Mt Buller is a winter satellite of Melbourne’s social scene, making this perhaps Australia’s most vivacious après village.
Thanks to the largest lift network in Victoria, the AM action is solid too, especially for free-riders and snowboarders.
What it’s good for?
Buller embraces the freestyle philosophy, with plenty of opportunities to show off among its 300 hectares (and 22 lifts), including Skyline Park for those wanting to play Winter X Games-style.
Mt Buller ski and snowboard school in session.
Intermediates should sample the distinctly un-standard Standard run for its length, breadth and off-shoots. Head to the Summit chair for that bluebird-day Instagram moment.
Where to stay in Buller
In the heart of the village the Mt Buller Chalet Hotel & Suites’ two-king Delatite Suite yields supreme top-floor High Country vistas, plus an antique grizzly bear.
The Duck Inn’s recent makeover makes it a contemporary choice in a ‘quiet’ neck of town.
Ski-in options abound from the sauna-equipped AMO Lodge to the Austrian-style Buller ‘institution’ Hotel Pension Grimus.
Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.
AI Prompt
Après time
Sample a Pony Iced Tea at intimate fireside cocktails favourite Snow Pony.
Powder Bar in Village Square purveys fine Euro-style snacks and craft beer, plus a cultured range of local vino.
Dropping off the edge, Mt Buller
Breathtaker Hotel will keep the family distracted; a massage at the loftiest spa in Australia for mum, while the rest of the fam head to The Loft Bar for pizza and films on beanbags.
How to get and ski there
Mt Buller is three hours’ drive from Melbourne and the Mt Buller Ski Express connects from downtown Melbourne and the airport.
Mansfield is the place to hire gear and chains.
You can find your friends on the slopes using the Glympse feature in the Mt Buller Live app.
Hot tip: Schuss up to the ski-thru espresso window (at the front of Pension Grimus, off Bourke Street run) for your morning caffeine face-slap.
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Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.
A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington, like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.
We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”
A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat
Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)
It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours. While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.
See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.
It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.
As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.
The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels
Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.
Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.
Mussels served with lemon and chilli.
“Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”
Mussels are a sustainable food.
Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.
But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.
Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)
According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.
