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2025 Readers’ Choice Awards: Editors’ Choice

Australian Traveller Australian Traveller
Winner: The Kimberley, WA

Why we love the Kimberley…

If there’s one region that tops the scoreboard or wish list of every Australian Traveller team member, it’s the Kimberley. It was while co-founder Quentin Long was flying over Broome/Rubibi, after all, that the idea for the magazine first took flight. For print editor Imogen Eveson, a trip to Kununurra for the Ord Valley Muster first sealed the deal, while senior writer Elizabeth Whitehead has just returned from a soul-stirring stay at El Questro. From driving its dusty roads, discovering living culture, diving into secret waterholes cradled by red rock and endless blue sky or soaring over incredible geological formations such as the Bungle Bungles in Purnululu National Park, the Kimberley feels quintessentially Australian – and yet, somehow, still remains a hidden gem. 

Perched above the Chamberlain River and framed by burnt-orange cliffs, The Homestead at El Questro invites you to an experience like no other. Unwind with sundowners beneath a sky full of stars and wake to the serene sounds of the Kimberley.

Hot tips for visiting the Kimberley…

Explore the Kimberley coast on a luxury small-ship expedition with the likes of Silversea, Ponant or True North for access to remote locations within this wild frontier. 

Runners-up:

  • The thrill of Race Week at Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, Qld – Katie Carlin, head of content
  • The Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean are like a living postcard – Emily Murphy, email and social editor
  • Arnhem Land is wild Australia, filled with natural beauty and ancient culture – Kassia Byrnes, native content editor
  • A weekend getaway at Osborn House, the perfect blend of luxury, heritage and small-town charm in NSW’s Southern Highlands – Taylah Darnell, writer/producer
  • The Arkaba Walk in South Australia’s outback as a way of reconnecting with nature – Megan Arkinstall, sub editor
  • Cycling the Pedal to Produce trail in Victoria’s High Country – Carla Grossetti, sub editor

For all the winners and runners-up, visit our 2025 Readers’ Choice hub.

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This geological wonder is hiding in the heart of Victoria

    Michael Turtle Michael Turtle
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    Mythical, historical and most of all, spectacularly beautiful, Buchan Caves demands you take your time – and a tour. 

    In the pools of water, so still they could be mirrors, the reflections of the stalactites make these limestone towers seem even taller. Almost 400 million years ago, an underground river carved through the rock to create the Buchan Caves. Now, artworks created by dripping water adorn these subterranean galleries: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, pillars connecting some to the ground, even curtain-like wave formations clinging to the stone.

    Caves House
    Visit the caves for the day or stay onsite in the campground or at the self-contained Caves House. (Image: Ben Savage)

    “This is called the Fairy Cave because it’s full of fairy dust,” a guide tells visitors as they enter a cavern glittering with “calcite that’s solidified into thousands of tiny little diamond shapes”.  Buchan Caves is Victoria’s largest cave system, but Fairy Cave is a highlight and, along with nearby Royal Cave, is accessible only by tour. Naturally cold, naturally dark, these caverns deep below the surface light up as the local experts tell their stories. 

    couple walking in cave
    You’ll need to book a guided tour to see the caves. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the hundreds of caves, some can be easily accessed from the surface. For instance, a casual stroll along the FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk, as kangaroos watch on from beneath acacia trees, leads into the 400-metre-long Federal Cave and its natural steps of white limestone. A slightly longer track, the Granite Pools Walk heads through soaring forest down into moss-covered gullies where the calls of lyrebirds trill through the leaves. 

    A quick history lesson on Buchan Caves 

    Buchan Caves
    Buchan Caves are a must-visit attraction in Gippsland. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the geology and the nature are millennia of history. This part of East Gippsland connects the high country to the coast and was long a place of refuge for the local Gunaikurnai people on seasonal migrations to the mountains. Archaeological studies show humans lived here up to 18,000 years ago, with artefacts such as small stone tools found around the site. But not too far into the caverns – oh no! The Gunaikurnai didn’t dare venture deep into the dark at Buchan Caves, telling stories they were inhabited by gnome-like nyols (small grey-skinned creatures that could steal memories). 

    Buchan Caves Hotel
    The Buchan Caves Hotel was rebuilt after burning down in 2014. (Image: Jess Shapiro)

    By the early 1900s, more people had started to hear about these incredible caves and so the Moon family set up home at the site and started to run tours below ground for intrepid visitors. More than a century later, their historic residence is available as accommodation, with the three-bedroom house sleeping up to eight people and now equipped with modern amenities the Moons could only have dreamt of. 

    But whether you stay overnight or just spend the day here, it’s worth taking your time to explore more than just the main caves, to get a deeper understanding of one of Victoria’s fascinating geological attractions.