Australia's top 10 culinary journeys

Our Top 10 Delicious Culinary Journeys are forks down the hottest (and tastiest) foodie experiences in Australian this year, complied from our 100 Incredible Experiences (right here in your backyard) special issue.

Buy the issue now to savour the 100 best travel experiences of 2016.

Australia is one massive, scrumptious food bowl. From the abundant seafood across the length of the south coast, to fine dining in some of the best restaurants in the world, to the tropical offerings of markets in north Queensland, travelling Australia is a culinary tour of the best its many cultures and regions has to offer, compiled by Adam Liaw.

Words: Adam Liaw is food columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Sunday Life and The Guardian, and the author of four cookbooks. On television, Adam hosts the prime-time SBS food and travel program, Destination Flavour, and was the winner of the 2010 season of MasterChef Australia.

1. The roaming restaurant pop-up dining – various locations, WA

Paul Iskov has worked in some of Europe’s best restaurants and having Returned to his native WA, he and his friends set up roaming restaurant Fervor . using Native ingredients cooked over open fires in the WA outback and towns and presented in the finest fashion, this is a dining with a difference.

Why you should try it: It’s soul surfing but with food, and it might be the most ‘Australian’ dining experience you’ll ever have.

2. Doing the Barossa properly – Barossa Valley, SA

Everyone knows that a tasting tour of the Barossa Valley is an incredible wine experience, but if you forget the food you’re only getting half the story. Take a lazy lunch with local wine at 1918, a wood-fired bee sting cake from Apex Bakery and a truly local dinner at Appellation, and you won’t just have tasted the Barossa, you’ll have experienced it.

Why you should try it: The Barossa is a rite of passage for every Aussie.

3. Dining, Bondi-style – Bondi Beach

The restaurants at the two ends of Bondi Beach could be a metaphor for the two sides of Bondi culture. On the southern side, Icebergs is exquisitely cool, its polished glamour overlooking the famous Bondi Baths where the bronzed and beautiful can be found at any time of the day. On the northern side is Sean’s Panorama , casual and convivial with a European warmth to it. Locals stroll down for dinner with a bottle of wine under their arm and unwind at the tables perched on the footpath looking out to the horizon. The laughter and buzz of conversation echoes all the way to the beach.

Why you should try it: It’s a menu-less celebration of not just ingredients or cooking, but of the culture of dining itself.

4. King George whiting and chips – Port Lincoln, SA

The pristine waters around South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula host the best seafood in the world. While much of it finds its way onto boats en route to Tokyo’s best sushi restaurants, there’s nothing like a local favourite fresh out of the water. While the Eastern states sing the praises of flathead for their fish and chips, in SA whiting is the king in both reputation and name. Catch it yourself if you can, but if you can’t just grab a King George whiting and chips from The Fresh Fish Place (and maybe a dozen Coffin Bay oysters while you’re at it) and head down to the foreshore.

Why you should try it: Because fish and chips in Australia isn’t the same if you don’t share it with the seagulls. See portlincolnseafood.com.au

5. Coffee on Centre Place – Melbourne

Melbourne is stunningly beautiful, and Centre Place might be the most photographed spot in the whole city. Grab a coffee at Vicolino and soak up the unique atmosphere here; coffee-culture at its best.

Why you should try it: It’s the quintessential Melbourne laneway, the one that people make a bee-line for when they’re after a coffee in the city.

6. A World-beating affogato gelato – Cow & The Moon, Enmore, Sydney

Lining up for after-dinner ice-cream has become a fixture of Sydney culture in recent years, and Cow & The Moon has some of the longest lines in the city. Deservedly so, as its famous affogato gelato is a world-beater, winning the World Gelato Tour in Rimini, Italy in 2014.

Why you should try it: It beat the Italians, enough said.

7. Fruit picking Rusty’s Markets – Cairns

Tropical North Queensland moves at a pace of its own, whether it’s local families knocking green mangoes out of the trees that line the streets, or enjoying a slow bucket of prawns and a few cold beers watching the sun set at Palm Beach. Rusty’s Markets is a Cairns institution and it’s one of the most eclectic markets around. The tropical fruits are as good as you’ll find anywhere in the world, from carambola and jackfruit to mangoes of every variety, but what I love are the homemade local products. They’re a multicultural mix from around Australia and Asia that you won’t find anywhere else.

Why you should try it: Pickled mangoes, homemade Thai-style sai krok fermented sausage, native fruit jams – there’s always something to surprise you.

8. Grab an oyster from the sea – Freycinet Marine Farm, Tasmania

There’s truly no better way to eat an oyster than pulling it straight out of the water, shucking it, and tipping it straight into your mouth. And the best place in the world to do that is at the oyster shucking table at Tasmania’s Freycinet Marine Farm . Stand waist-deep in the water and just grab an oyster out of sea water as the fish swim around your legs.

Why you should try it: The only drawback is that it’ll spoil you for all other oysters for the rest of your life.

9. A sunset beach feast – Mindil Beach Sunset Market

Some compare the Mindil Beach Sunset Market to a South-east Asian hawker centre but it’s really so much more a temple to Darwin’s multiculturalism. Stroll from stall to stall as the sun sets into the ocean and try everything from hickory-smoked local mackerel and barbecued octopus to Thai laksa or nasi campur from Borneo. Go on an empty stomach and, if you can, make it for the last market of the year to enjoy live music and fireworks bursting over the horizon.

Why you should try it: You can’t beat the atmosphere.

10. Going native – Attica, Melbourne

Ben Shewry is one of the world’s most innovative chefs. He was pushing native Australian ingredients to the limits of fine dining long before Noma rolled into Barangaroo.

Why you should try it: The degustation at Attica isn’t just delicious – it’s thoughtful, nostalgic and beautiful; a meal you won’t forget.

Traipse Jurassic cliffs and wander secluded beaches on Australia’s most enchanting walks.

Australia’s landscapes are made for hiking. Take the Red Centre, dusted in shifting sands and dotted with miraculous geological formations. Or our rainforests, left behind as the sole souvenir from continents that no longer exist. Down south, mottled night skies hang above crashing seas and unwavering cliffs. It makes sense, then, that hiking holidays are rising in popularity. No wi fi, no traffic. Just you and the path less travelled on the Great Walks of Australia in remote and iconic destinations.

What are the Great Walks of Australia?

If nature is your happy place, you’ve likely heard of the Great Walks of Australia, part of Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences program since 2013 – a curated collection of 15 all-inclusive, eco-luxury journeys showcasing the country’s most spectacular landscapes with expert guides and incredible meals. GWOA launching in 2013 as

From exploring the peaks of a World Heritage listed island, to journeying through the heart of Australia, and the gentle pull of the majestic Murray – there’s a walking holiday to suit walkers of all experience levels (and interests).

Joining a Great Walks of Australia hike means the pressure is off with all meals, guides and eco-luxury accommodation included.

Where can you hike?

1. Scenic Rim Trail, Queensland

great walks of australia tour group on Scenic Rim Trail, Queensland — Enjoy incredible food along the way.

Around 23 million years ago, volcanoes spewed magma across Queensland’s Scenic Rim . Now, what’s left of the fiery landscape takes the form of the UNESCO-listed Gondwana rainforest.

The Scenic Rim Trail is a four-day guided hike that takes you through the ancient rainforest. You’ll venture out into breathtaking viewpoints across the Main Range National Park. Enjoy a packed lunch, listen out for the duplicitous calls of the lyrebird and enjoy the silence.

You’ll spend your nights in boutique eco-cabins and incredible hospitality.

2. Murray River Walk, South Australia

great walks of australia tour group on — Walk through vibrant wildflower fields.

Murray River Walk pairs easy hiking with blissful evenings cruising the Murray River. Over four days and nights, you’ll follow kangaroo trails through red dirt dusted with vivid patches of wildflowers.

Each day ends on a solar-powered, custom-built houseboat. Watch towering, red sandstone cliffs float by from the top deck spa. Then, it’s three-course meals sourced from local produce and served alongside the region’s best wines.

The entire region you’ll be traversing is within the Riverland Ramsar site. Watch as spoonbills forage for food in the tranquil wetlands, emus parade through the wildflowers, and regent parrots flit above.

3. Maria Island Walk, Tasmania

wombat along the Maria Island Walk tasmania — Spot adorable locals.

Your Maria Island walk begins with a private boat transfer to an untouched, white sand beach. Barefoot in the sand, you’ll quickly realise – aside from your guide and group – you’re completely alone. Spot countless wombats and hear the distant calls of Tasmanian Devils as you spend four days leisurely traversing the island.

Nights are split between private, comfortable wilderness camps and queen-size beds in a historic cottage from the island’s convict history. Meals are built around fresh-caught seafood and served with East Coast Tasmanian wine.

4. Seven Peaks Walk, New South Wales

hiker on Seven Peaks Walks on Lord Howe Island — Explore the incredible Lord Howe Island. (Image: Luke Hanson)

Lord Howe Island feels like another world. With its patchwork blue coral lagoons and magma-honed peaks, it’s easy to forget you’re in New South Wales.

This walk has the highest level of elevation in the Great Walks of Australia’s collection. It’s because of this that you’ll witness nature like never before. UNESCO-listed volcanic peaks and coral reefs that grew out of solidified lava will become your daily norm.

Along the way, step onto beaches that lie undisturbed for weeks at a time. Then, snorkel the southernmost reef in the Pacific Ocean.

5. Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Signature Walk, Northern Territory

This five-day, fully guided, premium hiking experience inside Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park was developed in partnership with Aṉangu Traditional Owners. Begin your walk dwarfed by the shade of Kata Tjuṯa’s towering dome formations. Following remote desert trails through the red sands, crest dunes and traverse mulga woodlands as you draw closer to the monolithic walls of Uluṟu.

Each night, dine under the lamp light of the Milky Way in the warm desert air and sleep in new flagship, environmentally sensitive private camps and lodge. This is the first time that travellers have ever been allowed to spend the night inside the national park.

6. The Twelve Apostles Signature Walk, Victoria

great walks of australia tour group on The Twelve Apostles Signature Walk, Victoria — See the Twelve Apostles in a new way. (Image: Ken Luke)

The Great Ocean Road’s rugged splendour is best experienced on this signature four-day, 44-kilometre guided walk . You’ll follow the rugged limestone stacks of the shipwreck coastline: wild, crashing waves, curious wildlife, and two national parks.

Finish each day at your luxurious lodge, where you’ll sit with your feet soaking and a glass of wine in hand. You’ll have a single lodge to call home on this walk, meaning you’ll only need to set out with a day pack.

7. Three Capes Signature Walk, Tasmania

On Tasmania’s Three Capes Signature Walk , you’ll feel like you’re walking along the edge of the world. From your boat landing on a remote beach, climb slowly upward for spectacular views and wildlife encounters with pods of dolphins, fur seals and echidnas. Spend days walking Jurassic dolerite cliffs with the wild Southern Ocean as your only constant.

Stay in architecturally designed eco-lodges nestled at the very edge of the world. Think floor-to-ceiling windows, a plunge pool and even an on-site spa to tend to ailments from the hike.

Discover more Great Walks of Australia and start planning your next adventure at greatwalksofaustralia.com.au.

Australia’s top 10 culinary journeys