Keep the change, ya filthy animal: Christmas has come early.
Macaulay Culkin is bringing Home Alone to Australia this November. Each night, the 1990 film will play on the big screen before Culkin joins a live moderated interview about his time on set, his favourite memories from filming and why the film became a holiday staple.
The Home Alone: A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour starts at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on Tuesday 24 November. It moves to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre on Friday 27 November and finishes at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Sunday 29 November.
Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern in Home Alone. (Credit: Walt Disney Studios)
Culkin’s appearances as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) transformed him into one of the most successful child actors of all time. And as a Christmas tragic myself, those movies were massive parts of my childhood. I still rewatch them every year, and in 2024 I stayed at The Plaza Hotel in New York City and watched the sequel while eating an insane sundae. A dream come true moment for me.
The Australian tour was announced a day after Culkin’s Emmys tribute to Catherine O’Hara, who played Kevin’s mum, Kate McCallister, in the films. O’Hara died in January at 71. Culkin closed the tribute with: “So she may have forgotten me twice. But we will always remember her."
What tickets cost and when they go on sale
The Home Alone tour is suitable for all ages. (Credit: Walt Disney Studios)
An all-ages event, presale opens at 11am AEST Monday 21 September for fans who sign up through promoter Destroy All Lines, and links go out the evening before. General sale opens at 11am AEST on Wednesday 23 September.
Silver reserved seating starts at $106.90, gold is $149.90 and platinum is $179.90. Brisbane also has general admission at $106.90.
A limited number of VIP tickets will also be available. The VIP meet and greet costs $399–$415. It includes:
A meet and greet with Culkin
A photo with Culkin, taken by a professional photographer and sent as a link within a week
A VIP laminate and lanyard
Early entry
Read the fine print before you splurge. The VIP package is photo only, with no autographs, and phones aren’t allowed at any point during it.
Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.
AI Prompt
Make a weekend of it
Presale opens on 21 September. (Credit: Walt Disney Studios)
Late November is when the capitals start switching on their festive season decorations, and the tour dates line up neatly with it.
The Melbourne show falls on a Friday night, which leaves the whole weekend free to explore the city’s sights. The Myer Christmas windows on Bourke Street usually open in mid-November. Walking them is basically a rite of passage, and it’s free.
In Sydney, the Sunday show lets interstate fans fly in Friday or Saturday and still make work on Monday (just). The Christmas tree in Martin Place usually lights up around late November or early December, so visit that if it’s open by then!
The Brisbane show is on a Tuesday, so it suits locals more than weekenders. But if you do come for a long weekend, there are plenty of things to do around the city to keep you busy.
Wherever you land, pair the show with a Christmas market. Then hand the leftover festive energy to your December watchlist, because Home Alone 2 isn’t going to watch itself.
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Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her 4+ years at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? South Australia and The Kimberley.
From coast to mountains, hiking in Gippsland offers a stunning array of landscapes, with trails that take you deep into the region’s heritage.
I step out onto the sand and it cries out underfoot. Kweek! I take another step and there’s another little yelp. Screet! Picking up the pace, the sounds follow me like my shadow, all the way down to the water. It’s obvious how this spot got its name – Squeaky Beach – from the rounded grains of quartz that make the distinctive sounds under pressure.
For many, Wilsons Promontory National Park is the gateway to Gippsland, and the best way to explore it is by walking its network of hiking trails, from coastal gems such as Squeaky Beach through to the bushland, among the wildlife. But it’s still just a taste of what you’ll find on foot in the region.
Venture a bit further into Gippsland and you’ll discover the lakes, the rainforest, and the alpine peaks, each changing with the season and offering summer strolls or winter walks. Just like that squeaky sand, each step along these trails has something to tell you: perhaps a story about an ancient spirit or a pioneering search for fortune.
The best coastal hikes in Gippsland
Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sprawling wilderness with many coastal bushland trails. (Image: Mark Watson)
Wilsons Promontory National Park (or ‘The Prom’, as you’ll end up calling it) is an easy three-hour drive from Melbourne, but you might ditch the car when you arrive, with much of the park’s 50,000 hectares accessible only by foot. From the inky water of Tidal River (dyed dark purple by abundant tea trees), I like the easy walks along the coast, among lichen-laden granite boulders, to golden beaches and bays.
Panoramic views from the summit of Mount Oberon. (Image: Everyday Nicky)
The trail to the panoramic views at the summit of Mount Oberon is a bit harder, up steep timber and granite steps, but it’s a popular 6.8-kilometre return. The more remote hikes are found through the open banksia and stringybark woodland of the park’s north, or along the multi-day Southern Circuit, which ranges from about 35 to 52 kilometres, with sunrises and sunsets, kangaroos and cockatoos, and maybe even whales.
Walk ‘The Prom’s’ golden sand beaches. (Image: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia)
You might also see whales on the George Bass Coastal Walk, even closer to Melbourne on the western edge of Gippsland. This dramatic seven-kilometre trail along the clifftops takes in sweeping views of the wild ocean, occasionally dipping down from grassy green hills to coastal gullies and a secluded beach. It also now links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail for an extra 14 kilometres.
George Bass Coastal Walk trails for seven kilometres along clifftops. (Image: Visit Victoria/Time Out Australia)
Over at the eastern edge of Gippsland, in Croajingolong National Park, you can wander along the lakeshores beneath koalas and around goannas (I keep my distance since one chased me here!). For those who are even more adventurous, the park is also the starting point for the 100-kilometre Wilderness Coast Walk, usually done over seven days.
Wander along the lakeshores in Croajingolong National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)
The best bush hikes in Gippsland
The alpine heath of Baw Baw National Park. (Image: Everyday Nicky)
Deep in the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine at Walhalla, mining guide Richard tells me how this small town in the mountains east of Melbourne boomed when prospectors found gold here in 1862. These days, you’ll find most of the town’s treasure – its heritage – above ground, with the Walhalla Tramline Walk a wonderful way to explore it.
Just seven kilometres long, the walk takes you through decades of Gold Rush history, following the original rail trail from lush bushland to the mining sites, and through the charming village of just 20 residents with its wooden cottages and old shopfronts adorned with turn-of-the-century advertising posters. Blazing a trail where trailblazers once opened up the region, this is also the starting point for the 650-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track.
Nearby, Baw Baw National Park has walks through gnarled snow gums and alpine heaths that show off the colourful wildflowers in summer and the pristine carpet of white in winter. Several trails are perfect for snowshoes, including a 45-minute route from St Gwinear up to vast views across the Latrobe Valley.
Further up into the mountains, the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk is an easy 2.2-kilometre path that serenades you with the sound of flowing water as you pass mossy rocks and tree ferns en route to two sets of waterfalls cascading over boulders in the remote wilderness.
The best cultural hikes in Gippsland
Hike the Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)
Across a pool in a natural sandstone amphitheatre, deep within a cave behind a waterfall, it’s said the Nargun has its lair. A fierce creature, half human and half stone, that abducts children and can’t be harmed by boomerangs or spears, the story of the Nargun has been told around the campfires of the local Gunaikurnai people for generations.
As a culturally significant place for women, hikers are asked not to go into the Den of Nargun, but a 3.4-kilometre loop walk leads you through a rainforest gully to the entrance where you can feel the powerful atmosphere here in Mitchell River National Park, along Victoria’s largest remaining wild and free-flowing waterway.
Bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)
The Den of Nargun is part of the Bataluk Cultural Trail, a series of important traditional Gunaikurnai sites through central Gippsland. Another location is Victoria’s largest cave system, Buchan Caves Reserve, with trails to important archaeological sites of human artefacts up to 18,000 years old. The FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk includes the naturally sculpted white limestone steps of the 400-metre-long Federal Cave, while the Granite Pools Walk goes among tall timber and moss-covered gullies.
The ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park. (Image: Josie Withers)
Also important to the Gunaikurnai people is Tarra-Bulga National Park, known for its ancient myrtle beeches and enormous mountain ash trees. Just 40 minutes return, the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk offers a taste of this verdant landscape, while the Grand Strzelecki Track takes you deep into the lost world of forest giants on an epic 100-kilometre trail rich with tradition.
A traveller’s checklist
Staying there
Wilderness Retreats in The Prom. (Image: Christian Pearson)
Wilderness Retreats in Wilsons Promontory offers glamping-style tents with luxurious queen beds. Star Hotel is a reconstruction of a Gold Rush-era hotel from 1863 in the heart of heritage Walhalla. Caves House is a historic three-bedroom house with views over the Buchan River.
Eating there
Enjoy a post-hike lunch at Carrajung Estate. (Image: Everyday Nicky)
Kilcunda General Store serves great coffee and meals of local produce at the George Bass Coastal Walk. Alpine Trout Farm is located near Toorongo Falls in Noojee. Fish for your own lunch and barbecue it with the provided cookware.
Carrajung Estate is a short drive from Tarra-Bulga National Park. The winery’s restaurant offers a seasonal menu of regional ingredients and you can stay at The Lodge.
The table is set for a seafood feast at the estate.
