15 inspiring Aussie adventures to lock in now for 2025

Adventures are more than heart-racing, dangerous pursuits. They’re venturing into remote regions. Trying something new. Experiences that fill you with awe and leave you with exciting stories to tell. These 15 inspiring adventures will do just that.

1. Stay on a working outback cattle station, Northern Territory

wallabies grazing in the fields at Bullo River Station — Native wildlife abounds in the paddocks of Bullo River Station. (Image: Elise Hassey)

Set on more than 160,000 hectares of privately owned countryside – technically in the Northern Territory but considered part of the Kimberley – Bullo River Station is where outback hospitality meets untold adventure. The Sibella Court-designed property is the latest to join Luxury Lodges of Australia and defines the concept of ‘luxury of experience’. It’s a taste of life on a remote cattle station, with access to exceptional experiences such as a helicopter flight over a landscape carved and braided by gorges, waterfalls and jewel-like waterholes that you can swim in.

2. Swim with sea lions in Baird Bay, Eyre Peninsula

the Baird Bay Experience boat anchors, Eyre Peninsula, SA — The Baird Bay Experience boat anchors while guests explore the pristine underwater environment. (Image: Tourism Australia)

The sleepy town of Baird Bay has a permanent population of just five, greatly outnumbered by the 140 Australian sea lions that inhabit its sheltered bay. Witness these playful creatures corkscrew and pirouette around you on the Baird Bay Experience, three hours north of Port Lincoln, on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. Sleep in newly renovated rammed earth buildings that overlook the bay, while in-house chef Calvin Von Niebel serves up a menu of maritime abundance pulled from the waters directly in front.

3. Take a walk among Heysen’s gum trees, Adelaide Hills

Couple taking the Artists Walk on the Heysen property in Adelaide Hills — The Artist’s Walk weaves through the 60-hectare property.

Who knew that hidden in a sleepy dale, deep in the Adelaide Hills, was an artistic hotspot that once lured in the creative likes of Marcel Marceau and Anna Pavlova. For half a century, The Cedars was one of the country’s first stops for world-renowned artists making the voyage to Australia to visit German-born Hans Heysen, who grew to become one of Australia’s most celebrated landscape artists. Walk among the famous gum trees that were his ever-present muse on the 40-minute Artist’s Walk weaving through the 60-hectare property.

4. Learn the untold stories of Parliament House, Canberra

visitors at the Members’ Hall, Parliament House — The Members’ Hall at the centre of Parliament House. (Image: Visit Canberra/Lean Timms)

‘If these walls could talk’ is a regular utterance by visitors to Parliament House. But on this exclusive look at the daily goings-on of the heart of Australian democracy, your guide does the talking for them. Going beyond any year-six school excursion and public guided tour, this signature experience through Cultural Attractions of Australia grants you access to roped-off areas where usually only staff are allowed – and tells the stories that these walls have kept quiet for decades.

5. Take a cultural culinary journey in WA

Join Bardi-Jawi guide Bolo Angus on a cultural walk at Lullumb. (Image: Tourism Western Australia/Jarrad Seng)

One minute you might be indulging in fine dining at one of Perth’s top luxury hotels, the next you’re foraging native foods with Traditional Custodians in the far reaches of the Kimberley. Whet your appetite for Western Australia on one of The Ritz-Carlton, Perth x Fervor bespoke packages , which are carefully designed to include once-in-a-lifetime culinary and tourism experiences for its guests.

6. Sleep in luxury near Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu

the bed in a luxe safari-style villa at Cooinda Lodge, Kakadu National Park — The luxe safari-style villas. (Image: Tourism NT/Charlie Bliss)

From ‘tent store’ in the 1960s to modern-day tourism hotspot, Kakadu’s Cooinda Lodge has elevated its offering once more with the new Yellow Water Villas. These safari-style tents are named for the Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba) wetlands, which encapsulate all that is magical about Kakadu National Park – waterbirds dancing in a choreographed ballet, buffaloes padding along the banks of the billabong, saltwater crocs lurking in the shallows. And what’s more, the villas on Murumburr Country have been built on stilts to meet the wet season waterline and minimise impact on the land, all while cocooning guests in luxury.

7. Take a regional festival road trip

Kip Moore performing at Savannah in the Round — Kip Moore at Savannah in the Round.

What do you get when you bring together a strong sense of small-town pride, a line-up of great music and an epic backdrop? A bloody good reason for a road trip. Regional festivals are having a moment. There’s Savannah in the Round (a country music bash in the Cairns hinterland), Port Fairy Folk Festival (a tourism juggernaut that has been running since 1977) and Townsville’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music (which had a record-breaking year in 2024). And in what may be considered an odd pairing of classical music and Australian outback, the Festival of Outback Opera is a truly magical event held in Winton and Longreach each May.

8. Walk along cliff tops, Blue Mountains

Grand Cliff Top Walk, Blue Mountains, NSW — Handrails have been installed for safety. (Image: RBrand/DCCEEW)

The Blue Mountains is home to some of the country’s most breathtaking bushwalks, through lush vegetation, striking rock formations and boundless views on the lands of the Gundungurra people. Launched in early 2024, the Grand Cliff Top Walk connects some of the most scenic of those tracks into a single hike that covers 19 kilometres over two days, from Wentworth Falls to Katoomba.

9. Enjoy a culinary cycle through Victoria’s High Country

cycling Victoria’s High Country — Bike trails crisscross the
King Valley in Victoria’s High Country. (Image: Visit Victoria/Ben Savage)

Victoria’s High Country has long lured gourmands craving to visit some of the state’s finest artisan makers and growers. A self-guided Pedal to Produce itinerary strings together some of the best of Australia’s first ‘Gourmet Region’, with a handful of lauded restaurants, such as Ava’s and Henley’s Wine Bar & Kitchen, along the way. E-bikes make the journey more comfortable, as you whizz past cows and kangaroos grazing on apple-green pastures, through Ned Kelly Country where the Brown Brothers winery put the village of Milawa on the map.

10. Shift your perspective on Uluṟu, NT

native bush foods at Tali Wiru — A piti (bowl) full of native bush foods at Tali Wiṟu. (Image: Tourism NT/Tourism Australia)

Experiencing Uluṟu through Anangu guides shifts your perspective. The landscape is no longer simply a vast, open plain; it’s a book, a kitchen, a medicine cabinet, and a layered archive of personal history. Join a Maruku Arts’ cultural walking tour or dine under a desert sky during the Tali Wiṟu dining experience, to hear the Tjukurpa stories in this iconic landscape that will reveal itself as a vessel of stories, a home and a wellspring of spirituality.

Aerial view of Longitude 131° and Uluru — Luxury lodge Longitude 131° has striking views of Uluṟu from its exclusive safari-style tents. (Image: George Apostolidis)

11. Take an oyster and wine road trip in Tassie

Aerial view of The Neck that connects north and south Bruny Island — The Neck connects north and south Bruny Island. (Image: Jess Bonde)

Tasmania is home to 185 licensed wine producers but roughly half of these world-class drops never leave the Apple Isle… so if you want to sample some of our country’s best wine, you must go straight to the source. This epic two-week road trip from Hobart to Launceston – stopping in verdant regions such as the Huon Valley, Bruny Island and the East Coast – is one for culinary enthusiasts cherry-picking the best wine producers and oyster farms to stop along the way.

12. Go searching for salties, Queensland

a saltwater crocodile lurking in the water — The national park is notorious for saltwater crocodiles. (Image: Mark Daffey)

Queensland’s second largest national park is adventure territory. A landscape of sandstone hills, sweeping grasslands and coastal estuaries, this natural floodplain is notorious for two resident species. The first is barramundi, which are prized by anglers. The second is saltwater crocs. Find these feared beasts around the waterways of Rinyirru National Park with Outback Spirit , making your base the cosy cabins at Lotusbird Lodge, set amongst shady eucalypts on the banks of a billabong. 

13. Explore the hip hood around Waterloo, Sydney

the Waterloo Station in Sydney — Alight at Waterloo to explore surrounding neighbourhoods. (Image: Lauren De Sousa)

In the atmospheric inner-south suburbs of Sydney/Warrane, Waterloo Metro Station is woven around a world of street art, urban treasures and railway history. Carriageworks is a cavernous hub for the arts, housed in a historic railway workshop. In South Eveleigh, a drinking, dining and lifestyle precinct, follow the tracks through the old foundry for a blacksmithing class at Eveleigh Works. And seek out The EVE Hotel, Sydney’s newest and hottest hotel on the site of the old Wunderlich Factory in Redfern.

14. Cosy up with the small guys in McLaren Vale, SA

an aerial view of Sherrah Wines, McLaren Vale — Explore Sherrah Wines to make the most of your escape to McLaren Vale. (Image: Supplied)

It may not be as famous as its neighbour, but McLaren Vale is one of the country’s oldest and most acclaimed wine regions, with some 500 vineyards and 90 cellar doors. Small Batch Wine Tours shines a light on the smaller and lesser-known producers in the region. A favourite stop is the shared cellar door of Lino Ramble, Sherrah Wines and Bondar Wines (the latter one of James Halliday’s top 100 wineries for 2024). Slip between the rooms of this charming cottage to sip on the wines and meet (and belly-laugh) with the winemakers themselves.

15. Lace up your shoes for NSW’s newest coastal walk

Narrawallee Inlet on the NSW South Coast — Narrawallee Inlet marks the northernmost point of the new hike. (Image: Trenny M)

Spanning Narrawallee Inlet just north of Mollymook to Blackburn Head at Burrill Lake, the new 20-kilometre Southern Headlands Walk weaves in some of the South Coast’s best coastal scenery with a few hidden gems along the way. Connecting existing tracks, you’ll pass through Sydney Basin’s Bangalay Sand Forest, an endangered ecological area; marvel at 270-million-year-old marine fossils near Ulladulla Harbour; and rock-hop between incredible swimming spots.

Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.

Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans

“Keeping craft alive is a noble cause,” says Jess Cameron-Wootten, a charming and passionate master leathercrafter and cordwainer, who handmakes traditional leather boots and shoes in Ballarat’s old Gun Cotton Goods Store.

Ballarat was recognised in 2019 as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, and today it’s a place where craft traditions converge with contemporary needs. Nothing quite captures this convergence as a visit to Wootten , the workshop and store of Jess Cameron-Wootten and his partner Krystina Menegazzo.

heritage buildings in Ballarat — Ballarat’s streets are lined with heritage buildings. (Image: Matt Dunne)

Jess’s father was an artisan bootmaker, or cordwainer. Now Jess and Krys and their small team of artisans continue the tradition, but with a modern spin. The company’s boots and shoes, made completely from scratch, are renowned for their quality and longevity. Wootten also craft shoes, bags, belts, leather aprons, wallets and more.

Cosy beanies, gloves, alpaca socks, “unbreakable” shoelaces and various other goods – many from local craftspeople and small-scale makers – fill the shop’s shelves. “We’re always happy to support a mate,” says Jess. “People love to see the workshop and where things are made. Our clients care about quality and sustainability,” Krys comments. The company slogan ‘Made for generations’ says it all.

Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery. (Image: Tara Moore)

For Ruby Pilven, craft is also in the DNA – both her parents were potters and with her latest porcelain ceramics, Ruby’s young daughter has been helping add colour to the glazes. “I grew up watching my parents in the workshop – I’ve always been doing ceramics,” she says, although her Visual Arts degree was in printmaking. That printmaking training comes through particularly in the rich layering of pattern. Her audacious colour, unexpected shapes and sudden pops of 12-carat gold are contemporary, quirky – and joyful.

You can see Ruby’s handcrafted ceramics, and work by other local and regional artists, at Ross Creek Gallery , a light-filled space surrounded by serene bushland, across from the mudbrick house her parents built in the 1980s. A 10-minute drive from Ballarat, it’s a tangible link to the region’s well-established craft traditions.

How Ballarat is preserving the past

artisans making crafts at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — The Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades holds workshops to preserve crafts and skills.

While tradition is ongoing, there’s a danger that many of these specific type of skills and knowledge are fading as an older generation passes on. Step forward the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades .

The seven purpose-built studios occupy a fabulous modern building adjacent to Sovereign Hill, with state-of-the-art facilities, enormous windows and landscape views across to Warrenheip and Wadawurrung Country.

artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — Check out artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.

Practising artisans run hands-on workshops. Fancy making your own medieval armour? Or trying your hand at blacksmithing, spinning wool, plaiting leather, weaving cane or craft a knife? Book a class and learn how. “It’s about creating awareness and also sharing knowledge and skills before they are lost,” explains Deborah Klein, the centre manager.

A city steeped in food and flavours

Chef José Fernandez preparing American streetfood at Pancho — Chef José Fernandez creates vibrant South American street food at Pancho. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

One skill that hasn’t been lost is that of cooking. Ballarat’s burgeoning gastronomy scene runs the gamut from an artisan bakery (the atmospheric 1816 Bakehouse) to cool coffee shops, speakeasy cocktail bars and distilleries to fine-dining venues. But I’m still surprised to find Pancho , José Fernandez’s South American street food restaurant, serving fried cheese tequeños, fiery fish tacos, Argentinian grilled chicken.

The room is as lively as the food – a whirl of colour filled with gifted and thrifted paintings, photos, tchotchkes (trinkets), plants. There’s a Mexican abuela aesthetic going on here. Even before the music and mezcal kick in, it’s fun. Heads up on the drinks menu – an authentic selection of mezcal, tequila, South American wines and Mexican cerveza.

a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits, Ballarat — Enjoy a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

The spirit is willing, so after lunch we head towards the gold rush-era Ballarat train station and across the line to the old 1860s Goods Shed for Itinerant Spirits . At one end, a massive German copper still looms behind a wall of glass. The fit-out embraces deep olive-green tones, original bluestone walls, steamer trunks as coffee tables, heritage timber floors, oversized lamp shades and cognac-hued modernist leather seating.

the Itinerant Spirits Distillery & Cocktail Bar, Ballarat — The distillery operates from an old goods shed. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Gallivanter Gin, Vansetter Vodka and Wayfarer Whiskey – the key spirits distilled – star at the bar. The spirits are crafted using grains from the Wimmera Mallee region, and native botanicals foraged in the Grampians. Seasonal cocktails are inspired by local people and places (I loved The Headland, inspired by Sovereign Hill and flavoured with old-fashioned raspberry drops). Sample the spirits, and join a cocktail masterclass or a distillery tour. It’s a seductive setting – you’ll likely find yourself ordering a charcuterie platter or pizza as the evening progresses.

The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury

one of the rooms at Hotel Vera, Ballarat — The rooms at Hotel Vera have a contemporary style. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

New lives for old buildings keeps history alive. Vera, Ballarat’s boutique five-star hotel, has taken it to the next level: it’s a palimpsest, a subtle layering of early 1900s and 1930s Art Deco architecture with a sleek new wing. There are seven spacious suites, each a dramatically different colour, with designer chairs, blissful bathrooms. High-end pottery and hand-picked artworks imbue the spaces with personality.

Vera’s intimate, award-winning restaurant, Babae, is subtly theatrical with sheer drapes and gallery lighting, its bespoke timber furniture and brass-edged marble bench setting the stage for food with a sharp regional focus. “We have goat’s cheese from a local supplier, handmade granola from local Vegas & Rose, truffles from nearby Black Cat Truffles, fresh food from our garden, and regional wines,” says joint owner David Cook-Doulton.

Celebrating the local makers, bakers, growers and producers, and the master chefs who work their magic is all part of the rich tapestry that links Ballarat’s history to its vibrant present.

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

It’s 90 minutes from Melbourne, either on the Western Freeway, or hop on a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station.

Staying there

Hotel Vera is a centrally located Art Deco boutique hotel. Consider Hotel Provincial , which feels like a sleek country house, but with its own restaurant, Lola.

a contemporary room at Hotel Provincial, Ballarat — Hotel Provincial has country house vibes.

Eating there

dining at Mr Jones, Ballarat — The table is set at Mr Jones. (Image: Tony Evans/ Visit Victoria)

Culinary whiz Damien Jones helms Chef’s Hat winner Mr Jones Dining with quiet assurance. His modern Asian food is deceptively simple with deep, intense flavours. Low-key, laid-back ambience, lovely staff, thoughtful wine list.

Cocktails are definitely a thing in Ballarat. Reynard (fox in French) is foxy indeed, a clubby space with top-notch cocktails and small bites. Grainery Lane is extravagantly OTT with its massive 1880s bar, myriad chandeliers, brass gin still, Asian-inspired food and lavish cocktails.

dining at Grainery Lane, Ballarat — Dining at Grainery Lane.

Playing there

a laneway filled with artworks in Ballarat — An artful laneway in the city. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Check out local design legend Travis Price’s wall murals in Hop Lane with its colourful canopy of brollies, or in Main Street. The Art Gallery of Ballarat’s off-site Backspace Gallery showcases early-career artists in a stylish, contemporary space. First Nations-owned and run Perridak Arts connects people to place, bringing together art and crafts in this gallery/shop.

a woman admiring artworks at Perridak Arts Gallery — Perridak Arts is a First Nations-run gallery. (Image: Tony Evans)

The wineries of the Pyrenees are close at hand with their welcoming cellar doors and robust reds. Join a behind-the-scenes tour at the Centre for Gold Rush Collections .

Don’t forget the giant bluestone Kryal Castle , ‘the land of adventure’, for a little medieval magic, and not just for the kids: get ready for Highland-style feasting, jousting, even overnight stays.