebrant and Elder of the Larrakia Nation of Darwin, performs wedding ceremonies on the deck of the camp’s main building, as well as a Smoking Ceremony and a Blessing of the Ancestors. Upon request she also brings her brother along to play didgeridoo for the bridal march.

 

Most couples marry late in the day, mainly to escape the heat, but also to look across the floodplains, the silhouettes of the spiky pandanus trees, the rich and contrasting colours, the roaming wildlife, all infused with the golden light unique to an outback twilight, and feel what it is to stand inside an Albert Namatjira painting.

4. Where Art Galleries Outnumber Pubs

The Living Desert, Broken Hill, NSW

For a touch of celebrity, head to Silverton 10km west of Broken Hill. The pub and church are two historic buildings featured in close to 100 films, including Mad Max and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

 

The town adjoins the Living Desert Reserve and epitomises the picture-perfect nature of the Aussie outback. Here you’ll find the Sculpture Symposium, a series of 12 sandstone sculptures created in 1993 that have been a drawcard for art aficionados ever since.

 

“Another stunning location is the Mundi Mundi Lookout overlooking the Mundi Mundi Plains all the way to Burke," says Diane Cotterill, a Broken Hill celebrant. “The vista is so huge you can see that the Earth really is round."

 

Diane also recommends the art galleries that outnumber the pubs and feature artists like Pro Hart and Jack Absalom. “Some couples have married in front of The Big Picture, the world’s largest acrylic painting on canvas by a single artist," she says. “It wraps around the walls of a disused go-cart track, across the ceiling and onto the floors – it’s so big the Silver City Mint built a viewing platform to take it all in."

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5. Give Her the Biggest Rock Of All

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, NT

Early one Valentine’s Day, Voyages Ayers Rock Resort staff laid 80 white sheets on the Community Oval to form the words, “Will you marry me?" for one of their guests. Just like this region, Australia’s Red Centre, the ensuing aerial marriage proposal was supremely romantic.

 

Although restrictions imposed by the National Parks Service mean the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is not available for use as a wedding location, there’s a variety of lookouts within the adjoining Yulara township that give magnificent views of The Rock and The Olgas. Bruce McRae, a celebrant for central Australia, says one such location is the Uluru Lookout. “It’s readily accessible but a bit of a climb," he says. “I recommend brides wear their runners."

 

For couples looking for something more unique, the Fire Trail Lookout offers particularly beautiful views of Uluru as it morphs through its famous colour changes at sunrise and sunset.

 

Couples wanting an intense, spiritual experience in the Red Centre may opt for a full silver service al fresco dining experience at this lookout, complete with a resident stargazer to provide descriptions of the various constellations creating the natural canopy overhead.

The Details

1. East Kimberley celebrant Anita Revel, 0417 937 436, yesidoweddings@gmail.com

2. Nitmiluk celebrant Nola Sweetman, (08) 8972 1926, nola.sweetman@bigpond.com

3. Bamurru Plains celebrant Bilawara Lee, Larrakia Elder, (08) 8922 8235, bilawara@gmail.com

4. Uluru celebrant Bruce McRae, 0419 816 597, bamcrae@bigpond.net.au

5. Broken Hill celebrant Diane Cotterill, 0418 851 076, divadi@netspace.net.au

6. Outback wedding photographer Joyce van Dijk, ID Photography, (08) 8952 1592, www.idphotography.com.au

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Anita Revel

Anita Revel

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

    Emily McAuliffe Emily McAuliffe
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    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)
    Five Best Outback Spots To Tie The Knot - Australian Traveller