23 of the best Melbourne shopping spots for a haul to remember

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Melbourne has it all if you’re looking for unique gifts, innovative fashion and fascinating homewares.

Melbourne shopping is a masterclass in variety. The amount of innovative local fashion labels, independent boutiques, op-shops, unique design stores and factory outlets make this great city one of the best places for any keen shopper visiting Australia.

The head-spinning amount of choice in and around Melbourne CBD is as diverse as the city’s love of high-end restaurants, breezy cafes, creative bars and fascinating museums.

Melbourne shopping centres are some of the biggest and best in Australia, and you don’t have to walk far to find a factory outlet Melbourne locals swear by. Then you’ve got some of the most diverse shopping streets in the country, often with high-end and mid-range sitting comfortably side-by-side.

Below, you’ll find some of our favourite places to go shopping in Melbourne.

The best shops in Melbourne

1. Savers, Moorabbin

Best for: A great selection of vintage and pre-loved fashion

Melbourne’s best op shops are usually smaller and more focused, but Savers in Moorabbin takes a different approach. This superstore is vintage heaven at the best of times, with great prices and a better range than most of the other Savers stores you’ll find in Melbourne. Take along your pre-loved goods and the staff will give you a discount to use instantly.

Address: Suite 4&5/430 Warrigal Rd, Heatherton

2. Brother of St Laurence, Brunswick

Best for: Eccentric and hard-to-find vintage clothing

If you ask locals what their favourite op shop in Melbourne is, the most likely answer is this hidden gem in Brunswick. Brother of St Laurence has all types of eccentric, stylish and unique clothing for men and women. You’ll find plenty to satisfy any vintage designer lust, plus a selection of hard-to-find vinyl, some furniture and a lot of pre-loved books.

Address: 109 Brunswick Rd, Brunswick

3. Sacred Heart Mission, Fitzroy

the shop exterior of Sacred Heart Mission, Fitzroy
Spot the quaint shop on Brunswick Street. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Some great op-shop treasures and retro art

You’ll find this Sacred Heart Mission on one of St Kilda’s most renowned streets. Head here for unique designer pieces, accessories and an impressive selection of retro art and cooking books, with stock replenished regularly.

If you can’t make it to the store in person, visit their online store. While it is a little pricier than shopping in its brick-and-mortar stores, it’ll save you from having to trawl through racks (though that is where a lot of the fun happens).

Address: 433 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

4. Il Papiro, CBD

a stationery store at Il Papiro, Melbourne
Pick up new writing materials at Il Papiro. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Premium stationery and design-forward writing accessories

Head along to Degraves Street to find the colourful Il Papiro , a stationery store and one of the most imaginative in Melbourne. Inside you’ll find a rich stock of leather-bound journals, boxes, inks, paper, Venetian glass pans, wax seals and stamps to prove the art of physical writing is far from dead. The staff import all their goods from Florence, so artisanal quality is guaranteed.

Address: 10 Degraves St, Melbourne

5. Fazeek, Fitzroy North

wine and cocktail glasses at Fazeek, Fitzroy North
Fazeek offers colourful wine and cocktail glasses. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Stocking up on interesting glassware and tableware

Wavy, colourful glassware that looks like nothing you’d find in any department store. Fazeek is the best shop in Melbourne if you want fascinating wine or cocktail glasses, or other unique tableware. Even if you don’t walk away with a new set for your next dinner party, the collections are so bright and attractive that window shopping at Fazeek is a popular local sport.

Address: 27-29 Best St, Fitzroy North

6. Third Drawer Down, Bulleen

items on display inside the Third Drawer Down, Bulleen
Shop for unique gifts and homewares at the Third Drawer Down. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Unique gifts and homewares for design lovers

Third Drawer Down is one of the most popular stores in Melbourne for unique gifts and homewares. The store, located within the Heide Museum of Modern Art (there used to be another in Prahran but it’s now closed), is a light-filled hub of high-quality design at affordable prices. Inside, you’ll find high thread-count linens, pillowcases, tea towels, fabric swatches, and even socks from local and international artists.

Address: 7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen

7. Cibi, Collingwood

a Japanese homeware store at Cibi, Collingwood
Cibi is a must for those searching for Japanese homewares. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Artisanal ceramics and homewares with classic Japanese accents

One of Melbourne’s best cafes, Cibi , also doubles as a platform for beautiful Japanese-inspired design goods and homewares. Melbourne’s most ravenous hipsters could never get enough of this immaculate cafe and store, where the retail element is found up the back and stocks incredible ceramics, homewares and furniture.

Address: 33-39 Keele St, Collingwood

8. Lightly, Collingwood

a shop selling homewares at Lightly, Collingwood
Find boho-inspired homewares and locally made pottery. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Pieces from famous Melbourne designers made from natural materials

Lightly is another one of Collingwood’s most exciting homewares stores and an easy sell for any design lovers scouring Melbourne for unique pieces. The range you’ll find here is mostly made locally from natural materials, showcasing various Melbourne-based designers and owner Cindy-Lee Davis’ work.

Address: 3 Glasshouse Rd, Collingwood

9. Fenton & Fenton, Prahran

colourful homewares at Fenton & Fenton, Prahran
Fenton & Fenton sells chic and colourful homewares. (Image: Dave Kulesza)

Best for: Vibrant and colourful furniture and homeware

One of the most attractive shops on High Street is Fenton & Fenton , a Melbourne-based interiors label that was revived recently by investment from the Berkowitz Furniture group. Creative Director Lucy Fenton is still steering the ship, curating an incredible collection of vibrant furniture, linen, fashion, artwork, jewellery, rugs and even some taxidermy. Any homeowner in Melbourne makes this a regular stop.

Address: 471 High St, Prahran

10. dot COMME, CBD

Best for: High-end Japanese fashion

Great bars and up-and-coming bands aren’t the only reasons to head along to Melbourne’s heritage-listed Curtin House. Clothing retailer dot COMME is also a resident of the Palazzo-style building, showcasing high-end men’s and women’s fashion from the likes of Commes des Garcons, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto and Bernhard Willhelm.

Address: Curtin House, Level 4/252 Swanston St, Melbourne

11. Hill of Content, CBD

the Hill of Content book shop Bourke street, Melbourne shopping
Score great reads for a good price. (Image: Visit Victoria/Jake Roden Photography)

Best for: Hard-to-find vintage books and new releases at affordable prices

Hill of Content is one for book lovers. Opened in the 1920s, this historic independent bookstore is a treasure trove of literature alongside new releases and best-selling fiction titles. There’s also a nice range of reading accessories and other gifts, keeping the magic of a physical book alive.

Address: Level 2/86 Bourke St, Melbourne

12. Torsa, Prahran

Best for: Big-name designers with a focus on innovative high-end fashion

Torsa is another one of Melbourne’s best fashion stores, stocking innovative designers like Isabel Marant, Boy by Band of Outsiders and Alexander Wang. The shop’s accessories are also showcased, matching the stunning quality of those big-name designers and presenting one-off pieces that’ll help you build your signature style.

Address: 497 High Street Prahran

13. Double Monk, Fitzroy

men's footwear at Double Monk, Fitzroy
Double Monk offers an array of luxury men’s footwear. (Image: Visit Victoria/Paul Philipson)

Best for: Artisanal menswear imported from Italy and the UK

Double Monk is another one of those great Melbourne menswear stores that have a large reach and a premium disposition. Luxury footwear is imported from (mostly) Italy and the UK, while there is also a huge range of local and international designers across clothing and accessories.

Address: 53 Smith St, Fitzroy

14. Clothing the Gaps, Brunswick

Best for: Art, design and clothing showcasing Indigenous makers and various techniques

As an Indigenous social enterprise, clothing label and social activist hub, Clothing the Gaps is one of the most important fixtures of Northcote now. Set on the lands of the Wurundjeri people, this store showcases a range of locally made goods from The Koorie Circle. Presenting more as a two-in-one shop where you can grab unisex streetwear, jewellery and other accessories.

Shopping centres

15. Emporium

two women walking outside a fashion boutique at the Emporium, Melbourne
Peruse the fashion boutiques at the Emporium. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

Best for: Casual fashion and games at Fortress Melbourne

QV Melbourne and Melbourne Central may both be friendlier on the wallet, but if you’re shopping in the heart of Melbourne you’ll want to head on over to Lonsdale Street.

Emporium Melbourne , opened in 2014, is a luxury shopping centre with plenty of clothing stores and design boutiques. Find big-ticket names like Calibre, Chanel, Aesop, Jac + Jack, MJ Bale, Michael Kors, RM Williams, Polo Ralph Lauren, Zimmermann and Veronika Maine.

Stocking up on the latest fashion trends is why locals would usually head straight for this five-floor shopping mecca, which has over 200 stores and plenty of nearby boutiques in the immediate area.

Address: 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

16. Chadstone

the high ceiling of Chadstone, Melbourne shopping
Sleek, contemporary architecture meets luxury retail. (Image: Tourism Australia/Visit Victoria)

Best for: Big designers, plenty of dining options and entertainment brands

Melbourne’s legendary shopping mecca. Chadstone is the largest shopping centre in Australia, and one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most comprehensive. With over 500 stores and a recent $70 million expansion, it’s hard to walk away from this impressive shopping hub without some major finds.

All the big-name designers are here. You’ll find Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Acne Studios, Adidas, an Apple Store, Balenciaga, Bang & Olufsen, Breitling, Cartier, Kenzo Paris and many other big names across just three floors of retail and entertainment space.

When you’re done shopping, The Social Quarter at Chadstone, one of the more recent expansions, also hosts Archie Brothers arcade, Strike Bowling and other entertainment brands. There’s a Hoyts as well, and multiple dining options – both casual and premium.

You can even stay at the attached hotel: Hotel Chadstone Melbourne – M Gallery .

Address: 1341 Dandenong Road, Malvern East

17. Block Arcade

the grand interior of Block Arcade, Melbourne shopping
The heritage-style Block Arcade is an architectural gem. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Unique boutique stores, high-end jewellery and Melbourne’s famous tea rooms.

This heritage shopping arcade has plenty of character in the heart of Melbourne CBD. Not much has changed since it first opened in 1893, aside from the retailers themselves, which swapped designer names for artisanal boutiques and the famous Hopetoun Tea Rooms .

An architectural marvel and one of Melbourne’s most sightly tourist attractions, Block Arcade is best experienced with a guided walking tour. But if you just want to duck in and out, browse retailers including Haigh’s Chocolates, Basement Discs, Bell & Ross, Camper Shoes, Sol Alpaca and Mr Wares.

Family-owned jewellery shops like French Jewelbox are why the majority of locals would flock to Block Arcade. You can find incredible one-off pieces here.

Address: 282 Collins St, Melbourne

18. The Strand

the retail precinct at The Strand, Melbourne
The Strand features classic architecture and boutique stores. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Historic architecture and a small variety of fashion and design shops.

Following a $20 redevelopment, The Strand Melbourne is easily one of the city’s flashiest and most exciting retail precincts. You’ll find this colourful collection of boutiques on Elizabeth Street, instantly recognisable from its row of colourful glass fins.

The diverse list of retailers takes a broad scope and you’ll find mid-range sitting next to high-end across mostly footwear, accessories and fashion – with a few cafes to break things up.

Acne Studios is also found here, for anyone who doesn’t want to trek out to Chadstone. As are Asics, Dinosaur Designs and Cos. It’s a small collection, but quality reigns over quantity.

Address: 250 Elizabeth St, Melbourne

19. Queen Victoria Market

the Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne
Pop by the Queen Victoria Market for artisan goods. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Unique local retailers and artisans selling high-quality goods.

While Queen Victoria Market is usually best known for its food and drink options, there are still a fair few locally-minded shops spread across the controlled chaos. You’re guaranteed to come across some great vintage finds and unique gifts at this bustling set-up of stalls and shopfronts.

Some of our favourite retailers at Queen Victoria Market include Akuna Pearls with a range of freshwater pearls; Albert’s Knitwear with great knitted winter clothes; Aleppo Style with silk and cashmere scarfs; high-end footwear artisans B&S Footwear; leather goods specialist Italian House of Leather; and the Japanese-inspired Kiana Mei Designs.

Pro tip: Head along to Queen Vic as early as you can (it opens at 6 AM on Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday) to avoid the inevitable crowds.

Address: Queen St, Melbourne

Shopping streets

20. Chapel Street, South Yarra and Prahran

Chapel Street, South Yarra and Prahran
Chapel Street is a renowned suburban shopping strip. (Image: Visit Victoria/Mark Lobo)

Best for: A long strip of Melbourne’s best shopping spanning two suburbs and plenty of variety.

As one of the most famous shopping streets in Melbourne, spanning a few suburbs, Chapel Street is a long, winding collection of some of the finest retailers, restaurants and cafes in Melbourne.

It’s advisable to start at the St Kilda end of Chapel Street and work your way up, as some of the best boutiques are located on that side of the strip. This includes the vintage-minded Shag with great prices and unique finds, the classically stylish Nique and local favourite FinerRings.

Inch on up and there’s another outlet from Dinosaur Designs, the vibrant Gorman, and the luxurious Scanlan Theodore.

21. Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Gertrude Street in Collingwood
This charming street has long been a treasure trove of unique fashion. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

Best for: Independent boutiques and hipster fashion

Running from Carlton Gardens through Fitzroy, Gertrude Street is emblematic of Melbourne’s trendy crowd, known for its hipster fashion, grungy bars and fantastic restaurants like Poodle Bar & Bistro.

Several independent stores of note lie across this strip, such as the treasure trove that is Cottage Industry with its knitted goods; The Standard Store with its curated collection of worldly fashion; Handsom with sophisticated menswear; the long-standing Signet Bureau with its upscale independent fashion; Rose Chong with its unique costumes and wild clothing; and About Space with unique lighting fixtures and other home decor.

22. Royal Arcade, CBD

the grand ceiling inside the Royal Arcade, Melbourne
The longest-standing arcade features vintage and fashion boutiques. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Royal Arcade is a heritage-listed arcade in the heart of Melbourne. It’s the longest-standing arcade in the country, wearing its history proudly with ornate details and old-world Italianate architectural details.

It’s the perfect frame for many one-of-a-kind retailers in Melbourne, curating local jewellers, vintage and fashion boutiques, as well as some great cafes to break things up.

Grab some fresh kicks from The Archive Store; find some unique goodies at Curiosity Merchants; dress for the occasion at Moku; satisfy your love of design at Paper Republic; and follow your nose straight to the iconic Santa Maria Novella. And if you’re an astrology enthusiast, make sure to pop by Spellbox for all types of mystical finds, including daily tarot reads and spiritual guidance.

Address: 335 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Factory outlet in Melbourne

23. DFO South Wharf

Best for: Great prices from some big labels next to the waterfront

As the most recognised of all the best fashion outlets in Melbourne, DFO South Wharf is still a wise stop if you’re looking for some new threads but don’t quite know what you want. The range here is incredible, stocking big names at great prices. You’ll surely score some great finds across the likes of Academy Brand, Adidas, Adairs and Adventure Megastore. It’s a mixed bag in here, which is why Melbourne locals always flock straight to DFO’s retail precinct before having a waterside feed.

Address: 20 Convention Centre Pl, South Wharf

Chris Singh
Chris Singh is an arts, travel and food journalist with 17 years of experience in digital media and 4 years of experience in SEO writing. He is the former travel editor of premium men's lifestyle title Boss Hunting and currently balances his role as Deputy Editor-At-Large of the AU review with freelance travel writing gigs at Australian Traveller, Luxury Escapes, Cruise & Travel and Sydney Travel Guide. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences (Sociology and Psychology) from the University of Sydney and once worked as a line dancer for steakhouse chain Lone Star (no, seriously). He's always got his finger on the pulse for good live music and delicious new restaurants, has a particular love of historic hotels and is starting to see the restorative value of the ever-present wellness industry. Although he is a born-and-bred Sydneysider, his favourite Australian cities are Hobart and Adelaide. Internationally, he can never get enough of big cities like Tokyo, New York and Chicago. If you're looking for him, he's either at a concert, on a plane or behind a laptop.
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This scenic Victorian region is the perfect antidote to city life

Video credit: Visit Victoria/Tourism Australia

The Grampians just might be the ultimate antidote for the metropolis, writes one returning Aussie ready to disconnect from the modern world and reconnect to the Great outdoors.

There are no kangaroos back in Chicago: they’re all here in the Grampians/Gariwerd . In the heart of the Grampians National Park’s main gateway town, Halls Gap, pods of eastern greys are eating grass beside my parked rental car beneath the stars. Next morning, when I see the backyard of my rented villa on the edge of town for the first time, there are kangaroos feeding beside a slow-moving creek, lined with river red gums.

Five hundred metres up the road, 50 or so of them are eating by the side of the road in a paddock. I pull over to watch and spot three emus. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly overhead towards the tall green mountains just beyond town.

‘Kee-ow, keee-oww’… their calls fuse with the maniacal cackle of a kookaburra (or 10). Gawd, how I’ve missed the sound of them. Far above, a wedge-tailed eagle watches, and there you go: the ‘great birds of Australia’ trifecta, all half a kay from the town limits.

Exchanging city chaos for country calm

kangaroos near Halls Gap, Grampians National Park
The park is renowned for its significant diversity of native fauna species. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

I’ve come to the Grampians to disconnect, but the bush offers a connection of its own. This isn’t just any bush, mind you. The Grampians National Park is iconic for many reasons, mostly for its striking sandstone mountains – five ridges run north to south, with abrupt, orange slopes which tumble right into Halls Gap – and for the fact there’s 20,000 years of traditional rock art. Across these mountains there are more than 200 recorded sites to see, created by the Djab Wurrung, Jardwadjali and Gunditjmara peoples. It’s just like our outback… but three hours from Melbourne.

I’ve come here for a chance at renewal after the chaos of my life in America’s third-largest city, Chicago, where I live for now, at the whim of a relative’s cancer journey. Flying into Melbourne’s airport, it only takes an hour’s drive to feel far away from any concept of suburbia. When I arrive in Halls Gap two hours later, the restaurant I’m eating at clears out entirely by 7:45pm; Chicago already feels a lifetime ago.

The trails and treasures of the Grampians

sunrise at Grampians National Park /Gariwerd
Grampians National Park /Gariwerd covers almost 2000 square kilometres. (Image: Ben Savage)

Though the national park covers almost 2000 square kilometres, its best-known landmarks are remarkably easy to access. From my carpark here, among the cockatoos and kangaroos on the fringe of Halls Gap, it only takes 60 seconds’ driving time before I’m winding my way up a steep road through rainforest, deep into the mountains.

Then it’s five minutes more to a carpark that serves as a trailhead for a hike to one of the park’s best vantage points, The Pinnacles . I walk for an hour or so, reacquainting myself with the smells and the sounds of the Aussie bush, before I reach it: a sheer cliff’s edge lookout 500 metres up above Halls Gap.

walking through a cave, Hollow Mountain
Overlooking the vast Grampians landscape from Hollow Mountain. (Image: Robert Blackburn)

There are hikes and there are lookouts and waterfalls all across this part of the park near town. Some are a short stroll from a carpark; others involve long, arduous hikes through forest. The longest is the Grampians Peaks Trail , Victoria’s newest and longest iconic walk, which runs 160 kilometres – the entire length of Grampians National Park.

Local activities operator Absolute Outdoors shows me glimpses of the trail. The company’s owner, Adrian Manikas, says it’s the best walk he’s done in Australia. He says he’s worked in national parks across the world, but this was the one he wanted to bring his children up in.

“There’s something about the Grampians,” he says, as he leads me up a path to where there’s wooden platforms for tents, beside a hut looking straight out across western Victoria from a kilometre up in the sky (these are part of the guided hiking options for the trail). “There are things out here that you won’t see anywhere else in Australia.” Last summer, 80 per cent of the park was damaged by bushfire, but Manikas shows me its regrowth, and tells me of the manic effort put in by volunteers from town – with firefighters from all over Australia – to help save Halls Gap.

wildflowers in Grampians National Park
Spot wildflowers. (Image: Visit Victoria)

We drive back down to Halls Gap at dusk to abseil down a mountain under the stars, a few minutes’ walk off the main road into town. We have headlamps, but a full moon is enough to light my way down. It takes blind faith to walk backwards down a mountain into a black void, though the upside is I can’t see the extent of my descent.

Grampians National Park at sunset
Grampians National Park at sunset. (Image: Wine Australian)

The stargazing is ruined by the moon, of course, but you should see how its glow lights up the orange of the sandstone, like in a theme park. When I’m done, I stand on a rocky plateau drinking hot chocolate and listening to the Aussie animals who prefer nighttime. I can see the streets of Halls Gap off in the distance on this Friday night. The restaurants may stay open until 8pm tonight.

What else is on offer in The Grampians?

a boat travelling along the Wimmera River inDimboola
Travelling along the Wimmera River in Dimboola. (Image: Chris McConville)

You’ll find all sorts of adventures out here – from rock climbing to canoeing to hiking – but there’s more to the Grampians than a couple of thousand square kilometres of trees and mountains. Halls Gap may be known to most people, but what of Pomonal, and Dimboola, and Horsham? Here in the shadow of those big sandstone mountains there are towns and communities most of us don’t know to visit.

And who knew that the Grampians is home to Victoria’s most underrated wine region ? My disconnection this morning comes not in a forest, but in the tasting rooms and winery restaurants of the district. Like Pomonal Estate, barely 10 minutes’ drive east of Halls Gap, where UK-born chef Dean Sibthorp prepares a locally caught barramundi with lentil, pumpkin and finger lime in a restaurant beside the vines at the base of the Grampians. Husband-and-wife team Pep and Adam Atchison tell me stories as they pour their prize wines (shiraz is the hero in these parts).

dining at Pomonal Estate
Dine in a restaurant beside vines at Pomonal Estate. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Three minutes’ drive back down the road, long-time mates Hadyn Black and Darcy Naunton run an eclectic cellar door out of a corrugated iron shed, near downtown Pomonal. The Christmas before last, half the houses in Pomonal burnt down in a bushfire, but these locals are a resilient lot.

The fires also didn’t stop the construction of the first art centre in Australia dedicated to environmental art in a nature-based precinct a little further down the road (that’s Wama – the National Centre for Environmental Arts), which opened in July. And some of the world’s oldest and rarest grape vines have survived 160 years at Best’s Wines, outside the heritage town of Great Western. There’s plantings here from the year 1868, and there’s wines stored in century-old barrels within 150-year-old tunnels beneath the tasting room. On the other side of town, Seppelt Wines’ roots go back to 1865. They’re both only a 30-minute drive from Halls Gap.

Salingers of Great Western
Great Western is a charming heritage town. (Image: Griffin Simm)

There’s more to explore yet; I drive through tiny historic towns that barely make the map. Still part of the Grampians, they’re as pretty as the mountains behind them: full of late 19th-century/early 20th-century post offices, government offices and bank buildings, converted now to all manner of bric-a-brac stores and cafes.

The Imaginarium is one, in quirky Dimboola, where I sleep in the manager’s residence of an old National Australia Bank after a gourmet dinner at the local golf club, run by noted chef and teacher, Cat Clarke – a pioneer of modern Indigenous Australian cooking. Just south, I spend an entire afternoon at a winery, Norton Estate Wines, set on rolling calico-coloured hills that make me think of Tuscany, chit-chatting with owners Chris and Sam Spence.

Being here takes me back two decades, when I lived here for a time. It had all seemed as foreign as if I’d driven to another planet back then (from Sydney/Warrane), but there seemed something inherently and immediately good about this place, like I’d lived here before.

And it’s the Australian small-town familiarity of the Grampians that offers me connection back to my own country. Even in the better-known Halls Gap, Liz from Kerrie’s Creations knows I like my lattes with soy milk and one sugar. And while I never do get the name of the lady at the local Ampol station, I sure know a lot about her life.

Kookaburras on a tree
Kookaburras are one of some 230 bird species. (Image: Darren Donlen)

You can be a local here in a day; how good is that? In Chicago, I don’t even know who my neighbour is. Though each day at dusk – when the kangaroos gather outside my villa, and the kookaburras and the black cockatoos shout out loud before settling in to sleep – I prefer the quieter connection I get out there in the bush, beneath these orange mountains.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Sleep beside the wildlife on the edge of Halls Gap at Serenity .

Playing there

abseiling down Hollow Mountain
Hollow Mountain is a popular abseiling site.

Go abseiling under the stars or join a guided hike with Absolute Outdoors . Visit Wama , Australia’s first environmental art centre. Check out Dimboola’s eccentric Imaginarium .

Eating there

steak, naan bread and beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap
Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap serves a great steak on naan bread.

Eat world-class cuisine at Pomonal Estate . Dine and stay at much-revered icon Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. The ‘steak on naan’ at Halls Gap brewhouse Paper Scissors Rock , can’t be beat.

Dunkeld Arboretum in Grampians National Park
The serene Dunkeld Arboretum.

For Halls Gap’s best breakfasts head to Livefast Cafe . Sip local wines at Great Western’s historic wineries, Best’s Wines , Seppelt Wines and Norton Estate Wines .

two glasses of beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap
Sink a cold one at Paper Scissors Rock.