9 irresistible food and wine getaways in Australia

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From celebrations of bounty in beachside locales to culinary experiences in remote reaches, let food and wine be your guide to extraordinary places.

1. Treat yourself at Pair’d in Margaret River, WA

Travelling with: Fleur Bainger

Pair’d is Margaret River on very classy steroids. The new wine festival marries the magic of tall karri tree forests with the purity of maritime breezes over vineyards – and provides that extra nudge you need to book a weekend away. The inaugural 2024 event saw former Noma head chef (and Margaret River resident) Ben Ing rub shoulders with Blur bassist Alex James (who spun a sunset soundtrack as crayfish rolls were served on the sand), along with Burnt Ends’ Dave Pynt and Attica’s Ben Shewry. The festival celebrates WA’s bounty, such as crayfish, and is one of the state’s most coveted foodie events.

plated crayfish at Pair’d, Margaret River
The festival celebrates WA’s bounty, such as crayfish.

2. Hop between two of SA’s top wine regions

Travelling with: Megan Arkinstall

Compare tasting notes of two of the country’s best wine regions during the ultimate indulgent weekend. Stop by McLaren Vale first, with a Small Batch Wine Tour and a few nights at Beresford Estate. Request a visit to the historic cottage that houses Sherrah Wines, Bondar Wines and Lino Ramble, where you can meet the winemakers themselves. Ninety minutes away in the Barossa Valley, add Alkina Wines and Langmeil Winery to big-name estates, such as Seppeltsfield and Penfolds, before retreating to your eco-friendly accommodation at The Villas.

an aerial view of Lino Ramble
Sherrah Wines, Bondar Wines and Lino Ramble are housed inside a historic cottage.

3. Wild feasts in Kakadu National Park, NT

Travelling with: Imogen Eveson

Hungering for adventure? Head north to join a culinary safari hosted by acclaimed chef James Viles at luxury lodge Bamurru Plains on the fringes of Kakadu National Park. Wild Tastes of the Top End invites guests to forage and tuck into curated menus starring native ingredients and locally sourced produce (think wild duck, buffalo rib, threadfin salmon and crocodile) distinct to this unique Australian ecosystem. Or time your Top End visit for Karrimanjbekkan An-me Kakadu – Taste of Kakadu , the ultimate bush food experience.

Wild Tastes of the Top End, Kakadu National Park
A hands-on culinary experience at Wild Tastes of the Top End.

4. Dive into the Sunshine Coast’s Curated Plate, Qld

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

The Curated Plate draws foodies from around Australia for its annual 10-day celebration of culinary excellence on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The program includes pop-up panels, cooking demos, workshops, farm tours and one-of-a-kind feasts. This year, the debut of Mooloolaba’s Seafood Series sees fresh, sustainable and wild-caught seafood highlighted through events such as a First Nations-themed seafood experience with Saltwater Eco Tours and a Grape vs Grain degustation at Fish on Parkyn.

a Grape vs Graindegustation at Fish on Parkyn
A Grape vs Grain degustation at Fish on Parkyn.

5. Silversea’s S.A.L.T. program

Travelling with: Quentin Long

If travel is about special moments, then this is certainly one for the history books. Analiese Gregory, formerly of Michelin-starred Le Meurice in Paris and Quay in Sydney, is considered to be one of Australia’s most interesting chefs. Gregory recently teamed up with fellow Huon Valley local and food stylist Michelle Crawford to deliver an extravagant five-course lunch for the lucky ducks onboard Silversea’s Silver Nova.

the Silversea’s S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) program
The S.A.L.T. program delivers exclusive food and wine experiences on land and at sea.

Hosted at Crawford’s studio, event space and B&B, The Bowmont, it was an exquisite affair, starting with platters of Tasmanian seafood stacked high with oysters, lobster, periwinkles, kingfish ceviche and locally harvested vegetables fashioned into crudites. Gregory toiled over a fire in the garden to produce scallops with wakame butter, grilled octopus and a leg of local lamb. A whopping trifle was wheeled out to finish off the feast. The lunch was part of Silversea’s S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) program, which delivers exclusive food and wine experiences on land and at sea.

scallops cooked over the fire, Silversea’s S.A.L.T. program
Scallops over a fire. (Image: Quentin Long)

6. National Wine Festival of Australia, ACT

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

Raise a glass to the inaugural National Wine Festival of Australia , designed to showcase wines produced by some of the country’s most talented viticulturalists. The festival marks the 50th birthday of the National Wine Show of Australia and is set to attract everyone from glass-half-full travellers to serious oenophiles. The program will include masterclasses on everything from a beginner’s guide to wine tasting to Australian sparkling. Extend your stay to explore the scores of vineyards on Canberra’s doorstep, such as Brindabella Hills Winery .

the Brindabella Hills Winery, Canberra
The scenic Brindabella Hills Winery is set over a granite ridge. (Image: Tourism Australia/Martin Ollman)

7. Newcastle is NSW’s newest dining destination

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

Bistro Penny, Frenchie, Susuru, Meat & Grain Steakhouse, The Del, LOLAS, Crumb and Roxanne are all new places to pin to your map app on your next visit to Newcastle. While most of the NSW city’s hotspots are showcased during its annual Newcastle Food Month in April, you can still build your own itinerary and connect the dots between venues such as Humbug, Flotilla, Jana and Elementa, all of which position Newie as an epicurean escape.

the food at Humbug, Newcastle
Humbug is renowned for Italian-leaning fare with Asian accents. (Image: Dom Cherry)

8. Visit the highest wine-growing region in the country, Qld

Travelling with: Lara Picone

Be blown off the course of the usual Queensland itinerary by exploring the highest wine-growing region in the country. Meander between wineries, quaffing well-crafted and rare drops in the Southern Downs and Granite Belt, less than three hours south-west of Brisbane. There’s still shiraz and the like, but you’ll also find almost every cellar door – such as Balancing Heart Vineyard – decanting a much scarcer saperavi, fiano or carménère. Stay in a Girraween Environmental Lodge bush chalet, surrounded by Girraween National Park.

wine tasting at Balancing Heart Vineyard
Raise a glass or two over the glorious vines at Balancing Heart Vineyard.

9. Mark your calendar for Orange F.O.O.D Week, NSW

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

The charming heritage town of Orange is surrounded by cool-climate vineyards and rolling farmland. The region is home to Australia’s longest-running food festival, Orange F.O.O.D Week (held annually in autumn), which includes highlights such as the Hillside Harvest lunch. All up, the region has more than 80 vineyards and over 30 cellar doors. It’s also considered one of the jewels of the NSW Central West for its abundance of boutique stays. The town is buttressed by Mt Canobolas, which attracts hikers, birdwatchers and nature lovers.

a plate of food at Orange F.O.O.D Week
Farm-fresh local produce is the highlight of lunch at the Orange F.O.O.D Week. (Image: Kirsten Cunningham Photography)
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Explore historic wine towns and sculpture trails on a 3-day self-guided Murray River cruise

    Ricky FrenchBy Ricky French
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    Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place. 

    Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat. 

    After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.    

    Murray River
    The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

    Setting sail from Mildura 

    Murray River birds
    Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

    A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.  

    My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.  

    Stop one: Echuca  

    19th-century paddlesteamers
    A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star , is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.  

    The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.  

    Stop two: Barmah National Park 

    Barmah National Park
    Camping riverside in Barmah National Park, listed as a Ramsar site for its significant wetland values. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.  

    The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.  

    Stop three: Cobram 

    Yarrawonga MulwalaGolf Club Resort
    Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange. 

    The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.  

    Stop four: Albury-Wodonga 

    First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk
    First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

    Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country. 

    A traveller’s checklist  

    Staying there

    New Mildura motel Kar-rama
    New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

    Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town. 

    Playing there

    BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura
    Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

    Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists. 

    Eating there

    Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.