Distance: 1 hour 50 minutes from Sydney

Nestled between two mountains, the award-winning Crooked River Wines at Gerringong is, at 12 hectares, the largest on the South Coast and a haven for families. Here, you can enjoy live music and a picnic overlooking the hills and the sea while sipping topnotch drops. Onsite you’ll find a fine-dining restaurant plating up saltbush and native pepper squid and a cellar door offering wine tastings. Let the good times roll on with a stay at the seven-bedroom Bunker House, five minutes away on the headland, with a view that stretches all the way to Kiama.

Distance: 90 minutes from Sydney

Resting on a clifftop in the Blue Mountains and just footsteps from the region’s walking trails, Leura’s Cloud Parade is a property that has more than earned its name. Step inside the artfully refurbished five-bedroom home, with majestic views of the Three Sisters and Mount Solitary, and you’ll feel as if you’re floating in the sky. As well as a hearty spread of great restaurants in the nearby town centre – pop into the hatted No. 1 Sublime Pt. for a Modern Australian five-course affair with matched wines – you’re also minutes away from a Finnish-style sauna, which includes a cold plunge pool to invigorate after a day spent hiking.

Distance: 2 hours 30 minutes from Sydney

In 1984, Arthur Boyd captured the Shoalhaven area in a series of paintings for the Melbourne Art Gallery. Those works, along with more than 60 other depictions of the region from acclaimed Australian artists including David Aspden and Susan Norrie are on display at the Bundanon Art Museum from 6 July until 13 October. Make it a weekend and stay at the quietly opulent Osborn House, a 27-room boutique hotel in Bundanoon, a little over an hour away. It has a pool, fine-dining restaurant and decadent spa treatments.

Distance: 2 hours 30 minutes from Canberra

Half the enjoyment of any ski holiday is what happens apres hitting the slopes. Sequoia Penthouse, a five-star stay nestled in the heart of Thredbo, gets this. Featuring a fully-equipped kitchen and wine fridge, spacious living areas, four bedrooms and panoramic views of Mount Kosciuszko and the ski slopes from each of its five balconies, this fairytale retreat is only 50 metres from Thredbo Village. Weather a bit brisk? Settle in by the stone fireplace after leaving your equipment in the storage and drying room after a day spent carving up the snowfields

Distance: 60 minutes from Sydney

An institution of the Northern Beaches since 1929, Jonah’s at Whale Beach is its own self-contained coastal retreat, offering 11 elegant rooms with nautical touches, glorious views from each balcony and an onsite restaurant with a seafood-centric menu to match. Order the wild-caught fish fillet, braised leek, finger lime, black garlic and bisque and enjoy dinner overlooking the ocean. Wake up to the waves barrelling in and splash around in the rooftop infinity pool before treating yourself to an inhouse massage or facial.

Distance: 90 minutes from Melbourne

The Mornington Peninsula is home to several hot springs with mineral-rich geothermal water. But not all of them provide accommodation. Enter Peninsula Hot Springs where you can soak in one of the warm, mineral pools, enjoy a spa treatment and sleep in a deluxe glamping tent that comes with an ensuite and an in-room dining menu, complete with drinks.

Distance: 70 minutes from Melbourne

The volcanic soil that makes the Mornington Peninsula a hot spring hotbed also makes it a great place to harvest grapes. But Jackalope is much more than your ordinary vineyard hotel. Featuring 45 rooms and two large suites or “lairs” with floor-to-ceiling windows that face the vines, this beautiful property is serious about drinks as well as food. In addition to the award-winning restaurant Doot Doot Doot, which utilises fresh produce from the kitchen garden, there’s the nearby Rare Hare (think woodfired eggplant, char siu duck legs and fried barramundi wings) and a cocktail bar. Feel like relaxing? Spa treatments and a 30-metre infinity pool overlooking the vineyard await.

Distance: 95 minutes from Melbourne 

Head just over 100 kilometres south-west of Melbourne and you’ll inhale the briny air at Anglesea Beach, spot kangaroos on a golf course and spy Soapy Rocks, the photogenic bluffs that border the beach. It’s all here at Anglesea, near the start of the Great Ocean Road – one of the country’s most spectacular drives. After taking in the region’s spoils, wind down 100 metres from the beach at The Hideaway Shack, a warm, art-filled home brimming with style that accommodates up to six guests.

Distance: 75 minutes from the Gold Coast, two hours from Brisbane

Upon arriving at Lo Scoglio, a four-bedroom farmhouse and one-bedroom studio 10 minutes from Byron Bay, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d travelled to Sicily, thanks to the abode’s unapologetic devotion to traditional Italian aesthetics. The property, which sleeps 12, offers a concierge and wellness experience, including a personal trainer, yoga, pilates or meditation instructors, acupuncture therapist, nutritionist and chef. If you can bear to leave, you’re a five-minute drive from Bangalow’s charming boutiques and chic cafés.

Distance: 2 hours 30 minutes from Brisbane

Just eight minute’s drive from swanky Hastings Street in the heart of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, this stunning beachfront property accommodates eight guests and includes a heated infinity pool and spa. Sink your toes in the sand at the beach that lies right on your doorstep, or go on a dolphin safari with Noosa Ocean Rider. But if the kids want to get even closer to wildlife, Australia Zoo, home to koalas, crocs, giraffes and more, is less than half an hour away.

Distance: 75 minutes from Darwin

Litchfield National Park, a sprawling 1500-square-kilometre forest full of waterfalls, wildlife and crystal-clear pools, has been a place of deep significance to the Koongurrukun, Mak Mak Marranunggu, Werat and Warray Aboriginal people who helped shape it, for thousands of years. Grab a map and go for a walk or embark on a more comprehensive guided tour that takes you past wild swimming holes and ancient rock formations. Then immerse yourself in your natural surroundings with a stay at one of Hideaway Litchfield’s luxury cabins in the park.

Distance: 50 minutes from Adelaide

Among the undulating landscape of McLaren Vale on the Fleurieu Peninsula sits Altamira Retreat, a four-hectare property featuring a private vineyard and four-bedroom house with floor-to-ceiling windows that deliver unobstructed views of the vines and valley below. With over 74 cellar doors and 160 wineries in the region – all easily reached with a short drive – your hardest decision may be which one to visit first.

Distance: 30 minutes from Adelaide

Step back in time when you enter this 1970s log cabin, located within a hectare of bushland in the Adelaide Hills. With a rainbow library of books that’s sorted by colour, vibrant decorative touches, a record player, fireplace and free-standing bath, Juniper Grove manages to be both cosy and stylish. Feeling peckish? Adelaide’s best restaurants, bars and cafés are only half an hour away.

Distance: 2 hours 30 min from Perth

Boasting sublime views of the Indian Ocean, Smiths Beach Resort, a 10-minute drive from Canal Rocks and Yallingup Beach, exemplifies breezy holiday-making in Busselton. With an onsite restaurant, bar, two swimming pools, a tennis court and a winery, there’s no need to travel anywhere – this peaceful place has everything you need, plus the beach.

Distance: 2 hours 30 minutes from Hobart

Just metres from the water and overlooking the sparkling blue ocean of Great Oyster Bay where, if you’re lucky, you may spot frolicking whales and dolphins, sits Freycinet Coastal Retreat. This three-bedroom modern home on the Freycinet Peninsula is ideal for a winter reset. Snuggle up by the fire or head out onto the deck for late-night star gazing. In the unlikely event of cabin fever, lace up your boots for bushwalking in Freycinet National Park or practise your swing on a golf course that’s just two minutes away.