The 12 Next Big Things in travel 2015

The results of our People’s Choice Awards told us that there are two destinations where Australians really, truly want to be in 2015 (see below), but what comes next? First we hear from you and then Australian Traveller’s editor Georgia Rickard tells you the trends and experiences that she says will affect the way you travel in 2015.

What you want to see in 2015…

Dream experience in 2015: Watching the sun set at Uluru
With the sun slowly retreating below the Northern Territory’s outback horizon, painting the blue sky in shades of ochre, crimson and violet – and arguably Australia’s most iconic landmark Uluru dominating your vision – it’s easy to understand why this was voted number-one dream experience for 2015. Watching this spectacle unfold before your eyes literally feels like you’ve stepped into a dream. Hot tip, book in for the Sounds of Silence dinner at Ayers Rock Resort for $195 per person and enjoy three courses of finely cooked bush tucker as you drink in the spectacle.

Runners Up: 2. Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, Qld 3. Swimming with Ningaloo’s whale sharks, WA 4. Cruising the Kimberley, WA 5. Doing the Top End, NT

Dream destination in 2015: Tasmania
The Bay of Fires, Wineglass Bay, Tamar Valley, Sapphire Freycinet, Cradle Mountain. Just a few reasons why our most southern isle is running through our heads as we drift into dreamland (and we haven’t even mentioned the cities yet). Tasmania has been riding the wave of popularity for the better part of the decade, and with Lonely Planet placing the island number-four on its top 10 destination list for 2015, not to mention Saffire Freycinet’s recent ‘best boutique hotel in the world’ gong, the spotlight won’t be wavering any time soon. Our must-sees in 2015, include the new Pumphouse Point hotel, the four-day ‘Wineglass Bay Sail Walk’ (in the area pictured here), the gourmet delights of Huon Valley and Bruny Island, and, of course, whatever MONA’s doing.

Runners-up: 2. Uluru, NT 3. The Kimberley,WA 4. Kakadu, NT 5.Cape York, Qld 6. The Whitsundays, Qld

Where we think you may end up…

The Gourmet bike trip
We’re all across the gourmet holiday – but what happens when you combine culinary indulgence with a guided walking trip, or high-end cycling tour? These best-of-both-worlds luxury holidays have seen enormous growth in recent years, particularly with the establishment of the Great Walks of Australia and its eight experiences, and now cycling is set to explode in a mainstream way. We’re quite pleased about this – particularly having recently experienced the ‘cycle-thru’ burrito bar and café, along the insanely enjoyable Pedal to Produce cycle route inVictoria’s High Country. Prepare the padded shorts strut.

Themed Glamping
Starry skies and fluffy beds, ‘glamping’, AKA glamorous camping, offers the best of both worlds and don’t Australians know it: the number of glampsites that popped up in 2014 alone has been staggering. From here, we’ll see glamping diversify into specific sub-categories: affordable (think Sydney’s Cockatoo Island); wilderness (Ikara Safari Camp in the Flinders Ranges); indigenous (the Kimberley’s Kooljaman in Cape Leveque), and luxury (possibly best summarised by Longitude 131 at Uluru, or the Maria Island Walk, which mixes back-to-basics wilderness with fine wine, chef-cooked meals and tent-style accommodation).

Rooms with personality
Actually, there is one more glamping category: quirky glamping. From sleeping in a tee pee to staying in a pop-up tent city (check out Daylesford’s ‘Cosy Tents’), we’re lapping up anything offbeat these days, and not just in the glamping arena, either. The success story of whimsical-luxe QT Hotels has proven that there’s a genuine market for luxury travel with a difference. Indeed ‘hotels with quirks’ are taking off in all sectors of the market: Brisbane’s Limes Hotel has a hand-painted feature wall in each room; suites at Adelaide’s Majestic Minima contain unique street art; the entire Art Series Hotel Group is a movement unto itself and even traditional chains are in on the act, with crazy-cool restaurants, pop-up bars and temporary art installations. Next up: individually-styled suites with their own cult followings, and exclusive mini hotels within hotels (think the Club Lounge level on steroids).

Super luxury
Fact: the body lotion in suites at Saffire Freycinet is blue because it contains crushed sapphires. Erstwhile at Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, each of the rooms comes with its own lap pool. These days, personal butlers, individualised menus and money-can’t-buy-experiences are all on offer atAustralia’s best retreats, and this is just the beginning. With more big-hitting international players entering the Australian market (like One&Only Hayman Island) and a customer base of increasingly sophisticated Australians, super luxury will put average five-measly-star hotels to shame. For those who can afford it, that is.

The road trip
Forget flying: the road trip is having a moment. It’s part of the ‘slow travel’ movement which, just like the slow food movement before it, is a response to the mindlessness of today’s travel culture – a backlash against mass-produced resorts, holiday McMeals, erosion of local culture and the plane trips that take you from A to B without any contextual appreciation. This kind of road tripping isn’t about burning down the freeway, though: it’s about taking the back roads. Stopping at that small village. Striking up conversations. And celebrating the uncomplicated pleasures that made you want to travel in the first place. We’re all for it.

Escapes that enrich us
In keeping with the revival of the road trip, we’re also seeking out experiences that have depth and meaning beyond some good weather and a nice pool. Top of the list are authentic indigenous experiences, educational pilgrimages to sites of environmental significance and guided tours that involve historical learnings, but this movement encompasses any travel experiences that enrich our lives, which means cooking classes, detox retreats and holidays including yoga, surfing, writing, pottery-making are all hot stuff, too.

Tech-driven travel
Take a virtual tour of your hotel room using your Google Glasses. Check in with your Apple Watch, then download the appropriate app and use your watch as your room key. Upload a flattering snap of your stay to social media and nab a discount on the room. Indeed, all things social will continue to drive travel trends – take Airbnb.com, for example, which has spawned dozens of variations including Homestay.com, which allows holiday-makers to rent a room short-term, and Eatwith.com, which allows travellers to have dinner at locals’ homes.

Air safaris
Helicopter safaris, chartered private planes, joy rides and the interstate dash – as air travel becomes cheaper and more ubiquitous, everything from scenic flights to month-long laps of the nation (AKA the ‘air safari’) are set to increase in popularity. We’d say the days when personal helicopters become common aren’t far away, either.

Wildly remote hideaways
Remote wilderness experiences are becoming more popular, and though costs of operation and sheer demand mean prices will remain prohibitively high for the majority of our population, we can expect to see more tourism products pop up in remote locations, like Tasmania’s new Pumphouse Point. On a mainstream level, expect a continued rise in localised wilderness tourism – a camping/caravan renaissance, more wildlife activities including interaction with animals (think swimming with whales, sharks etc) and a return to ‘off-the-grid’ holidays (basic accommodation or reception-free or electricity-free destinations). We won’t go so far as to say that coastal holidays have become passé, but we will suggest that, in the twin rushes to retreat from crowds and seek out new experiences, Australians are more likely to consider travelling inward these days. Hello, regional towns…

Australian cruise routes
Love it or hate it, cruising is full steam ahead in Australia – and we’re getting on board. If you hate the very idea of a big liner (we can’t understand why…), look past them – there’s a surprising array of experiences out there that just can’t be replicated on land, and many are genuinely excellent. Jump on a barge to the tropical Torres Strait Islands, board an expedition ship around the Kimberley, chase minke whales along the northern Great Barrier Reef, or board one of the boutique cruise liners, which have a much higher focus on bespoke experiences (with less people). But more on that in the next issue, maybe – for now, we think you’ve got your hands full.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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.

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)

The 12 Next Big Things in travel 2015

What you want to see in 2015…

Where we think you may end up…

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

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.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

Come for the wine, stay for the food