The New Australian Bucket List

You’d be forgiven for thinking this was in the middle of the Arizona desert. But Cactus Country is a succulent-strewn garden hidden three hours north of Melbourne and as the name attests, there’s a bumper crowd of cacti here, best explored after a bowl of nachos at the on-site Mexican eatery. You can bunk here overnight, so bookmark a stay during desert flower season (between October and November) and the after-sunset ‘Fright Fest’ on Halloween, when the night sky is the only guiding light in the prickly plot.  

Travellers who take the five-and-a-half hour drive south-east of Perth will land in Bremer Bay, a coastal hamlet that guarantees an unforgettable getaway. Just 37 kilometres offshore is a fascinating concentration of apex predators (killer whales, giant squids and beaked whales, to name a few), who call a particular underwater canyon home. Hop aboard a daily research boat that runs late January through to April and you might be able to spot a few of them. Back on land, there are towering sand dunes to drive over (or surf down), as well as Fitzgerald River National Park, which brims with wildflowers all year round.

Don’t count the Sunshine Coast as a food lover’s destination? Count again. The area is a hub for plentiful fresh produce, from the laden trees of tropical fruit farms to juicy Moreton Bay bugs straight from a trawler. Later in 2023, Coolum Beach will also add Barns Lane Farm, a providore spruiking all the spoils from the area’s producers. In the meantime, book a table at Yandina’s Spirit House, a revered local restaurant set in a rainforest. 

After driving a straight and narrow three and a half hours north of Adelaide, you’ll tick over into the triangular tip of the Eyre Peninsula, a hidden gem home to some of the country’s most spectacular spots. You’ll want to bring two things: your swimmers – the beaches here are beyond majestic – and your appetite (this seafood-producing powerhouse accounts for 65 per cent of Australia’s entire catch). For both, the go-to spot is glittering Coffin Bay Oyster Farm, where the Pacific oysters are sinfully creamy and visitors are invited to pluck, shuck and eat them straight from the water. 

Our answer to the Orient Express is The Ghan, a mighty rail journey that slices through the heart of the country, chugging from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs and back again. The shorter leg can deliver you to Alice Springs from Adelaide or Darwin in two glorious, scenery-rich days: unwind in style and watch the rust red of the desert galloping past your cabin window.

If you don’t know about Canberra’s booming beverage scene, it’s time you got acquainted. The nation’s capital has a wealth of wineries, breweries and distilleries ready to quench your thirst. Choose your tipple and away you go – gin lovers should stop into Underground Spirits, which uses mineral-dense Snowy Mountain waters for its bottles; whisky enthusiasts should stop by The Canberra Distillery; and oenophiles shouldn’t miss Clonakilla, a family-run vineyard that collects ample critical acclaim, especially for its medium-bodied shiraz. 

Visit Japan by way of Tasmania at Sabi, a wabi sabi-styled stone cabin in the north-east’s Binalong Bay boasting cosy minimalist interiors. Every piece of furniture has been purposefully selected for the property to channel the Japanese design concept which celebrates the natural – best exemplified in the reclaimed, copper-lined wooden barrel that’s now an onsen-inspired bath. 

A careful reclamation of 170-year-old stables has resulted in Págo, a sleek four-bedroom retreat on the threshold of the Fleurieu Peninsula. The private property: a chic, minimalist farmhouse tucked into a gathering of heritage buildings known as The Mill at Middleton, isn’t far from the area’s big guns, either. It’s about an hour’s drive south of Adelaide, 30 minutes’ drive from McLaren Vale and a leisurely 400 metres to the closest wild beach. 

Straddling the divot in Tasmania’s north coast, Narawntapu National Park is often overlooked. Characterised by heathland and wide expanses of coast, this wild destination is an off-the-grid experience that even the most well-travelled Tasmanian might have skipped. Overnight camping offers visitors the best chance of having these landscapes all to yourself, and there are four sites within the national park bounds.

Although the relocated Enter Via Laundry is no longer a restaurant in chef Helly Raichura’s living room (with an entrance through her laundry, of course), the spirit of this very Melbourne eatery remains. With space for just 20 diners, the Carlton North diner serves up a degustation of around 11 courses focusing on regional Indian fare (the February to May menu will spotlight Goan cuisine). A celebration as much as a meal, the experience is rich, with communal tables and vibrant flavours that take diners on a gastronomic journey through Raichura’s cultural heritage. 

Grab your hiking boots: a new multi-day hike is on its way. The Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk on Gumbaynggirr land, is set to transform the Northern Tablelands with a four-day route that leads over suspension bridges and to rest huts, amid the lush Gondwana Rainforests of the Mid-North Coast. The heart of the project is the Arc Rainforest Centre, a hub for visitors anchored by a curl of open-air boardwalk.

Bundanoon’s country-club-esque Osborn House isn’t just for Sundays spent lazing around a lounge room fireplace (although that pastime is particularly popular, too). On weekends between April and November, the garden comes alive with the scent of wood smoke at the Sunday Fire Feast, an open-air barbecue experience facilitated by Francis Mallman protégé Segundo Farrell. Said feast includes an array of charred meats, salads and veg served up buffet style, with a glass of perfectly paired rose.  

A country hideaway that can be exclusively booked, the Fleurieu Peninsula’s four-bed, three-bath Timba Rtreet is a private paradise in a peaceful country setting less than an hour’s drive south of Adelaide. The luxurious bush retreat (get it?) is set on 40 hectares of gum-tree-laden land and the rolling hills are best admired from the expansive, freshwater pool or the Japanese cedar soaking tub.  

Food foraged from the land. A journey through First Nations history and storytelling. The glittering night sky. This is Cooinda Lodge’s Full Moon Feast, an enchanting evening celebrating seasonal Kunumelleng bush tucker and the culture of the local Murumburr clan, about three hours’ drive east of Darwin. It’s an important intersection of food, culture and the land; a truly immersive experience that celebrates all three with both reverence and fun. 

The newest addition to the Top End’s offering of topnotch accommodation, Finniss River Lodge in the wetlands of Rakula near the Northern Territory’s Dundee Beach has just six suites, reserving the remote country just for its lucky visitors. Nature is of course the hero here (although the daily menu of locally sourced barramundi, mud crab and mangoes isn’t too shabby, either). Set on wild wetlands, there’s plenty to see just by stepping outside, but the 50-minute airboat ride among saltwater crocodile territory – free for guests who stay three nights or more – is a clear frontrunner.

Floating alongside these gentle giants on Ningaloo Reef is an enduring bucket-list activity for good reason: it’s one of the few places around the world you can do it. Between March and July, hundreds of these stunning (and enormous – up to 18 metres long) creatures bob into the bay of the reef, just off Exmouth, to feed, giving visitors an excellent chance to get up close. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and competitive bookings reflect that – make sure to reserve your spot well in advance.

Winding through the World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park, the pristine waters of Mossman Gorge are dotted with ancient granite boulders and fringed by lush rainforest. The sacred land of local Kuku Yalanji people, the area and its people have centuries of stories to tell and although you can take a self-guided tour of the tranquil area (20 minutes north of Port Douglas), we recommend exploring this tranquil wilderness with Ngadiku Dreamtime Walks, who’ll guide you through culturally significant sites and welcome you to country with a traditional smoking ceremony.

More than 1000 islands string together to form WA’s Buccaneer Archipelago, a remote cluster of unrivalled beauty off the coast of the Kimberley town of Derby. Those desert island dreams are here in spades: glass-clear water, icing-sugar sand and a discernible lack of crowds – the only residents of some of these tiny atolls are the crooked mangroves. Cruise company Kimberley Quest takes a four-day spin through the area, pulling into otherwise unreachable beaches, as well as the one-of-a-kind Horizontal Falls and Montgomery Reef.

Australia’s first “vertical restaurant”, which can be found perched on the side of the Brisbane Powerhouse’s century-old façade, is a simple yet surreal concept: a fine-diner without a floor, where the guests sit at tables suspended in thin air, 17 metres up. Pairing adrenaline-fueled thrills with haute cuisine, a meal here is quite unlike anything else you can find on our shores – not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. 

5 Out-of-this-world Experiences You’ll Only Have in the Kimberley