ultratravel australia 2013
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Daily Telegraph's luxury travel magazine - special Australian editionTRANSCRIPT
ultratravelYOUR GUIDE TO HEAVEN ON EARTH SEPTEMBER 2013
The Daily Telegraph
CLASSIC&CONTEMPORARYAUSTRALIA
To improve. To invest.To create the terminal voted the world’s best.
To Fly. To Serve.
We’ve been fl ying customers to Australia
for over seven decades. And we still do
today, from ‘The World’s Best Terminal’
as awarded for the second year running.
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© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2013. Published by TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT, and printed by Polestar UK Limited.
Colour reproduction by wearefmg.com. Not to be sold separately from The Daily Telegraph. Ultratravel is a registered trademark licensed to The Daily Telegraph by PGP Media Limited
CONTENTS
Features8 Island escapes With 8,222 to choose from, where should visitors to Australia head?
10 Double take We pick four classic Australian experiences, from Uluru to the Great
Barrier Reef, and pair each with a lesser-known alternative. How do they compare?
14 An Antipodean feast On a gourmet tour of Australia, Graham Boynton meets
the producers, winemakers and chefs who are beating the Old World at its own game
27 Mr&Mrs Smith Down Under James Lohan and Tamara Heber-Percy, founders
of the acclaimed boutique-hotel guide, pick their top 10 stays in New South Wales
30 Not so wild From retro hotels and swish outback camps to a luxury catamaran
cruise, Western Australia has much to offer the well-heeled traveller, says Lydia Bell
33 Home from home Mark Chipperfield, who recently moved to live in Adelaide,
celebrates the city’s charms and the relaxed, outdoor lifestyle of South Australia
36 Let’s go walkabout Yolanda Carslaw hikes up Mount Gower on
Lord Howe Island; plus four great walks elsewhere on the continent
Regulars7 Ultra gems The world’s top fine-jewellery houses can’t get
enough of the opal, Australia’s mysterious national gemstone
38 Ultra intelligence Australia’s best design and furniture; great
places to stay on the Mornington Peninsula; a bar in a barber shop;
and a season of inspirational outdoor music, from Uluru to Sydney
42 Travelling life The fashion designer Collette Dinnigan picks her
favourite hotels, restaurants and destinations in Australia and beyond
33
Eco chamber Sangoma Retreat
in the Blue Mountains, New
South Wales (page 27)
14
38
33
42
COVER PHOTOGRAPH NICK LEARY @ A&R
Model: Donna McPhail at Union Models
Shot on location at Sydney Harbour
To glide. To stride. To breeze through Heathrow Terminal 5.
To Fly. To Serve.Thanks to our team at Heathrow,
customers pass effortlessly through
Terminal 5 on their way to Australia.
Every day.
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ULTRA jewels TBOGH ART
Butterfly brooch in yellow
diamonds, briolette-shaped
emerald and Australian
opals. Price on request
from Bogh-Art (020
7495 0885, bogh-art.com).
Brilliant Victoire de Castellane, left, Dior’s fine-jewellery designer, loves opals for their “special fiery lights, their
changing reflections and their wicked reputation”. Right: Coober Pedy in South Australia, land of the white opal
YOU LITTLE BEAUTY WHERE TO FIND OPALS IN THE OUTBACK
BLACK OPALS NEW SOUTH WALES: LIGHTNING RIDGE Dark body tones mean colours stand out even more brilliantly in these, the rarest and most highly prized opals.
WHITE OPALS SOUTH AUSTRALIA: ANDAMOOKA, MINTABIE, COOBER PEDY, LAMBINA Ranging from milky white to cloudy pink and blue, these are plentiful but less highly prized.
BOULDER OPALS QUEENSLAND: QUILPIE, OPALTON, WINTON Mined from boulders, these can be any colour of the spectrum with a natural layer of brown ironstone on the underside.
CRYSTAL OPALS SOUTH AUSTRALIA: WHITE CLIFFS If you can see through the stone, even if it is black, it is a “crystal” opal. The transparency results in dazzling colours.
WVAN CLEEF&ARPELS
Zodiac Scorpio clip in white gold, diamonds,
sapphires and spinels and Australian black
opal. Price on request from Van Cleef&Arpels
(020 7493 0400, vancleef-arpels.com).
ALA
MY
When bestowing the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth with a gift on her first
visit to Australia in 1954, a magnificent opal was the obvious choice. It was,
after all, the country’s national gemstone (95 per cent of the world’s opals
come from Australia) and there was no better example than the
Andamooka Opal, or the “Queen’s Opal” as it is known. This fiery, 203-carat beauty is one
of the largest ever mined and is now part of the Royal Collection. Throughout history, the
mysterious appearance of opals, which come alive with colour as light dances through
them, has attracted superstition as well as admiration. Gem buyers from fine-jewellery
maisons including Dior, Van Cleef &Arpels and Chaumet have now fallen under their spell.
Fine-jewellery houses are increasingly beguiled by the myriad, shimmering
colours of opals, Australia’s national gemstone, says Caragh McKay
TCHAUMET
Parure No5 ring in platinum,
diamonds and Australian
opal weighing 5.95 carats.
Price on request from
Chaumet (020 7495 6303,
chaumet.com).
WDIOR
Méduse brooch in white
gold, sapphires, black opal,
tourmalines and doublet
opal. Price on request,
from Dior Joaillerie (020
7172 0172, dior.com).
WFARAONE MENNELLA
Butterfly earrings in white
gold and diamonds and
Australian opal. Price on
request from Faraone
Mennella (020 7235 1183,
faraonemennella.com).
TLOUIS VUITTON
Voyage dans le Temps ring in white
gold, diamonds and Australian opal.
Price on request from Louis Vuitton
(020 7399 4050, louisvuitton.co.uk).
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3 KANGAROO ISLAND
Just 30 minutes by air from Adelaide, Kangaroo
Island (or “KI”) is jaw-droppingly beautiful – a mix
of farmland, forest and pristine coastline. There
are sea lions, possums, koalas, wallabies and, of
course, kangaroos by the score. Feast on seafood,
artisan cheese and cool-climate wine. For a dash
of glamour, book into Southern Ocean Lodge
(0061 2 9918 4355, southernoceanlodge.com.au).
1 ROTTNEST ISLAND
Famous for its quokkas – small, wallaby-like
marsupials – this is where Perth comes to chill;
there is a regular ferry service from Fremantle.
Outside school holidays in particular, Rottnest
is idyllic, offering sparkling blue ocean, coves
for swimming and miles of safe cycling. With
its spa, Italian restaurant and upmarket
suites, Rottnest Lodge (0061 8 9292 5161,
rottnestlodge.com.au) is the perfect getaway.
For flights to Australia, book at ba.com.
For more information, see australia.com.
ALA
MY; G
ETTY
4 PHILLIP ISLAND
Cute little penguins are the lifeblood of Phillip Island. The daily penguin parade
is world-famous, but the island (an easy drive from Melbourne, and connected
to the mainland by a bridge) is also home to seals, koalas and migratory
birds. Long popular with families, Phillip Island is going upmarket with fine
dining, great wineries and smart accommodation, such as the 170-room
Silverwater Resort (0061 3 5671 9300, silverwaterresort.com.au) in San Remo.
AUSTRALIA’SSEVENDROPS INTHE OCEANThis vast continent has no fewer than 8,222 islands. Where should the cash-rich
but time-poor head? To make the choice easier, we select seven of the best
1
2 TIWI ISLANDS
Once off-limits to non-Aborigines,
the Tiwi Islands now make
a popular day trip from Darwin.
The two islands, Bathurst and
Melville, are famous for their arts
and crafts, pristine beaches, sport
fishing and love of Aussie Rules
football. Most visitors come on
an organised tour from Darwin,
but various fishing lodges offer
basic overnight accommodation.
2
4
5
7
2
3
6
MAP ILLUSTRATION
RUSSELL COBB
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6 MONTAGUE ISLAND
Whales, seals, dolphins and
penguins are just some of the
attractions on Montague Island.
Located less than six miles from
the south coast of New South
Wales, the island is teeming with
wildlife. There are half-day tours
from Narooma. But if you have
time, book the two-night eco
tour which includes a night in
the old lighthouse keeper’s
quarters (montagueisland.
com.au/accommodation.htm).
5 BEDARRA ISLAND
There are plenty of islands on the
Great Barrier Reef, but glamorous,
secluded Bedarra has always been
a cut above the rest. A short boat
trip from Mission Beach, on the
mainland, Bedarra fulfils every
tropical-island fantasy. Swim,
snorkel, kayak or just kick
back. For maximum indulgence,
book a private villa at the
refurbished Bedarra resort (0061
7 4068 8233, bedarra.com.au).
7 FLINDERS ISLAND
First charted in 1798, this rugged island
off the north-east tip of Tasmania has
a dark and treacherous past, but is
today a paradise for birdwatchers,
hikers and beachcombers. Sawyer
Bay Shacks (0061 4 1125 5179,
sawyersbayshacks.com.au) comprises
two well-equipped beachfront eco
cabins, with easy access to both the
town of Whitemark and the airport.
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1 COAST TO COAST ON A HARLEY
Tropical or temperate? That is one of the questions facing
anyone who wants to see wildlife in Australia, a continent which
contains a dazzling range of landscapes, from the torpid swamps
of Kakadu to the temperate rainforest of the Otway Ranges. For
most visitors, a trip to Kakadu National Park seems almost
mandatory. Where else will you see rock art dating back 20,000
years, 280 species of bird, eight kinds of kangaroo, bandicoots
and saltwater crocodiles all in one place? So popular is it, Kakadu
has a well-developed tourist infrastructure, with safari-style
camps such as Bamurru Plains (bamurruplains.com), billabong
cruises, helicopter flights and a plethora of wildlife tours.
By comparison, a three- or four-day journey along the Great
Ocean Road, which runs along the southern coast of Victoria,
may seem a little tame. But, while you are not going to see
large animals, the sea-ravaged coast and lush hinterland has
much to offer – including forests inhabited by such endemic
creatures as tiger quolls, echidnas, wallabies and koalas, and
quaint fishing settlements in which to enjoy cool-climate
wines and ocean-fresh seafood. Leave the car behind and tackle
the Great Ocean Walk, alone or with a local hiker from the
respected Bothfeet guiding operation (bothfeet.com.au). With
a little bit of luck, you might even spot an elusive platypus.
WILDLIFE
Kakadu vs Great Ocean Road
Take your pick Johanna Beach (main picture), part of
the Great Ocean Walk in Victoria. Below: a red-collared
lorikeet feeding on swamp bloodwood in Kakadu
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For every iconic destination, there’s a lesser-known part of the country
offering experiences every bit as rich. Here we select four of the best
CLASSIC versusALTERNATIVE
AUSTRALIA
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Few places on Earth can hope to
match the sheer pulling power of the
Great Barrier Reef. Comprising some
2,800 individual coral reefs, islands and
sand cays over 160 miles, it is an
aquatic playground without peer.
Or is it? Leap to the other side of the
Australian continent and you will
discover Ningaloo Marine Park (see
page 30), a vast area of fringing coral
with everything you will find on the
Barrier Reef. Ningaloo may lack the
luxury resorts of Queensland, the
superyachts and the tropical
ambience, but it has one unassailable
drawcard: the annual arrival of its
whale sharks (March to July). This is
one of the few places where you can
swim with these placid monsters.
Recently included on Unesco’s World
Heritage List, Ningaloo is an area of
astonishing biodiversity, supporting
turtles, whales, reef sharks, manta
rays, dugongs and more than 500
species of fish, plus hundreds of
varieties of coral. And, unlike the Great
Barrier Reef, many of Ningaloo’s best
dive sites are less than 300ft from the
shore; all you need is a mask, fins and
snorkel. On the downside, Ningaloo
lacks the established infrastructure
of its Queensland rival: flights are
more expensive and there are fewer
accommodation options (hotels in
Exmouth and Coral Bay, stopping-off
points for Ningaloo, can’t match those
of Port Douglas or Hamilton Island). If
you value solitude and the harsh
desert beauty of Western Australia,
you will fall in love with Ningaloo’s
raffish lifestyle. But anyone looking for
epic dive sites, the glamour of the
Whitsundays and pampering in a
resort should opt for the Barrier Reef.
GE
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ALI
A
The Melbourne Cup, Australia’s wealthiest and most prestigious
horserace, is still the iconic sporting event Down Under: a national
celebration that has grown into a global phenomenon. Known as
“the race that stops the nation”, it attracts dedicated punters,
fashionistas, party-goers and celebrities to Flemington Racecourse to
watch the world’s best horses and trainers in the richest two-mile
handicap on the planet. Celebrations are not confined to the
racetrack, however; with its fashion parades, street parties
and gala dinners, the spring event (this year taking place on
Tuesday November 5) is when Melbourne really shines.
But it is not the only event on which sports-lovers are placing
their bets. According to its adherents, Australian Rules Football (afl.
com.au), a fast-paced aerial contest played by huge men in tight
shorts, is destined to conquer the world. Given that AFL ambassadors
have been dispatched to China to plant the seed there, who knows?
Although played in most parts of Australia (and even New
Zealand), the game’s spiritual home is Melbourne, which is why the
AFL Grand Final is such an important sporting event – a gathering of
the clans, no less. The annual match (this year taking place today,
September 28, but sometimes in early October) dates back to 1897
and is staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,000
raucous fans. Whether the sartorial elegance of the spectators will
match the standard at the Melbourne Cup is debatable, but the roar
of the crowds will be on a par – particularly if a local team is playing.
SPORT
Melbourne Cup vs Aussie Rules
REEF Great Barrier vs Ningaloo
CLASSIC versusALTERNATIVEAUSTRALIA
High jinks Aerial
contest at the 2012
AFL Grand Final; a track
gallop between races at
the Melbourne Cup; and
racecourse millinery
Reefish charm A turtle encounter
on Ningaloo Reef; and a sandbank in
the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland
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Australia rocks Climbers
in Karijini National Park
(above); and a camel
ride near Uluru
It is no accident that Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Sydney Opera
House are Australia’s most frequently used tourism images.
The Rock evokes the ancient Dreamtime spirit of the land, while
the opera house projects a message of urban sophistication
and modernity. While both exude a certain rock-star appeal,
Uluru seems to tap into something deep in the human psyche.
Its combination of sheer size, an extreme desert location and
its place in Aboriginal myth make Uluru irresistible. The Rock is
also blessed with direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne,
some pretty swish digs, such as Longitude 131 (longitude131.
com.au) and excursions ranging from camel rides to helicopter
flights, bush-tucker trails and formal dinners under the stars.
Located in the remote north-west of Western Australia,
Karijini National Park offers a similar taste of the outback – but
without the constant presence of tour buses and campervans.
This is the ideal place if you crave wilderness and solitude.
Carved from the harsh, arid landscape, the park has plenty of
rugged gorges, waterfalls and swimming holes, and is perfect if
you like hiking, photography and seeing some of the continent’s
shyest creatures, from rock wallabies to bats. The national park
(870 miles north of Perth) is also rich in native flowers. While
most visitors still camp out, the African-style Karijini Eco
Retreat (karijiniecoretreat.com.au) offers safari tents with
creature comforts, as well as such activities as rock climbing,
hiking, abseiling and rafting. For flights to Australia, book
at ba.com. For more information, see australia.com.
OUTBACK Uluru vs Karijini
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On a month-long gourmet tour of Australia,
from Melbourne and the Mornington
Peninsula to Mudgee and Margaret River,
Graham Boynton samples food and wine
as elegant, mature and sophisticated as
any in the Old World. Here, he charts
the progress of a country that is
beating the French at their own game e
Coast to coast
Turning theTABLES
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Top marques Mark Best (left) of Marque in
Sydney, Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant of the
Year in 2012. Above: his Coffin Bay oyster.
Below: a vine in the Barossa Valley. Far left:
al fresco dining at Cullen Estate, Margaret River
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orget all the clichés about Australia’s
cuisine being centered around tossing
a couple of shrimps on the barbie, and its
wines best for laying down and avoiding.
These days, Australia is a land of organic
cultivation, elegantly balanced wines
and award-winning international haute
cuisine. Thus, in the 21st century, a tour
of Australia’s food and wine regions – the
Mornington Peninsula, the Barossa Valley,
the Adelaide Hills and Margaret River,
to name a few – is a journey through
a country that has long emerged from
beneath the petticoats of Empire and is expressing itself
as a stand-out, global gastronomic centre.
As the celebrated Sydney chef Mark Best told me as we
sat in the cool confines of his award-winning restaurant,
Marque: “Finally, Australia is sure of itself and of its place
in the world. It’s a combination of no longer measuring
ourselves against the Old World and also recognising
that, geographically, Australia is part of Asia.”
For a month I travelled through the country from New
South Wales to Victoria and South Australia and finally
across to Western Australia, a 4,200-mile odyssey that
took in all manner of vineyards, farmers’ markets, country
restaurants, “three hat” haute-cuisine establishments,
gourmet food vans, urban gastropubs and rural organic
pubs. In the end I realised that, as vast as Australia is
geographically, so it is gastronomically and viticulturally.
NEW SOUTH WALES
I began this Antipodean blow-out by meeting Mark Best and
having dinner at his much-praised Surry Hills restaurant
Marque (marquerestaurant.com.au), Gourmet Traveller’s
Restaurant of the Year in 2012. Best has been named
Australia’s Chef of the Year many times, and for the past two
years Marque has been listed among the world’s top 100
restaurants. Unlike so many places in the El Bulli mould,
Marque serves real food rather than presenting a culinary
pantomime. So, although you get an 11-course degustation
menu, it is very much in the tradition of new French cuisine.
“I worked at L’Arpège under Alain Passard, my
inspiration is the French nouvelle school and my heroes are
people like Passard, Pierre Gagnaire and Frédy Girardet,”
Best explained – and his food reflects those influences. It
was worth crossing half the planet just to taste his smoked
eel with parmesan gnocchi and pumpkin, followed by the
striped trumpeter with green tomato, verjus, potato paper,
fish milk and roe. The degustation menu costs A$160/£90.
Sydney, not surprisingly, is replete with fine-dining
establishments including Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar&Grill
and Peter Gilmore’s Quay, this year named among
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. However, Mark Best
recommends Golden Century (goldencentury.com.au) in
Sussex Street, a 600-seat Cantonese restaurant popular with
Sydney’s top chefs and costing only A$25-A$30 a head.
A rural alternative to bustling Sydney is Mudgee, a small
town a few hours’ drive, or a 45-minute hop by plane, across
the Blue Mountains. In the Wiradjuri Aboriginal dialect,
Mudgee means “nest in the hills”, appropriate because the
town is in the fertile Cudgegong Valley. In the 19th century,
it was sustained by the region’s gold-mining boom and
more latterly by coal mining. In recent years, the growth of
low-key rural tourism has given it a new lease of life.
Soporific and gently amiable, Mudgee is much like
the Hunter Valley was 25 years ago. Locals talk about its
“humble brilliance” as a wine-producing region in the
throes of a serious renaissance. There are 23 cellar doors
within four miles of the town centre, and some excellent
restaurants. I’d particularly recommend the Butcher
Shop Cafe at 49 Church Street for a huge, unhealthy full
Australian breakfast and a close-up of the locals gossiping,
and Sajo’s (sajos.com.au), formerly the town’s pharmacy,
for modern healthy Aussie cuisine in a stylish setting.
The Mudgee wine revolution is being led by Black
Tongue, a group of young winemakers who have thrown off
the area’s reputation for jammy, old-fashioned reds and are
making modern, balanced wines which, if my tastings are
anything to go by, are about to start winning awards.
Already Jacob Stein, the 28-year-old winemaker at the
‘Mark Best worked at L’Arpège under Alain Passard, his inspiration is the French nouvelle
school and one of his heroes is Pierre Gagnaire. His food
reflects that’
F
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WhitesROBERT STEIN RIESLING 2012
(A$30/£17.50) Prices quoted are cellar-door.
Region Mudgee, New South Wales.
The flagship wine of Jacob Stein,
named young winemaker of the year.
PIERRO CHARDONNAY 2011 (A$78)
Region Margaret River.
Mike Peterkin and his son Nick
produce one of the region’s, and the
country’s, most stylish chardonnays.
KOOYONG FAULTLINE
CHARDONNAY 2010 (A$60)
Region Mornington Peninsula.
Clean, fruit-driven wine from
Mornington’s largest producer.
LEEUWIN ART SERIES
CHARDONNAY 2010 (A$85)
Region Margaret River.
No apologies for offering a second
Margaret River chardonnay. It is
a regional speciality and one of the
highest scorers in the Australian
Wine Companion.
HAHNDORF HILL GRU GRUNER
VELTLINER 2012 (A$28)
Region Adelaide Hills.
Textbook Austrian varietal grown
under Australian sunshine.
RedsBEN GLAETZER
ANAPERENNA 2010 (A$155)
Region Barossa Valley.
The shiraz-cabernet blend is the
winemaker’s own favourite.
Big and beautiful.
LOWE ZINFANDEL 2009 (A$75)
Region Mudgee, New South Wales.
Big, balanced, high-alcohol (15 per
cent) red from one of Mudgee’s
family vineyards
MAIN RIDGE ESTATE HALF ACRE
PINOT NOIR 2010 (A$70)
Region Mornington Peninsula.
Probably the great find of this trip,
a perfect balance of New and Old
World winemaking.
CULLEN DIANA MADELINE
2011 (A$112)
Region Margaret River.
Biodynamic brilliance. Bordeaux-style
blend that will keep and improve for
years. The 2009 vintage was Australian
Wine Annual’s wine of the year
SONS OF EDEN ZEPHYRUS
SHIRAZ 2011 (A$32)
Region Barossa Valley.
Lively and perfectly balanced. One of
the Artisans of Barossa’s stylish
interpretations of a regional classic.
.THE LANE BLOCK 14 BASKET
PRESS SHIRAZ 2012 (A$40)
Region Adelaide Hills.
John Edwards’s big prize-winner and
an example of his “European-style
wines with sunshine in them”.
CHARLES MELTON GRAINS OF
PARADISE SHIRAZ 2010
Region Barossa Valley.
Traditional Barossa shiraz, perfectly
balanced. Will improve with cellaring.
family-owned Robert Stein Winery&Vineyard
(robertstein.com.au) has been named Young Australian
Winemaker of the Year 2012, and fellow Black Tongue
members including Liam Heslop at Lowe (lowewine.com.
au), Josh Clementson at Skimstone Wines (skimstone.
com.au) and Peter Logan at Logan Estate (loganwines.
com.au) are surely on the verge of similar accolades.
VICTORIA
Melbourne’s long tradition of European cuisine was
broken only relatively recently by the opening of Shannon
Bennett’s Vue de Monde (vuedemonde.com.au), offering
a wild Australian degustation menu. Relocated from
Normanby Chambers to the 55th floor of the Rialto
building in 2011, it provides panoramic views of the city
and surrounding ocean. Gastronomic flourishes include
scrambled emu eggs and truffles, wallaby steak, and
poached Pemberton marron (langoustine) with tarragon-
spiked emulsion and salt dust. On departure you are
handed a goodie bag of brioche and tea for the next day’s
breakfast. Bennett’s head chef, Cory Campbell, says
the menu is representative of contemporary Australian
cuisine, with marron and wagyu beef as “core courses”.
Expect to pay A$250 a head without wine and around
A$400 if you include something from the extensive cellar.
If you’re after more traditional Melbourne-Italian fare,
try Grossi Florentino (grossiflorentino.com) at 80 Bourke
Street or the marvellous Ombra (ombrabar.com.au),
next door, run by Guy Grossi’s son, Carlo, and modelled
on a northern Italian salumi (cured meat) bar. Food is
served on rustic wooden boards and the home-made
mortadella and the various salamis are outstanding.
The wine list, featuring a good selection from Italy, also
offers some excellent examples from Victoria.
But it is out on the Mornington Peninsula that the great
viticultural treats lie. There, a band of clever eccentrics
have shelved their main careers, thrown themselves
into single-vineyard, small-production winemaking and
turned out some of Australia’s most delicious pinot noirs
and chardonnays. One of these Peninsula pioneers is
Richard McIntyre, a surgeon-turned-winemaker who
prefers to discuss the joys of whole-bunch fermentation
to the internal organs of human beings. With the help of
his daughter Kate, a Master of Wine, he makes not only
the Moorooduc range (moorooducestate.com.au) but
also the highly regarded Ten Minutes by Tractor wines
with grapes from a neighbouring estate. As we taste the
2011 Moorooduc Robinson Vineyard pinot, Dr McIntyre
declares it the best wine he has made at the estate.
Not far down the road is another career convert, Nat
White, a civil engineer who first tasted pinot and
chardonnay in Burgundy in the 1960s and liked them so
much he thought he’d try to make some. He bought
Main Ridge Estate (mre.com.au) in the 1970s, took a wine
science course by correspondence and now makes about
1,000 cases a year. Their rarity, and the quiet charm of Nat
White himself, are reason enough to visit the place, but
the clincher is that it serves wonderful Sunday lunches
accompanied by some of the estate’s rarer, older wines.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The state’s principal food and wine areas outside Adelaide
are the Barossa Valley (an hour’s drive away) and the
Adelaide Hills (half an hour’s drive). Both are awash with
big Australian characters. Maggie Beer, the former host of
the long-running television series The Cook and the Chef,
is one of them, whirling like a dervish among the diners,
drinkers and shoppers at her eponymous Farm Shop
(maggiebeer.com.au) in the Barossa. A pioneer of fresh,
authentic regional produce, she opened the shop in
the late 1990s and now serves picnic fare all day from
10.30am, so you can sit at the wooden tables on the deck,
drink some local wine and contemplate the rural idyll.
As I looked out on 50 acres of olive groves, vineyards
and orchards, Maggie pulled out a copy of Barossa Living,
the local glossy lifestyle magazine. The cover featured
a moody monochrome portrait of Peter Lehmann, the
“Baron of Barossa”, who had died the previous week.
“What a great loss,” she said. “Without Peter, none of us
would be here.” The original larger-than-life, swearing,
A CASE OF THE BEST
On his coast-to-coast tour, Graham Boynton
selects 12 bottles from Australia’s top cellars
Degustation (left to right) Maggie Beer’s
Farm Shop, on a lakeside in the Barossa;
sampling wine at Cullen Estate; the tasting
bar at The Lane. Bottom: prawn, nettle,
young garlic, smoked barramundi and
lettuce at Vue de Monde, Melbourne
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drinking, chain-smoking Barossan, Lehmann not only
saved the grape-growing industry but also transformed
this region from a mass-producer of table wine into one
of the New World’s most successful wine regions.
The Barossa’s wine trails are sophisticated, varied
and well organised, with cellar-door tasting rooms and
excellent farm restaurants. At Charles Melton Estate
(charlesmeltonwines.com.au), I had lunch on the small
terrace overlooking the vines (the gourmet lamb pie with
shiraz sauce is outstanding) and stayed overnight at the
estate’s 19th-century Lutheran church, transformed into
a rather charming two-bedroom guesthouse.
On the outskirts of nearby Tanunda, the Artisans of
Barossa (artisansofbarossa.com) – a collective similar to
Mudgee’s Black Tongue group – have also set up a cellar
door and restaurant with a view of the Barossa vineyards.
The chef-in-residence is Mark McNamara, formerly
of the Louise, a smart country retreat in the Barossa,
which means the food is excellent. His Sunday long-table
lunch – five courses and a selection of the Artisans’ wines
for A$95 per person – comes highly recommended.
But wine is the real draw of the Barossa, a region on
the way up. Several of its small-production, multi-varietal
wineries have achieved five-star status in the 2013 edition
of James Halliday Australian Wine Companion. Among
them are Peter Schell’s Spinifex label (spinifexwines.
com.au), Jaysen Collins’s Massena (massena.com.au),
and Sons of Eden (sonsofeden.com), whose principal
winemaker, Corey Ryan, has worked at Henschke and
Penfolds and is a veteran of 20 vintages.
My next stop in the Barossa was Glaetzer (glaetzer.
com), run by Ben Glaetzer, whom I had last visited six
years ago. Back then, he had just been declared Australia’s
Young Winemaker of the Year, so I was curious to know
what he made of the current generation of young bucks,
Black Tongue and the Artisans of Barossa. “I’m only 35
myself,” he said, “and some of these ‘young tyros’ are the
same age as me and quite a few are older.” That settled,
we proceeded to taste Ben’s signature wines – Amon-Ra
shiraz and Anaperenna cabernet-shiraz blends – and his
impressive entry-level Heartland wines. These are the big,
bold Barossa reds of yore, but perfectly balanced and with
a less heavy-handed use of oak. There is no attempt to
recreate the wines of France in the southern hemisphere,
an indication of Australia’s impressive self-confidence.
On my final day in South Australia, I had lunch in the
Adelaide Hills with John Edwards, creator of The Lane
Vineyard (thelane.com.au) and its excellent bistro. A bear
of a man, he said he was making “European-style wines
with sunshine in them” – and although he claimed not
to be interested in wine competitions, he was clearly
delighted that his 2012 Block 14 shiraz had just won The
Lane its first major prize. The restaurant and tasting bar
look down on the vineyards and the food is as fresh,
local and delicious as I had come to expect of Australia’s
winelands. After an Antipodean feast of cured ocean trout,
nashi pear (what we call Asian pear) and sea parsley,
followed by masterstock braised pork belly, I left South
Australia with a heavy heart and a burgeoning waistline.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The final leg of my month-long odyssey took me to
Margaret River, three-and-a-half hours south of Perth,
which produces more than 15 per cent of the country’s
fine wines. Over the past decade, it has grown as a tourist
destination, thanks mainly to the refurbishment of the
Perth-Bunbury Highway, which has shortened the drive
by 40 minutes and made the journey so much easier.
Bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west and ancient
forests to the east, Margaret River is a laid-back gourmet
enclave with more than 60 cellar doors. Several wineries
have restaurants serving lunch, while fine-dining options
include Cape Lodge (capelodge.com.au), where chef Tony
Howell offers an impressive tasting menu (Esperance
scallops, Exmouth prawns, Gracetown dhufish, quail) with
wine pairings for A$220, dinner, bed and breakfast.
The first vine planting in Margaret River was in the
1960s, when three doctors – Tom Cullity of Vasse Felix,
Bill Pannell of Moss Wood and Kevin Cullen of Cullen
Wines – decided to test the theory that the region could
produce high-quality wines. As they subsequently proved,
the climate and soil are ideal for growing cabernet
sauvignon and chardonnay. In fact, compared with
Bordeaux, Margaret River has 25 per cent fewer days when
temperatures rise above 30C but enjoys more sunshine
hours during the growing season – viticulture perfection.
My first stop is the Cullen Estate (cullenwines.com.
au) where Vanya Cullen, the daughter of one of the
founding doctors, is making some of the best wines
in the region. She was the first woman to be named
Australian Winemaker of the Year in 2000 and was
“Green Personality of the Year” in 2011 for her work in
sustainability. Cullen is a certified biodynamic estate
which Vanya describes as “a winery with a biodynamic
garden”. This rather understates the case, for the food and
wines served in the restaurant are memorably good and
the jam, the pickle and the honey are exquisite. I have
never been a great consumer of honey, but this was so
good it was addictive. And the barramundi I had at lunch
at Cullen’s was the freshest and sweetest I have tasted.
Fifteen minutes south is another of the founding
wineries, Leeuwin Estate (leeuwinestate.com.au), but this
one was created not by a doctor but by a surfer. In the late
1960s, Denis Horgan came across the 120-acre property
while surfing the famous Margaret River waves and was
quietly raising his young family on his new farm when the
California winemaker Robert Mondavi offered to buy it.
Horgan thus became aware of its viticultural possibilities
and, with input from Mondavi, one of the region’s great
estates was born. Today, it produces classic cabernets and
chardonnays, the latter described by Wine Spectator as the
greatest white wine Australia has produced.
Today, Leeuwin is much more than a wine estate and
has become something of a cultural gathering place.
Since 1985 it has staged summer concerts in which
the performers have ranged from major European
philharmonic orchestras to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,
Shirley Bassey, Roxy Music and Sting. It also now boasts
a substantial art gallery, born out of the Art Series labels
on its premium wines and now comprising more than 100
works created by significant Australian artists.
Leeuwin’s large, award-winning restaurant really is
a treat, overlooking the rolling lawns and karri trees and
serving up excellent contemporary Australian cuisine
(try the freshwater Blue Ridge marron in a bisque with
crème fraiche). I’d particularly recommend the “Wine and
Food Flights” tastings, where a selection of the estate’s
premium wines are matched with various dishes.
By now I was ready to leave Australia. After one month
on the road, 4,200 miles travelled, 30 wine estates visited
and 40 restaurant and vineyard tables sampled, a serious
fast lay ahead. However, there was one temptation
remaining. As I was about to leave Margaret River, I was
persuaded that there was one more food hero I had to
meet – a young chocolate-maker by the name of Josh
Bahen. For a decade, he had been a winemaker at Moss
Wood but, on a trip to France, bit into a piece of chocolate
“that tasted like fresh fruit” and decided, with his wife
Jacq, to set up a small chocolate factory on the family
farm. Bahen&Co (bahenchocolate.com) was born.
Just as the wines I had been drinking and the fresh,
well-prepared food I had been eating represented the
new, confident, independent Australia, so on this
small Margaret River farm I discovered a dessert to
beat all desserts. Nothing I have tried from Marc
Demarquette, La Maison du Chocolat, Rococo or even
Pierre Hermé matches Josh Bahen’s post-prandial
delights. Vive the new Australia. Now for the gym.
Fly in to Sydney with British Airways and back from Perth
with its codeshare partners, with return fares from £899.
Book at ba.com. For more information, see australia.com.
‘After a feast of cured ocean trout, nashi pear and sea parsley, I left South Australia with
a heavy heart and a burgeoning waistline’
Modern Australian (clockwise, from
top) The restaurant at Cape Lodge;
Charles Melton at his winery in the
Barossa; a trout dish at The Lane
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AUTHENTICAUSTRALIAYour eight-page guide to holidays that combine the best of Melbourne, Victoria and the Northern Territory
In association withDistributed with
The Daily Telegraph
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In association with Victoria and the Northern Territory
Over the past 15 years, Melbourne has enjoyed
a phenomenal transformation from a businesslike
state capital into a city with a global reputation for great
shopping, food and entertainment. It is the national
powerhouse for the arts, fashion, sport, design and
gastronomy and is now widely regarded as a natural
stepping-off point for exploring other parts of Australia
– a direct flight to Alice Springs will land you in the
very heart of Australia in just two-and-a-half hours.
While stylish high-rise buildings such as the
Eureka Tower, Freshwater Place and Crown Towers
have transformed the city’s skyline, its bustling, creative
laneways more accurately reflect its quirky character.
Restaurants such as Attica, Vue de Monde, Jacques
Reymond, Flower Drum and MoVida are now attracting
international recognition, while the city’s distinctive
laneway bar and café scene is being mimicked by every
other Australian city.
Melbourne’s range of museums, art galleries,
contrasting architecture and grand 19th-century parks
is truly astonishing. With its eight separate galleries,
Melbourne Museum provides a stimulating overview of
Victoria’s natural history, Aboriginal culture, colonial past
and great moments in popular culture (including the
remains of champion racehorse Phar Lap). The Bunjilaka
Aboriginal Cultural Centre offers a brilliant introduction
to indigenous art and expression – and will prove
fascinating for anyone planning to visit the desert
communities of Central Australia.
With its wide, tree-lined boulevards, neoclassical
architecture and European-style trams, Melbourne has
always exuded a certain Victorian grandeur, but today
that sense of heritage is coupled with a new spirit of style,
enterprise, irreverence and fun.
Some of Australia’s most ravishing countryside is a
short drive away – and no Melbourne sojourn is complete
without a trip to Daylesford, Mornington Peninsula,
Phillip Island or along the Great Ocean Road, an epic
road trip that includes the famous 12 Apostles.
Victoria balances self-indulgent experiences such
as wine tasting in the Yarra Valley and chilling out in
Spa Country with a good portion of outdoor adventure.
Walking, riding, swimming with dolphins and seals and
kayaking are all popular. Hikers will enjoy the Great
Ocean Walk – a guided adventure through cool temperate
rainforest and along spectacular coastlines, providing
an opportunity to see native fauna such as koalas, seals
and wallabies in their natural habitat. Independent
walkers should base themselves at the award-winning
Great Ocean Ecolodge, a very special place where wild
kangaroos graze outside your bedroom window and
you can observe incredible birdlife and endangered
tiger quolls in the company of ecologists.
The Red Centre may seem like a long way from the
Great Ocean Road, but you could be swimming at
Torquay one day and riding a camel in the Outback
a few hours later after taking a direct flight from
Melbourne to Alice Springs.
Once a vital link for the overland telegraph that
connected Australia’s southern cities to the outside world,
A trip of incredible contrasts
For more information on holidays that combine Melbourne, Victoria and the Northern Territory,
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Alice Springs has always held a certain rugged glamour –
a taste of frontier life when huge camel trains crossed the
desert driven by Afghan handlers.
Alice Springs remains a crossroads settlement where
visitors rub shoulders with desert Aborigines. There are
old landmarks such as the colonial Telegraph Station,
but also funky cafés, souvenir shops and upmarket
galleries that sell Aboriginal paintings and handicrafts.
For a township of just 25,000 people, Alice offers
a surprisingly wide menu of attractions, including the
Alice Springs Reptile Centre, School of the Air, the
Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Olive Pink Botanic
Gardens and one of the world’s best desert golf courses.
Signature experiences such as hot-air ballooning
and champagne sunset flights by helicopter ensure
unforgettable memories.
If you prefer travelling on two feet, consider walking
one or more sections of the Larapinta Trail. Self-guided
walks and camping grounds are available but, given the
terrain and desert heat, only experienced walkers should
tackle this 139-mile trail without an expert guide.
For a more relaxed taste of the stunning West
MacDonnell Ranges, book a Mbantua campfire dinner
with local indigenous chef Bob Taylor, who owns
and operates RT Tours (rttoursaustralia.com/au).
This three-course meal is cooked in a bush oven or
barbecue and features Outback flavours.
Despite its isolation, Alice has always enjoyed a lively
dining, pub and hotel scene. One of the most established
restaurants is Hanuman at the DoubleTree by Hilton
Hotel Alice Springs, which specialises in Thai, Indian
and Nonya cuisine from Malaysia. The hotel itself is
a luxury eco-friendly resort with superb views of the
West MacDonnell Ranges.
Alice is the ideal hub from which to explore the nearby
ranges and surrounding desert. Those who want to
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go to visitmelbourne.com and australiasoutback.co.uk
begins in the dazzling city
venture further can follow the Red Centre Way, a four-
to five-day driving adventure from Alice Springs to Uluru
and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) via Ormiston Gorge and
Kings Canyon. There is plenty of good resort and eco-
lodge-style accommodation en route and the roads are
well maintained – driving time between Alice and Uluru
is four-and-a-half hours and the entire journey can be
completed on the “black top”. Experienced off-roaders
may wish to hire a 4WD and explore the back roads but
you’ll need to be fully provisioned for the desert.
With their ancient, chiselled features, seductive
waterholes and mysterious gorges, the West MacDonnell
Ranges are growing in fame. But even their beauty cannot
hope to eclipse the sheer grandeur of Uluru (Ayers Rock),
which continues to be the major attraction in the
Red Centre in tandem with Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).
Whether your first glimpse of the Rock is from the air or
from the desert floor, no written description can hope to
come close to the visceral impact of seeing such a large
and yet beguiling natural formation, which is taller than
London’s Shard. Uluru and the surrounding land belong
to the Anangu people and strict protocols have been
introduced. While traditional owners discourage visitors
from climbing the Rock, it is still possible to do so.
Dating back 550 million years, Uluru and Kata Tjuta
are visible tips of a massive rock slab extending for more
than three miles below the Earth’s surface. The harsh
terrain supports a unique range of animals including
wallabies, kangaroos, bats, moles, reptiles and 178 bird
species and a rich array of trees, grasses and shrubs.
The first explorers who passed through here naturally
slept under canvas. Today, you can choose from a wide
range of accommodation options at the Ayers Rock
Resort, which comprises a number of distinct properties
from the exclusive Sails in the Desert to the family-
oriented Ayers Rock Campground. Discerning travellers
may choose Longitude 131, an eco-sensitive luxury lodge
where guests stay in tented suites with uninterrupted
views of the Rock and enjoy the finest service, a private
touring programme and gourmet food and wine.
Make sure that you spend at least one evening dining
out under the stars. Not only is this a magical time to be
in the desert but the resort has also perfected the art of
sophisticated Outback dining. Choose between the
popular Sounds of Silence dinner or the more intimate
Tali Wiru experience, which features a four-course dinner
with Louis Roederer champagne and canapes plus
Australian premium wines. In fact, these are just two of
13 dining experiences available at the Rock.
Sipping a chilled glass of white wine under the shadow
of the world’s most famous monolith might be a fitting
way to end your odyssey from Melbourne’s bustling
laneway to the glorious emptiness of Central Australia.
Savour the moment.
Perfectly matched: left, Melbourne; 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road; right,a Kings Canyon waterfall;
Tali Wiru is an intimate dining experience overlooking Uluru
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Experiencing “authentic Australia” can often involve
more time than most of us can afford. But an itinerary
that takes in the unique cultural experiences of
Melbourne, driving the world-renowned Great Ocean
Road and a vineyard lunch in the Yarra Valley or on the
Mornington Peninsula comes pretty close.
Combine this with a hike through Kings Canyon,
dinner under the stars at Uluru, seeing some of the
planet’s oldest land formations, taking a journey into
the world of Aboriginal culture, exploring the
cosmopolitan city of Darwin and the unspoiled Top End
of the Northern Territory and you truly have the complete
Australia experience covered.
Early European visitors were astonished by a land
where trees shed their bark, animals carried their young
in pouches and the desert seemed to have no end.
The explorers Burke and Wills famously took a small
boat with them to central Australia, convinced they
would find an inland sea. It never sailed. Today, every
journey in Australia still seems like an adventure, an epic
worthy of Burke and Wills, Ludwig Leichhardt or the other
great 19th-century adventurers who braved the Outback.
In contrast to the sheer scale of the wilderness,
Melbourne’s once quiet style has given rise to a
modern metropolis — smart, chic, full of surprises
and thoroughly liveable.
The state of Victoria is also the most compact. Less
than an hour’s drive from the centre of Melbourne you
will find vineyards (Yarra Valley), parading penguins
(Phillip Island), gastronomic and coastal delights
(Mornington Peninsula) and one of the top 10 drives
in the world (the Great Ocean Road).
Travel to Victoria’s Spa Country around Daylesford
and you seem to enter a rural arcadia with lavender farms,
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In association with Victoria and the Northern Territory
great experiences orchards and eclectic towns. Venture further inland and
the country changes beyond recognition, culminating in
the Grampians, a rugged mountain range which attracts
mountain bikers, hikers and those wanting peace and
solitude surrounded by nature and Australian wildlife.
The Victorian coastline is equally dramatic. Names such
as Torquay, Apollo Bay and Lorne may sound familiar
and comforting but the Great Ocean Road contains
some jaw-dropping scenery, where the big rollers from
Bass Strait crash against wild beaches and high cliffs.
Victoria covers about the same area as the British Isles
and contains every imaginable type of landscape – from
snow-capped mountains to temperate rainforest, broad
acre farms, windswept beaches and rolling vineyards.
While Victoria does not offer anything approaching
the immense emptiness of central Australia, even
this relatively populous state still has huge tracts of
wilderness that have changed little since European
settlement. A new generation of traveller is beginning to
rediscover some of Victoria’s hidden gems, such as the
Great Otway National Park, which offers a rare chance
to see creatures such as koalas, wallabies, platypus and
kangaroos in their native habitat and is home to tall
forests, magnificent waterfalls and tranquil lakes.
Melburnians, Australia’s most urbanised people, have
an infectious taste for outdoor adventure. Places such as
the Mornington Peninsula, the Dandenongs and the
Otway Ranges are now popular weekend destinations.
For those who enjoy the water, Port Phillip Bay offers
scuba diving, swimming and yachting.
Victoria’s diverse coastline plays host to both blue and
southern right whales, fur seals, little penguins, dolphins
and other marine creatures; an example of how the
wilderness continues to assert its presence over the city.
Flying to Uluru will certainly add to the excitement level.
Hiking in the West MacDonnell Ranges, dining under the
stars at Uluru or driving across the Red Centre are not
everyday experiences.
Not even the most hardened traveller would downplay
the antiquity, scale and terrifying beauty of this place,
where visitors can marvel at the sheer cliff walls of
Kings Canyon which date back 440 million years, explore
the rock domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) inhabited by
a snake king called Wanambi, or gaze in wonder at
a massive rock (Uluru) which is sacred to Aboriginal
people, including its traditional custodians the Anangu.
A trip to the Red Centre of Australia is more than just
a chance to see some of the oldest land formations on the
planet (and its clearest night skies). It’s also a journey
into the complex world of Aboriginal culture, with its
Songlines, creation stories and beautiful rock art.
Bridging the gulf between Melbourne and the vast
interior was the dream of the early European explorers.
Modern air travel now makes such a journey almost
routine – except that nothing quite prepares you for
that very first glimpse of the Rock, a giant pink monolith
rising 2,831ft from the desert floor.
Here, visitors can join a number of organised tours and
walks led by Anangu guides who will share some of their
Dreamtime stories and explain how traditional peoples
learned to harvest the flora and fauna and develop their
own complex system of bush medicine.
At Uluru there is a wide range of dining options
and high-end accommodation choices, including the
revitalised Sails in the Desert Hotel or the more secluded
Longitude 131, a collection of “tented” suites with
uninterrupted views of Uluru.
While The Rock naturally remains the centrepiece
of every journey to the Red Centre, travellers should
not ignore the claims of Alice Springs – a small, feisty
Outback town with oodles of personality. Once regarded
as little more than a refuelling station in the desert,
Alice is now becoming a springboard for all kinds of
adventure activities, including hiking on the Larapinta
Trail, collecting Aboriginal art or hot-air ballooning in
the nearby desert.
The Red Centre Way from Alice to Uluru offers an
exciting and yet perfectly safe driving route, taking in
other important landmarks such as Kings Canyon and
Kata Tjuta. Taking between three and five days to
complete, the loop trail is the perfect opportunity to
experience the desert first hand – along the way you’ll
find resort and eco-lodge-style accommodation, rock
pools for swimming and remote Aboriginal communities.
From Alice, you can add to the adventure by taking
an overnight journey on The Ghan, the train that follows
the old Afghan cameleers’ route all the way from
Adelaide in the south to Darwin at the Top End of the
Northern Territory. Relaxing in the historic train’s
premium platinum service suites makes the journey
even more compelling.
By now you should have no doubt that Victoria and
the Northern Territory are perfect complements for those
seeking a holiday that showcases exhilaratingly different
aspects of Australia. Where else could you absorb such
spirituality — in the ancient cultures and landscapes —
and such exuberance, in the colours of nature’s palette
and the diversity of flora and fauna? And still appreciate
all those magical holiday moments involving delectable
food, wine and luxurious retreats?
In Australia, you’ll discover, every great travel moment
is only the prelude to the next.
} For more information, go to visitmelbourne.com and
australiasoutback.co.uk
Diversify: begin your holiday in Melbourne, explore
Victoria’s vineyards and Great Ocean Road, then head
to the Outback and Darwin in the Northern Territory
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In association with Victoria and the Northern Territory
Lavishly endowed with wineries, wildlife, golf courses,
dazzling views, fine dining and accommodation, the
Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula encompass
many of the highlights of any visit to Australia, both
within a one-hour drive of Melbourne.
In contrast, Darwin is the gateway to the Top End,
which stretches in a broad band across Australia’s
Northern Territory. This is a rich landscape ripe with
opportunity for anyone who travels in search of the
exotic. While some of its adventures come from the
Bear Grylls playbook, there are also plenty that come
with crisp linen, massages and a well-chilled chardonnay.
For British visitors, an itinerary that begins in
Melbourne and ends in Darwin not only provides
extraordinarily diverse and authentic Australian
experiences but also makes good sense, since
Darwin is the closest of any Australian gateway
city to Europe.
Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula
The flowing hills of the Yarra Valley produce some of
Australia’s finest cool-climate wines. This is also the
oldest wine-growing region in the state of Victoria and
the diversity of its terroir enables it to produce a range
of classic wine styles. About 40 of the valley’s wineries
are open for cellar-door tastings, guided wine tours and
many offer wonderful restaurants and places to stay.
Steeped in the precise green geometry of the vineyards,
Chateau Yering (chateauyering.com.au) is an exceptional
country-house hotel with spectacular views across the
Yarra Valley to the Great Dividing Range. Built in 1854,
its 32 suites preserve the opulent character of the original
homestead while offering a high level of contemporary
style. Surrounding the house are 240 acres of mature,
heritage-listed gardens bordering the Yarra River.
The hotel’s two restaurants serve fine local produce
and outstanding Yarra Valley wines.
One of the novel ways to see the Yarra Valley is from
the basket of a hot-air balloon. An hour before dawn,
fliers lift off from the lawns of Chateau Yering for a
one-hour flight, ending with a champagne breakfast
and sublime memories of sunrise over the vineyards.
Meanwhile, on the banks of the Yarra River, Yering
Gorge Cottages (yeringcottages.com.au) offer premium
self-contained accommodation ideally placed for
exploring the nature reserve and 120 acres of riverside
bushland, with frequent sightings of eastern grey
kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and even platypus.
Dangling down from Melbourne like a boot, the
Mornington Peninsula brackets the city’s Port Phillip Bay
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The stylish way to have a wild time
to the east. Its pleasures include outstanding golf
courses, a huge choice of wineries and cellar doors,
spas and mineral baths, water sports, coastal and
bush walks, wildlife encounters and a coastline
scalloped with sandy crescents. Its leisurely ways
have made it a favourite with Melburnians and the tip
of the peninsula boot is shod with stylish weekenders
and chic restaurants.
Only an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the Big Blue
Backyard (bigbluebackyard.com.au) is an award-winning
beach-and-bush hideaway designed to blend into the
natural environment. This secluded retreat is perfectly
positioned to access estates such as Port Phillip
(portphillipestate.com.au), an architectural landmark
offering exceptional food and wine, and Montalto
Vineyard and Olive Grove (montalto.com.au) which
boasts the Peninsula’s best restaurant.
Golf comes naturally in these pristine surroundings,
with some of the most prestigious courses in the
whole of Australasia. The Melbourne Sandbelt is
an association of eight elite clubs, including such
distinguished names as The Royal Melbourne Golf Club,
the Yarra Yarra, Kingston Heath and The Victoria Golf
Club. The Peninsula Country Golf Club and The Victoria
Golf Club offer accommodation as well as superlative
play (thesandbelt.com).
Fine outlook: above, early-morning view across the
Yarra Valley by hot-air balloon; top right, alfresco dining
by the Katherine River; crocodile in Kakadu National Park;
below, ancient rock art in Arnhem Land
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While Darwin is a staging post
for the Top End’s adventures,
plan a couple of days in town
to absorb the atmosphere of
this quirky, charismatic capital.
Every Thursday and Sunday
evening from late April to end-
October, Mindil Beach Sunset
Market dishes up a feast of
Asian flavours (mindil.com.au).
George Brown Darwin
Botanic Gardens offers100
acres of cycads, orchids, ferns,
bromeliads, boabs, bamboos,
rainforest species and
Aboriginal medicinal plants,
(parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au).
Skycity Darwin is the pick of
luxury accommodation,
combining a casino, several
restaurants and bars and
a day spa, in a beachside
location (skycitydarwin.com.au).
Adina Apartment Hotel
Darwin Waterfront offers plush
accommodation with shops,
restaurants, a boating lagoon
and rolling parklands on the
doorstep (adinahotels.com.au).
In the shopping department,
the city’s art galleries showcase
works from the Central Desert
and Arnhem Land regions.
Paspaley (paspaley.com)
harvests pearls from its
own farms off the Western
Australia coast, and its
Darwin showroom offers
pearls of the highest quality
in imaginative settings.
Another intriguing option is
di Croco (dicroco.com), which
sells a range of handbags,
wallets and other business and
travel accessories, all made
from farmed crocodile leather.
Darwin, Kakadu and Katherine
At Katherine, 187 miles south-east of Darwin, the
Katherine River has chiselled a succession of
13 chambers, each a mirror of blue sky hemmed in by
rearing sandstone walls. This eight-mile rock gorge is the
centrepiece of Nitmiluk National Park. Katherine-based
Gecko Canoeing & Trekking (geckocanoeing.com.au)
operates various guided tours of the national park, with
add-ons such as rock climbing, mountain biking and
four-wheel-drive tours.
A leap up the luxury ladder, Cicada Lodge is a window
on the wonders of Nitmiluk National Park, offering stylish
accommodation in the 18-room complex owned and
operated by local Jawoyn people, the traditional owners
of the national park (cicadalodge.com.au).
To the east of Darwin, Kakadu National Park is the
catchment area, floodplains and coastal wetlands of the
South Alligator River system. Water brings life to this
ancient land, carving palm-fringed creeks and deep
gorges from the rainforest, gurgling into mangrove
swamps and billabongs where crocodiles sprawl on
muddy banks. This was also one of the earliest parts
of the continent to be settled by Australia’s Aboriginal
people. Scattered throughout the park are habitation
sites and galleries of rock art dating back 50,000 years.
An outstanding example of the concept of “Wild Bush
Luxury”, Bamurru Plains sits on the wetlands of the
Mary River, a humidicrib environment for a complete
food chain, from insects to fish, frogs and birds.
The Mary River floodplains are said to have the
highest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the
world and Bamurru Plains (bamurruplains.com) delivers
the Top End wildlife experience with style and serenity.
The camp consists of nine “safari suites” raised on
platforms, with verandahs from which to watch the birds
and grazing wildlife. Special touches include airboat
breakfasts, a 24-hour open bar, a chef who turns out
gourmet meals and guides who will remind you not
to trail your fingers over the side as your airboat skims
through this croc kingdom.
Another accommodation option on the Mary River
floodplains, Wildman Wilderness Lodge offers 10 guest
mini lodges inspired by the vernacular forms of
Australian bush architecture. Roofs are corrugated iron,
the timber cladding is rough and raw but the comfort
level is set to “maximum” with a chocolate, grey and
taupe colour scheme and a mostly white bathroom with
a floor-to-ceiling window that gives the fauna something
to ponder (wildmanwildernesslodge.com.au).
Sab Lord has been operating tours in Kakadu and
Arnhem Land for more than 20 years and his small-
group, personalised trips are ideal for anyone who wants
to make the most of this extraordinary region. The Top
End is an open-air bush food larder but it takes an expert
to tell the difference between a ripe bush passionfruit
and one that will give you a stomach ache, and to unravel
the mysteries of Aboriginal rock art. Sab also enjoys an
intimacy with the region’s Aboriginal people that few
others can match, with privileged access to some of their
best-kept secrets (lords-safaris.com).
Darwin is also the western base for expeditionary-style
cruising along the Kimberley coastline, an astonishing
wilderness of wild rivers, waterfalls and crystalline
beaches, often with a crocodile somewhere in the picture.
National Geographic Orion is a sturdy, spacious and
modern cruiser that brings a fair degree of style to the
business of expeditionary cruising with a health spa, gym,
Jacuzzi, theatre for informative presentations, outdoor
dining and marble-plated bathrooms throughout her
53 suites (expeditions.com).
Taking the adventure factor to the red line, True North
is the only vessel cruising the Kimberley coast that
piggybacks a helicopter on its top deck, whisking guests
away to rock art sites, fishing spots, swimming holes and
picnics at plunging waterfalls that would otherwise be
inaccessible (northstarcruises.com.au).
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The SMITHS DOWN UNDERJames Lohan and Tamara Heber-Percy, co-founders of Mr&Mrs Smith, have spent the past decade
visiting the world’s best boutique hotels. In Australia, they pick their top 10 within easy range of Sydney
New South Wales
1 Quirky and coolQT SYDNEY, Sydney
As soon as we walked into this 200-suite
hotel in the centre of town, we knew it wasn’t
a place for shrinking violets. For a start, the door
staff greet you in stockings, high heels, red wigs
and berets (not your average doorman’s outfit).
The building once housed the State Theatre and
Gowings department store, and the designers
have kept the Gothic and art deco spirits alive.
The food and drink are as inventive as the retro
interiors, from the coffee parlour (serving the
best banana and honey smoothies and freshly
roasted coffee) and the European brasserie to the
seriously sexy cocktail bar. Men will appreciate
the traditional barber. We appreciated the QT
Sydney Concierge app, giving an inside track on
the city that guidebooks can’t.
James’s tip: “Work your way up from negronis
at Parlour Lane Roasters, on the ground floor, to
vintage cocktails at Gilt Lounge. I’d recommend
the Smoked Applewood Bacon Old Fashioned,
an unlikely but delicious mix of bourbon,
creole bitters and chocolate-covered bacon.”
Tamara’s tip: “Book yourself into the quirkily
elegant SpaQ, and unwind in the steam and
ice room, inspired by a hammam, before
indulging in a Kerstin Florian facial.”
The details 49 Market Street, Sydney
(qtsydney.com.au; doubles from A$280/£160).
2 Urban glamour ESTABLISHMENT HOTEL, Sydney
We felt immediately at home at this super-luxe
hangout for Sydney’s movers and shakers,
kicking off at the Establishment Bar (pictured
above), with its 138ft-long pale marble counter,
then moving upstairs to Hemmesphere for
a cocktail. You can’t help but love the food
here, from breakfast in the verdant Gin Garden
courtyard and authentic Japanese dishes at
Sushi E, to modern Australian cuisine at the
fine diner, Est, and glam Cantonese at Mr
Wong. The hotel is incredibly comfortable, with
31 modern and spacious rooms, some dark
and vibrant, others lighter and more sedate.
The bathrooms suited us perfectly: I loved the
drenching rain shower; Tamara was wowed
New South Wales is the state that keeps on giving. We first went to Sydney
four years ago and were bowled over by its beauty, and the optimism and
innovative spirit of the people who live there. This year, when we returned
with our children, we were wowed all over again.
The city has always had plenty for visitors to enjoy and it had only got better
since our last visit. Bill Granger’s cafe in Darlinghurst, called Bills, and Neil Perry’s
contemporary Chinese restaurant, Spice Temple, were as good as we remembered
them. But there were lots of new discoveries, too: the garden-fresh food at Chiswick
in Woollahra; the southern French menu at Café Nice in Circular Quay; and Alpha
Restaurant in Castlereagh Street, a fantastic new Greek restaurant where the
moussaka comes with an Australian twist – scallops.
There were as many treats for our children as there were for us, both in the city –
Taronga Zoo, the Manly Ferry and the sandy beaches – and in the areas around it.
Nearby are the Blue Mountains, rich in myth, the vineyards of the Hunter Valley and
a coastline famous for its sun-bleached beaches. At Mr&Mrs Smith, we look for
hotels that balance style, service and personality without neglecting comfort, and on
our trip, every place we stayed was of a high standard, whether it was a romantic
retreat, a shoes-off beach hideaway or a decadent modern haven.
What did we do? At QT Sydney, one of the city’s hippest boutique hotels, we took
full advantage of the facilities, chilling out at the spa by day and drinking negronis in
the bar by night. When we felt like kicking off our shoes, we went glamping by the sea
in Jervis Bay or surfing in Byron Bay. We spied kangaroos in the Blue Mountains and
sipped wine (perhaps a little too much) among the vines of Mudgee.
Where will we stay when we go back? At these, our favourite boutique retreats.
Crazy mix The Gilt Lounge at the
QT Sydney, where one cocktail
features bourbon, creole bitters
and chocolate-covered bacon
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by the sleek freestanding tub and Bulgari products.
James: “Try the roasted duck, faux-shark’s fin soup,
abalone, and the best dim sum in Sydney at Mr Wong,
headed by chefs Dan Hong (from the Sydney hotspot
Ms G’s) and Eric Koh (from Hakkasan).”
Tamara: “Dress up, not down; this is a place for
sociable party people, such as Robbie Williams
and the Scissor Sisters.”
The details 5 Bridge Lane, Sydney
(merivale.com.au/accommodation/; doubles
from A$249/£143).
3 Rural relaxationSANGOMA RETREAT, Blue Mountains
The fun began the moment we met our South
African hosts, Michael (a former art consultant)
and Zenga (a make-up artist), together with their dog,
Pundah. They built this modern eco-retreat just
70 minutes’ drive from the city so Sydneysiders could
go walking and relax. Relaxing isn’t too hard in the
five safari-style contemporary rooms, all with bush
views; the split-level Chief’s Suite even has its own
plunge pool. The bush walks made us feel like
we were a million miles from the city, although
Zenga’s Ottolenghi-influenced seasonal food
was a world away from Australian country fare
(one of the highlights was the paella-esque dish
of prawns, chicken and meatballs in Moroccan
spices, accompanied by a salad of sprouts,
peas and bocconcini).
James: “Spend afternoons wallowing in the
infinity pool or spotting kingfishers from your deck.
Come nightfall, head to the cinema room to settle
down with some DVDs.”
Tamara: “Sangoma’s therapist is an expert in flowing
Hawaiian Ka Huna massages, which are incredibly
therapeutic. Chill out afterwards in your two-person
Philippe Starck bath.”
The details 70 Grandview Lane, Bowen Mountain
(sangomaretreat.com.au; doubles from A$483/£277).
4 Design amid the vinesDE RUSSIE SUITES MUDGEE, Mudgee
We loved this delightfully urban, dark and seductive
hideaway: an unexpected find in the up-and-coming
Mudgee wine region, about three-and-a-half hours’
drive from Sydney. More a b&b than a hotel, it is
housed in an 1862 Mechanics Institute building, with
13 apartments painted in sedate monochrome and
decorated with contemporary art and sophisticated
furnishings. Although a wonderful breakfast bag is
included in the rates (crunchy Whisk&Pin muesli,
fresh breads, Hank’s Jam and Bills Beans coffee), we
enjoyed exploring the local delis, farmers’ markets
and cafés before we hit the wine routes. There are
more than 40 cellars nearby; we recommend Logan,
Optimiste and Robert Oatley Vineyards. Leave time to
check out the historic gold-rush towns and national
parks further afield.
James: “We liked Junior Spa Suite 201 for its
seductive spa bath and balcony: a perfect spot to
sit with a morning coffee. For extra space, bag the
impressive Blue Room.”
Tamara: “The hotel was salvaged from an old
building; take a good look at photographs of its
restoration on the staircase leading to the rooms.”
The details Corner of Perry and Gladstone Streets,
Mudgee (derussiehotels.com.au; doubles from
A$151/£87, b&b).
5 Glamping escapePAPERBARK CAMP, Jervis Bay
This place is just a skip from one of the most beautiful
white-sand beaches we’ve ever seen: Jervis Bay
on the southern coast of New South Wales. It’s only
two-and-a-half hours from Sydney, but the 100-acre
retreat overlooking the Jervis Bay National Marine
Park feels really remote. Accommodation is more
glamp-site than campsite. The bush camp was built
by former Sydneysiders who escaped the city, and
they’ve fitted out 12 tree-fringed tents with comfy
beds, organic toiletries and ensuite showers (and
even baths in the deluxe rooms). They all have
wrap-around verandas. We spent our days bush-
walking, kangaroo-spotting, kayaking, snorkelling,
diving and whale-watching, and by night retired to
the treetop restaurant, Gunyah, for some modern
Australian-meets-Central American food. They call
this “a place for possums and foodies”; both were
very much in evidence during our stay.
James: “Of all the tents, Kookaburra was our
favourite, for its prime location beside the creek:
ideal for our dawn kayaking adventures.”
Tamara: “Take up the Paperbark Challenge and
canoe to nearby Huskisson and back, then chalk up
your time on the communal blackboard.”
The details 571 Woollamia Road, Woollamia
(paperbarkcamp.com.au; doubles from
A$295/£170, b&b).
6 Gourmet getawayBELLS AT KILLCARE, Central Coast
We knew we would have to book well in advance
to eat here. Sydneysiders love Bells as much for its
restaurant as for its Hamptons-style hotel. It took us
only 90 minutes to drive there (although we could
have taken a 20-minute ferry from Palm Beach),
a pilgrimage justified by the high standard of Italian
food prepared by chef Stefano Manfredi. The dining
room has a crisp, coastal feel (all blues, sands and
whites) in keeping with its location near Bouddi
National Park, and the bar is lined with chesterfield
sofas, ideal for sinking into with a signature bellini.
Even nicer, after lunch we slunk off into our
cottage suite, with its elegant nautical interiors
and Ralph Lauren furnishings.
James: “Pick up one of the hotel’s bushwalking
maps and explore the local area, with its nine
pretty beaches. Backpacks, delicious Manfredi-
orchestrated picnic hampers and even guides to
the area can be provided.”
Tamara: “Time your visit to coincide with Bells’
bi-monthly cookery classes or its monthly
wine dinners, or just join a daily tour of the
fantastic kitchen garden.”
The details 107 The Scenic Road, Killcare
Heights (bellsatkillcare.com.au; doubles
from A$250/£144, b&b).
7 Spa-side wining and diningSPICERS VINEYARDS ESTATE, Hunter Valley
There are two kinds of visitors to this estate: those
who enjoy working off their meals playing bocce
or tennis, and people like us, who prefer a spa. The
Spa Anise here is particularly good, with poolside
treatment rooms, aromatherapy massages using
local Waterlily products and detoxifying body
wraps (handy if you have hit the wine cellar a little
too hard). In this area, wine features prominently
on itineraries: the Hunter Valley is just two hours
north of Sydney, and there are more than 150
wineries nearby. Its Restaurant Botanica, headed
by chef Mark Stapleton, serves up contemporary
Australian food, using home-grown vegetables
and home-reared meat. Sleep it off in one of the eight
neutral-hued suites overlooking fields of vines.
James: “At Botanica, make sure you get a table
at the window or out on the airy veranda, to take
advantage of the views, and try the caramelised pork
belly with soy, ginger, shallots and garden greens.”
Tamara: “Get the concierge to arrange a tasting tour
to sample the finest wines, as well as cheese, olives
and chocolate.”
The details 555 Hermitage Road, Pokolbin
(spicersgroup.com.au; doubles from A$299/£172,
b&b and minibar).
Best of the bunch (clockwise from
above) Nautical chic at Bells at Killcare;
Sangoma Retreat at dusk; the white sands
of Byron Bay; soothing interiors at
Victoria’s at Ewingsdale; outdoors at
Spicers Vineyard Estate; the 138ft-long
marble bar at the Establishment Hotel and,
centre, glamping at Paperbark Camp
6
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8 Romantic retreatTOWER LODGE, Hunter Valley
If we weren’t already married, one of us would have
popped the question here. It’s wonderfully romantic:
a multicultural modern manor house littered with
antiques and curios collected over decades of
globetrotting. There are 300-year-old Rajasthani beds
and marble-topped tables, an Italian-style courtyard,
a chic pool and a spa fit for an emperor. We dined at
the lodge’s Roberts Restaurant, where chef George
Francisco blends Australian and global flavours.
Tamara was impressed by the vegetarian menu (and
she’s no veggie), and we both still remember the
vanilla pannacotta with pomegranate and lavender.
We didn’t have time to try the 18-hole putting green,
but it’s always good to have an excuse to go back.
James: “Stay in the seductive Oriental Room, with
a wooden bath on its deck.”
Tamara: “For heavenly vineyard views, take to the
skies in a hot-air balloon (balloonaloft.com).”
The details 6 Halls Road, Pokolbin (towerestate
wines.com/tower-lodge; doubles from A$450/£259).
9 Beachside sanctuaryVICTORIA’S AT WATEGOS, Byron Bay
Our first impression of this feminine, 10-room
guesthouse was that it felt like a slice of Tuscany,
with its fairytale four-posters, antique dressing tables
and sumptuous marble baths. But the setting is very
Australian: a short hop from pretty Little Wategos,
where, for the first time, we saw dolphins surfing the
breakers. The beautiful beaches of New South Wales
don’t come more mind-blowing than those at Byron
Bay. Just a 75-minute flight from Sydney (or a longish
nine-hour drive), the little town has also become
the place in Australia for alternative living, with
travellers drawn to its thriving surf scene, nature-
based spas, spiritual leanings and superior coffee.
James: “Walk to Cape Byron Lighthouse, Australia’s
most easterly point, with its sweeping views. Whales
often pass by in winter.”
Tamara: “Look like Elizabeth Taylor in the 1970s
by packing a vibrant kaftan, metallic flip-flops and
oversized sunglasses for the poolside terrace.”
The details 1 Marine Parade, Wategos Beach,
Byron Bay (victorias.net.au/wategos; doubles
from A$399/£230).
10 Coastal manorVICTORIA’S AT EWINGSDALE, Byron Bay
We couldn’t help but fall in love with this area, with its
organic markets, yoga sessions and glorious beaches
(there are seven, our favourites being Clarkes and
Wategos, for swimming and surfing). Not that you
would want to leave Victoria’s for long. Like its sister
hotel (above), it is a little tropical hideaway, with
nine rooms overlooking gardens, a saltwater pool
and a cabana for lounging. There is no restaurant,
but breakfast and tea are served, and you can order
gourmet picnic hampers and casual platters. Byron
has lots of restaurants, too; our favourites are Byron
Beach Café, the Bayleaf Café and Rae’s Fish Café.
James: “Book into one of the spacious Executive Spa
Suites, with their spa baths and Juliet balconies.”
Tamara: “Take advantage of the in-house therapist,
and have your treatment in the garden.”
The details Top of McGettigans Lane, Byron
Bay (victorias.net.au/ewingsdale; doubles
from A$299/£172).
All the hotels above can be booked through
Mr&Mrs Smith (0845 034 0700, mrandmrssmith.com),
with a price-match guarantee. Fly to Sydney daily with
British Airways from London Heathrow Terminal 5,
with return economy fares from £899. Book at
ba.com. For more information, see australia.com.GE
TTY
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THE BIG FISH It’s vast, it’s beautiful and it’s the richest state in Australia, with more self-made millionaires per capita than anywhere in
The big blue Ningaloo Reef,
where visitors can swim
with whale sharks, right, has
recently joined Unesco’s World
Heritage List. On the Shore
Thing catamaran, far right,
guests might spot humpback
whales on their migration
LCKI8KI8M<C���
HEAD WEST the world. Now it is luring well-heeled visitors, too, says Lydia Bell
Western Australia
n the centre of Kings Park, in Perth, there is a large
boab tree which is 750 years old. It wasn’t always there,
but was transplanted in 2008 from the Kimberley, almost
2,000 miles away, accompanied by a police escort. Local
communities applauded the rare tree as it travelled along
the highway. Moving it was an ambitious project that
carried a considerable risk of failure, but five years later it is
growing healthily in its privileged position in the park.
The arrival of the legendary boab is part of the wider
reinvention of Perth. Back in the Seventies, it was viewed
as a remote, conservative backwater, even though town
planners had already begun to rip down heritage buildings
that smacked of country towns, and throw up skyscrapers
instead. Besides, it seemed too far from anywhere to be taken
seriously as a notable world city.
Almost four decades later, all that has changed. Perth
is where it’s at: closer than either Sydney or Melbourne to
the UK and resource-hungry China, and the place where
Australia’s riches can be found. Last year, the state of Western
Australia exported £112billion’s-worth of goods, mainly
minerals, from its ports. It also has the highest number, per
capita, of self-made millionaires in the world, hence the
glamorous buzz of its centre, where new inner-city residents
spill out of the hip bars and restaurants.
Food aficionados are picking up on the city’s culinary
credentials. Co-op Dining, a hot “dego” (the Australian term
for degustation) restaurant, joins Amusé as one of the go-to
places in east Perth, while El Publico is among a handful of
new-wave Mexican restaurants that have opened in the past
six months. In the city centre, The Trustee, serving European
food, has opened in the former WA Trustees Building, and
there is now a branch of the Rockpool Bar&Grill, plus the
acclaimed eco-friendly restaurant the Greenhouse.
I visited the Print Hall: a four-storey bar and restaurant
complex, serving everything from Asian street food to
modern Australian cuisine, carved out of an old printworks.
The highlight is Bob’s Bar, which pays homage to Bob Hawke,
Australia’s straight-talking former prime minister who comes
from Perth. Under the sign “Bob’s Bar” is his quote: “You
don’t know what you’re talking about, you silly old bugger.”
The refurbishment of inner-city areas such as Mount
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THE REAL LUXURY HERE IS NOT THESUITES BUT THE TRANQUILLITY OFTHE SURROUNDINGS
Lawley and the cultural hub of Northbridge has been
accompanied by a wave of hip openings, including
speakeasies helped by a relaxation of the licensing laws
five years ago. There are ambitious infrastructure projects,
too, including a waterfront district, the redevelopment of
the Crown casino to include a six-star tower hotel with
500 rooms, a transport link from the city centre to trendy
Northbridge and a A$750-million airport upgrade.
Given the number of tourists now coming to Western
Australia, these upgrades are welcome. Last year, 3 per
cent more visitors arrived (about 800,000 in total), thanks
partly to the launch of new daily flights to Perth from the
UK. Historically, there has been a dearth of luxury hotels,
but a handful of purveyors of boutique comfort are
working on that. For instance, developers have turned
St George’s House, an 1890s heritage-listed former
bishop’s residence, into the Terrace Hotel, a contemporary
bolthole with a restaurant and bar full to bursting.
All these developments signal that Perth has become
much more than a gateway to the wilderness.
However, that wilderness is quite something – and not
all of it is deserts and gorges. At Ningaloo Reef, the silence
of a starlit Indian Ocean and the treasures that lie beneath
it are the draw for visitors, some of whom arrive there
courtesy of Sail Ningaloo. The company, now in its fourth
season, can spirit passengers to unvisited sections of the
reef on board the 51ft catamaran Shore Thing. From the
boat, at what is called the Green Mile site, guests can dive
with turtles and, from May to December, see humpback
whales pass by. From other specially licensed vessels,
visitors can swim or snorkel with whale sharks – creatures
weighing up to 21 tons, which in spite of their size are
more interested in plankton than they are in people.
Although Ningaloo Marine Park has just been added
to Unesco’s World Heritage List (see page 12), boosting its
profile, the area has so far escaped mass tourism. Other
than the Shore Thing catamaran, Sal Salis, a luxury bush
camp, is the canny choice for enjoying this beautiful place
in solitude. Its nine tents blend with their surroundings
and the low-tech camp espouses a relaxed, barefoot
lifestyle: it is all about immersing oneself in the silent,
pristine wilderness of the Cape Range. At night, the chef
cooks locally harvested seafood flavoured with indigenous
herbs, for feasts on a deck overlooking the Indian Ocean.
The place that draws most visitors to the area, though,
is the Bungle Bungles Range, with its orange and black
domes, sculpted by nature. The place to stay is the Bungle
Bungles Safari Camp – the first to open under Western
Australia’s government-run Naturebank programme,
designed to develop eco-friendly camps in protected
beauty spots. Run by Kimberley Wild Expeditions, it is the
only private camp in the park with views of the Bungles
massif itself, so sundowners are the main event of the day,
when the mountains glow red. Currently, guests can only
stay as part of an expedition from Broome (the shortest
lasts five days); next season, though, a new overland tour
from Broome to Darwin will be launched, for those who
prefer not to drive the Australia Way in a 4x4 themselves.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the “discovery”
of the Bungle Bungles, when a film crew stumbled
upon their beehive domes, towering arches and natural
amphitheatres, including Cathedral Gorge. Seeing it is
akin to a spiritual experience. A “flightseeing” tour is de
rigueur; heli-tours are the best way to get close.
True luxury can be found at Berkeley River Lodge,
flanked by escarpments and waterfalls and accessed on
a floatplane from Kununurra, an hour away. Twenty smart
metallic “shacks” with ocean views sit on top of a coastal
dune, with views over the Timor Sea and the Berkeley
River; the luxury is not so much in the relaxed simplicity
of the suites (louvred windows, floors of pressed bamboo,
whitewashed clapboard walls and outside bathrooms)
but in the tranquillity and other-worldliness of the
surroundings. Staying in this ancient landscape, glimpsed
by most people only from a scenic flight above, feels
like a privilege. Days can be spent taking boat cruises,
helicopter flights, bush and beach walks, and going
fishing; nights are for feasting on the modern Australian
food prepared by James Ward, who trained under Rick
Stein. Before dinner, it is worth turning up for the star-
gazing session: feeling like an insignificant speck in the
universe is by far the best way to get life in perspective.
The mere existence of this lodge speaks of the
Kimberley “can-do” spirit. Everything came by barge from
Wyndham, 30 hours away. To create this remote Eden,
owners Martin and Kim Peirson-Jones left their home in
Broome and spent two years sleeping in rough conditions
while the project went up. The costs and complexities of
maintaining such a place are phenomenal.
While Berkeley River Lodge is certainly comfortable,
the best example of real outback luxury is El Questro,
the original stylish oasis in the harsh landscape of the
Kimberley. Set on the sandstone banks of a river bend,
the Homestead (just one element of the million-acre
estate, which also has a tented resort, bungalows and
a campsite) has been delivering a particularly Australian
brand of luxury since 1991.
Last year, the owners added three Cliff Side Retreats –
glass-fronted cubby holes with outside tubs – that blend
in seamlessly with the rugged terrain surrounding them.
Staying in one of them is a meditative experience, though
guests can always drift over to the Homestead for drinks
and conversation if they wish.
My outback thrills, like most people’s, ended with
a dose of tropical luxury in Broome, which clings
to the perimeter of the Great Sandy Desert. Here,
a new resort, The Billi, provides tented luxury for
fly-and-floppers (or villas for those who don’t like
canvas). The intimate little resort is characterised by
a solipsistic tranquillity. Although the famous white
sands and camels of Cable Beach are just down the road,
most guests choose to spend time in the calm oasis
of the gardens. With its private decks under towering
trees echoing with birdsong, and its outside bathrooms
with rainforest showers that bring new meaning to the
phrase, The Billi is a reminder that Western Australia
can provide not just beautiful bush, but creature
comforts, too – and do both with consummate ease.
Fly to Perth with British Airways and its codeshare partners,
with return fares from £899. Book at ba.com. For more
information, see australia.com.
The Terrace Hotel Perth (0061 8
9214 4444, terracehotelperth.com.
au) has rooms from A$450/£264.
Kimberley Wild Expeditions
(0061 8 9193 7778, kimberleywild.
com.au) offers a five-day tour through
the Kimberley, with two nights at the
Bungle Bungles Safari Camp,
from A$1,595, including guides,
transport and most meals. Berkeley
River Lodge (0061 8 9169 1330,
berkeleyriver.com.au) costs A$825
per person, including activities, meals
and drinks. Rooms at El Questro
Homestead’s Cliff Side Retreats
(0061 3 9426 7550, elquestro.com.au)
cost A$2,649, including tours, food
and drink. A three-day, three-night tour
of Ningaloo Reef with Sail Ningaloo
(0061 4 0211 0427, sailningaloo.com.
au) starts at A$1,700 per person,
including meals, soft drinks, activities
and guides. Sal Salis (0061 2 9571
6399, salsalis.com.au) costs A$725 per
person including activities, tours, food
and wine. A tent at The Billi (0061
8 9192 1711, thebilli.com.au) starts
at A$265, villas at about A$325.
Town and country Tented luxury,
below and right, at Sal Salis camp
at Ningaloo Reef; and the new Billi
Resort, bottom right, in Broome
THE DETAILS
LCKI8KI8M<C���
Mark Chipperfield, who recently moved to live in Adelaide, explains the appeal of a city where you can kayak with
dolphins in the morning, enjoy fresh seafood and fine wine for lunch and spend weekends hiking in a vast landscape
South AustraliaWhite out Lake Gairdner, the fourth-largest
salt lake in Australia, is one feature of the Eyre
Peninsula, to which city-dwellers decamp in
summer. Below: Rundle Street, Adelaide
HOME &AWAY
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
A couple of
weeks ago, I gave my normal Monday morning routine
a miss and went kayaking. In the less-than-picturesque
waters of Port River, just 20 minutes from the centre of
Adelaide, lives a much-loved colony of dolphins. I arrived
to find them cavorting under a flawless powder-blue sky.
For the next three hours, these resilient urban dolphins
followed our every move, playing tag beneath the kayaks
or flashing their dorsal fins mischievously – delighting
us with their inventive aqua aerobics. On the far bank
of the river lies a 10,000-year-old mangrove forest, part
of an enormous wildlife sanctuary which has brought
back this 30-strong pod of bottlenose dolphins from the
edge of extinction. This precious remnant of mangrove,
saltmarsh, seagrass and silence is all that separates us
from Adelaide’s modern container port and, beyond that,
the open waters of Gulf St Vincent.
Surrounded by industrial smokestacks, warehouses
and giant electricity pylons, the Adelaide Dolphin
Sanctuary is one of the city’s oddest tourist attractions
but a fine example of its wayward, individualistic
spirit. “We’re pretty well hidden down here,” said Phil
Doddridge, who has been guiding on the river for
a decade, “but most of our tours are fully booked – even
on winter days when you have to be pretty brave to climb
into a kayak. Dolphins have that effect on people.”
Phil, who sports a salt-and-pepper moustache worthy
of the tennis great John Newcombe, is a passionate
conservationist. He knows most of the dolphins by name
and works closely with Dr Mike Bossley, the marine
biologist who has been studying this unique community
of river dolphins for 25 years. “Before Mike arrived, the
future was looking pretty bleak for these dolphins,” said
Phil as we kayaked into the mangroves. “What this guy
has achieved is phenomenal. He’s a real hero.”
With its wide boulevards, trams, neoclassical buildings
and municipal parks, Adelaide may look at first like
a mid-sized European city transplanted to the southern
hemisphere: a cross between Edinburgh and Vienna,
perhaps, with a dash of Eastbourne when you reach the
seaside. Having moved here 18 months ago after two
decades in Sydney, I’m beginning to realise that this city
of church-goers, wine drinkers and cricket fanatics is the
most authentically “Australian” city around – easy-going,
generous, sentimental and pleasantly out of step with the
modern world. “You blokes in Sydney are always knocking
things down and putting up something worse,” a work
colleague told me. “We like to keep things the way they
are. Adelaide’s city centre looks pretty much how it did in
the 1960s – low-rise and leafy.”
Apart from the lack of urban crush (parking, even at the
beach, is plentiful), Adelaide is a place where old-school
manners are observed: strangers still say “Good morning”
on the street, neighbours share home-grown lemons,
figs and tomatoes, post office staff are courteous and the
evening news ends with a guide to the best fishing spots.
In South Australia, the gulf between urban and rural
life is paper-thin. Sheep still graze within the city limits,
horses roam the banks of the River Torrens and the hard,
unblemished outline of the Adelaide Hills dominates the
skyline. Anyone who hankers for innocent, unhurried,
post-war Australia (“The Land of the Long Weekend”)
should visit Adelaide in the summer. The whole city
snoozes under a dry blanket of heat and families drive
south to Aldinga Beach, park on the sand and plunge into
the ocean, leaving their towels on the tailgate.
Summer kicks off with the Santos Tour Down Under
bicycling race and culminates in “Mad March” when the
city plays host to the Adelaide Festival, Womadelaide,
the Fringe and the Clipsal500 supercar event. For a few
days at least, performance artists rub shoulders with
petrolheads on the carnival streets.
For all of Adelaide’s supposed cultural, sporting and
gastronomic aspirations, it often seems to me that most
people here would rather “go bush” than sip lattes in
a sidewalk café, wander through the city’s art gallery or
explore the latest degustation menu. Like New Zealand,
this is a place where people still like to fish, hunt and
camp out under the stars – provided there’s a chilled beer
or crisp white wine waiting for them, alongside a fresh
catch of blue swimmer crab, abalone or King George
whiting. Not that there’s a shortage of sophisticated
places for them to go. The city has a handful of
five-star hotels, and boutique camps and guesthouses on
its outskirts, as well as fine places to eat and drink,
including Windy Point in Belair, recently crowned the
best restaurant in South Australia.
During the long summer holidays, though, it is
to nearby resorts that city dwellers decamp – to their
holiday houses on nearby Kangaroo Island, to the
Fleurieu Peninsula, or further afield on the untamed
expanse of the Eyre Peninsula, where this dry, unforgiving
and largely uninhabited continent tumbles into the
Southern Ocean.
Port Lincoln, to the south of the Eyre Peninsula,
is rapidly becoming the adventure capital of South
Australia – a place where visitors can swim with ocean
inhabitants ranging from the cuddliest (Australian sea
lions) and most innocuous (tuna) to the most terrifying
(great white sharks). It’s a spot at which you linger if you
can, exploring the magnificent Lincoln National Park or
tootling over to Coffin Bay for the afternoon to gorge
on Australia’s most celebrated oysters.
Although it may lack the cultural range (if not depth)
of Sydney and Melbourne, Adelaide is the only capital
city which can claim to be a true gateway to the outback –
the Flinders Ranges are a manageable five-hour drive
from Adelaide Airport.
While Uluru (Ayers Rock) remains the iconic outback
destination, it does not have the same majesty and
unsullied beauty of the Flinders, a place where both
European and Aboriginal stories are dwarfed by the
broad sweep of geological time. Dating back 800 million
years, these dramatic landforms contain some of the
oldest animal fossils ever found. Names like Arkaroola,
Wilpena, Lake Eyre and Innamincka resonate with
stories of colonial derring-do when intrepid (or just
insane) Victorian explorers ventured north into the Red
Centre on camel trains; descendants of their Afghan
cameleers live here still.
For a decidedly luxurious taste of frontier life, head
to one of the glamorous new safari tents which have just
opened at Wilpena Pound. This natural amphitheatre of
ancient rock covers 52 miles and is a magnet for hikers,
off-road drivers, mountain bikers and ornithologists.
Given the number of places like this about, visitors
don’t need the survival skills of a Crocodile Dundee to see
them through a journey into the outback. With their taste
for good wine, hand-made cheese, fresh seafood and other
great produce, South Australians have an uncanny ability
to civilise the harshest landscape.
En route to the Flinders, the traveller can stop at two of
the country’s most celebrated wine districts – the Barossa
and Clare Valley – and enjoy world-class hospitality at
North Bundaleer, a magnificent colonial mansion, or
Thorn Park by the Vines, a tasteful property in the heart of
the Clare Valley.
Once known entirely for its robust shiraz and grenache,
the Barossa is now producing a wide range of lighter,
food-friendly wines such as tempranillo, mataro, semillon,
frontignac and pinot gris. Led by celebrity cook Maggie
THIS IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE LIKE TO CAMP,
LCKI8KI8M<C���
Beer, the region’s chefs are busily reclaiming its Silesian
(Central European) food heritage, while embracing
cuisines from Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean.
There’s a similar gastronomic revolution sweeping
across the Fleurieu Peninsula which, apart from
containing some of the state’s finest coastal scenery and
the lovely old port city of Goolwa, also includes McLaren
Vale, the rising star of the Australian wine scene (see
page 14). The visitor can wile away many happy hours
visiting some of the region’s best cellar doors, including
d’Arenberg, Primo Estate, Oliver’s Taranga and Wirra
Wirra, or linger over lunch at Fino, a multi-award winning
restaurant in the sleepy township of Willunga.
Despite their emotional connection to the land,
Australians live in one of the most urbanised societies
on the planet. Young Australians are more likely to visit
Barcelona than Broken Hill and the outback remains
as remote as Mars. But in Adelaide, the bush and the
bistro live cheek by jowl. The great outdoors begins at
the end of every suburban street. Look up at night and
you’ll see a magnificent display of stars, each newly
minted in the desert sky.
Fly to Adelaide with British Airways and its codeshare
partners, with return fares from £922. Book at ba.com.
For more information, see australia.com.
PROVIDED THERE’S CRISP WHITE WINE AND CRAB WAITING FOR THEM
Gone walkabout (clockwise, from above):
exploring the dunes of the Flinders Ranges;
dolphins in the Port River sanctuary;
kayaking from Kangaroo Island; swimming
with tuna at Port Lincoln; the Womadelaide
festival; and North Bundaleer estate,
en route to the Flinders Ranges
HOW TO DO SOUTH AUSTRALIA IN STYLE
Where to stay
The InterContinental
Adelaide (0061 8 8238 2400,
icadelaide.com.au; suites
from A$340/£200), a five-star
hotel on the banks of the
Torrens, offers easy access
to attractions including the
Adelaide Oval. The Adina
Apartment Hotel (0061 8
8112 0000, adinahotels.com.
au; doubles from A$229)
oozes old-world charm, and
has a pretty courtyard and lap
pool, while the hipper Clarion
Hotel Soho (0061 8 8412
5600, clarionhotelsoho.com.
au; doubles from A$131) offers
a rooftop jet-pool and fine city
views. For visitors who prefer
to stay in a private residence,
the one-bedroom Thorn Park
In The City townhouse (0061
8 8843 4304; thornpark.com.
au; doubles from A$650) is
located near to Adelaide’s
best pubs and restaurants.
Where to eat
After a 24-month refit,
Magill Estate (0061 8 8301
5551, magillestate.com) has
reopened under the direction
of Melbourne chef Scott
Huggins – hot competition to
Windy Point in Belair (0061
8 8278 8255, windypoint.
com.au), recently crowned
best restaurant in South
Australia. For authentic
regional Italian fare, it’s worth
trying the family-run Chianti
Classico (0061 8 8232 7955,
chianticlassico.com.au) and
for something edgier, Press
Food & Wine (0061 8 8211
8048, pressfoodandwine.com.
au) is set in a noisy industrial
space, and serving tapas-style
sharing platters and interesting
wines by the glass.
What to do
Thanks to the proximity of the
countryside, there is always
plenty to do around Adelaide.
The top activity is a three-hour
trip through the mangroves
with Adventure Kayaking
SA (0061 8 8295 8812,
adventurekayak.com.au; from
A$70). The wide, flat streets
make cycling a pleasure; take
advantage of the Free Bike
Hire Scheme (0061 8 8168
9999, bikesa.asn.au) and
explore the River Torrens path
to Henley Beach. Alternatively,
stroll in the Botanic Gardens,
or take a self-guided walk
around Port Adelaide
(maps from portenf.sa.gov.
au). Further afield, Kangaroo
Island is a perennial favourite,
with its windswept beaches
and abundant wildlife; book
into Southern Ocean
Lodge (0061 2 9918 4355,
southernoceanlodge.com.
au; suites from A$990). In the
Flinders Ranges, Wilpena
Pound Resort (0061 8 8648
0004, wilpenapound.com.
au; doubles from A$340)
has just unveiled a luxurious
tented camp. Or take a short
flight to Port Lincoln
(visitportlincoln.net) and
sample oysters at Coffin Bay,
then relish the stunning ocean
views at the contemporary
Port Lincoln Hotel (0061 8
8621 2000, portlincolnhotel.
com.au; suites A$340).
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The demanding, day-long hike up Mount Gower on Lord Howe Island
is one of Australia’s best walks. Yolanda Carslaw climbs 3,000ft for
a bird’s eye view of one of the country’s most enchanting secret places
Glancing now and then at the swirling
ocean far below, I pulled myself up
the path, hand over hand on the fixed
rope, my feet seeking grip among
roots and rock. Had I fallen, I would
have landed in a bush of scarlet
mountain roses a few feet away rather than in the
sea, but it was still a relief to have something to grasp
en route to our goal, the highest point on Australia’s
most remote and enchanting island.
Along with a dozen holidaymakers, I was halfway
up Mount Gower on Lord Howe Island (population
300; guest beds 400), a hunk of igneous rock that
juts out of the South Pacific 380 miles from the
mainland’s east coast. The day-hike has a reputation
as one of Australia’s best. Described as “very hard and
demanding” in the tourist-board literature, it is barely
four miles each way, yet it takes at least eight hours
and can be attempted only with a guide.
My partner and I had prepared by taking shorter
hikes and exploring by bike – the seven-mile-long,
beach-fringed island is geared to enjoying nature
and the outdoors, with no nightlife or mobile-phone
reception. From different viewpoints, we’d admired
the 2,870ft mountain, table-shaped and tangled with
jungle, standing guard over the turquoise lagoon.
In bright sunshine at 7.30am we met our fellow
hikers and our guide, Dean Hiscox, once the island’s
ranger. In front of us stood Gower; to our left its
neighbour, the rarely climbed Mount Lidgbird.
For the first mile we skirted the coast and by 9.30am
we had reached Erskine Creek, where we refilled
our water bottles and had a breather in a glade
surrounded by banyan trees – whose roots, said
Dean, spread like tentacles as far as several hundred
yards from the main tree.
Nearly half of Lord Howe’s 241 native plants grow
nowhere else, and more than 200 bird species visit.
The previous day we’d seen hundreds of black-
and-white sooty terns gliding gracefully above their
breeding grounds, and when we’d paddle-boarded
to Blackburn Island, on the lagoon, we’d found it
alive with mutton birds nesting in burrows. There are
just a handful of mammals, and snakes, pleasingly,
are absent: Lord Howe has none of the nasties that
usually make me jumpy hiking in Australia, and we
saw not a single fly or mosquito.
Soon the track veered sharply upwards, following a
ridge that gave magnificent views over island and sea,
framed by curly palms, scaly barks and lilli pilli trees.
“See down there?” said Dean, while we were
waiting at a mildly tricky part called the “Get-up
place”, to “get up”, one by one. “That’s Wolf Rock,
where the HMS Nottingham ran aground 11 years
ago.” (It was a British ship, too, that “discovered”
the hitherto uninhabited island, 225 years ago;
50 years later the first settlers arrived to man
a provisioning station for the whaling industry.)
Higher up, we could see Ball’s Pyramid, a 1,800ft
sea stack apparently floating in haze between ocean
and horizon, where in 2001 Dean helped track down
a species of giant stick insect thought to be extinct,
having been wiped out on Lord Howe by black rats.
Rodents and weeds remain a problem. Dean
explained: “We got rid of goats, though three nannies
were missed and they’re living out their days on
Mount Lidgbird. Now we’d like to see rats eradicated,
and there’s a proposal involving helicopters
spreading rodenticides, but it’s political dynamite.
Islanders are allowed to own a dog, provided it’s
neutered, but cats are banned.”
All of a sudden we were on Gower’s flat top in
the cloudforest, thick with island apples, tea trees,
pumpkin trees with yellow flowers and delicate, just-
unfurling ferns. Best of all, though, were the palms.
There are four species endemic to Lord Howe Island,
including Howea forsteriana, which is exported, and is
the world’s most popular indoor palm. The varieties
that grow higher up have distinctive green and silvery
trunks, lavish fronds and produce bunches of crimson
fruit. Among the vegetation, Dean pointed out
burrows of the Providence petrel, an inquisitive bird
that has been seen as far away as the Sea of Japan.
As we ate our picnic we surveyed the crescent-
shaped island – which is being reclaimed, slowly,
by the South Pacific. “What you see,” said Dean, “is
3 per cent of what used to be here.” The millennia-
old “original” volcanic island, 20 miles wide and now
300ft beneath the sea, surrounds today’s Lord Howe:
its own “edge” drops another 3,000ft into the ocean.
We had nearly 3,000ft of our own to descend – and,
as always with mountain walking, going down was
the killer. Arms as well as legs got a workout as we
lowered ourselves down the paths, grasping rope,
tree, tendril or root. The reward, back at sea level?
A certificate declaring we had made it, as quaint as
everything else on Lord Howe. And for the two of
us, having declined the minibus lift that morning:
a rather hilly bike ride back to our lodgings.
Fly to Sydney daily with British Airways from London
Heathrow Terminal 5, with return economy fares
starting at £899. Book at ba.com. For more information,
see australia.com
Natural world Clockwise, from
main picture: the wild scenery of
Lord Howe Island; McCulloch’s
anemonefish; the view from Mount
Gower; luxury living at Arajilla
Coast to coast
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HOWE TO GO WALKABOUT
LCKI8KI8M<C���
4 OF THE BEST WALKS
IN AUSTRALIA
FREYCINET EXPERIENCE WALK Tasmania
This 23-mile trek over four days takes in some of
Tasmania’s rawest landscapes: steep hills, forested
areas with lakes, and remote stretches of coastline.
The itinerary starts with a boat trip to Coles Bay and
from there it is a (pretty steep) hike up Bear Hill, then
onward through ancient forests and past the curved
white beach of Wineglass Bay. Hikers follow the
Bluestone Bay clifftops along a path walked for
centuries by the Oyster Bay tribe, to the fossil-rich
ridgeline of St Marys. Stay at the eco-conscious
Friendly Beaches Lodge (freycinet.com.au), on a
400-acre property bordering Freycinet National Park.
THE ARKABA WALK South Australia
Geology, traversing the Flinders Ranges and taking in
outback scenery, from craggy ridges to dry riverbeds,
are among the pleasures of this 28-mile trek over four
days. The terrain is hilly, but not mountainous, rising
from 1,150ft to about 2,000ft; accommodation is at
the Black’s Gap Camp and Elder Camp, where guests
can sleep under the stars, and at the comfortable
mid-19th-century Arkaba Station (arkabastation.
com). From the tops of ranges, there are far-reaching
views over Wilpena Pound and the Elder Range,
spectacular at sunset when the cliffs turn deep pink.
Walkers spot kangaroos (both red and western
grey), emus and wallaroos (marsupials bigger
than wallabies but smaller than kangaroos). An
optional extra is a scenic flight above the wilderness.
THE GREAT OCEAN WALK New South Wales
There are two options on this spectacular coastline:
the 65-mile Twelve Apostles Walk, which takes seven
days, and the 34-mile Great Ocean Walk, taking four
days. Both routes use the contemporary eco-hotel
Bothfeet Walking Lodge (bothfeet.com.au) at
Johanna as a base, where muscles can be soothed
with massages and energy replenished with locally
sourced, low-GI meals, micro-brewery beers and
excellent local wine. The Great Ocean Walk starts in
the seaside village of Apollo Bay and finishes at the
Twelve Apostles, exploring along the way the pretty
rainforests of Marengo Point, the beaches of Blanket
Bay and the sheer cliffs of Castle Cove. The second
part of the journey is the toughest, ascending from
an altitude of 200ft to about 1,600ft in a day. Walkers
who want to end on a real high might book a
12-minute helicopter flight over the Twelve Apostles.
The peak season for walking is from September to
May, when the weather is warmer and drier.
LARAPINTA TRAIL Northern Territory
Again, there are two options along this route: the first
walk takes six days and covers 45 miles, and the
second takes three days and covers half the distance.
Both are through the desert, traversing the West
MacDonnell Range and taking in wild, inhospitable
and little-populated landscapes, from high ridgelines
to bone-dry plains. Accommodation is in tented
camps – Nick Murcutt’s Camp near Simpsons Gap
and Charlie’s Camp near Serpentine Chalet – with
a traditional swag for a bed and either a canvas
awning over your head or the stars above. The first
three days are the most testing, climbing rocky
mountains to 3,200ft; on day five, a sunrise walk can
be organised up Mount Sonder, with its views over
Ormiston Pound, a ring of mountains dominated by
Mount Giles. An optional helicopter flight can be
arranged over the West MacDonnell Range.
Book through Australian Walking Holidays (0061
2 8270 8400, australianwalkingholidays.com).
More walks: greatwalksofaustralia.com.au
THE DETAILS
When to go
The island has a mild climate,
with temperatures around 25C
in high summer (December
to February) and in the teens
in midwinter (June to August).
Visitors can hike Mount
Gower with Dean Hiscox
from September to May.
Where to stay
Capella Lodge (0061 02 9918
4355, lordhowe.com/lodge;
rooms from A$650/£380, half
board), on a small beach with
a lagoon at the foot of Mount
Gower, has sleek modern suites
and a horizon pool. Arajilla
(0061 2 6583 2622, arajilla.com.
au; rooms from A$615/£365, full
board, minimum stay two nights)
is an eco-friendly boutique hotel
on Old Settlement Beach, with
a spa and gourmet dining. Less
luxurious but equally charming
is Pinetrees Lodge (0061
2 6563 2177, pinetrees.com.au;
five nights for A$1,115/£655,
full board), which has tennis
courts, a spa and a boat
house with an honesty bar.
Where to eat
There are about 10 places to
eat and shop. Buy picnic food
for lunch and eat out in the
evenings (Capella Lodge and
Arajilla have good restaurants).
It is possible to have fresh fish
delivered to accommodation.
What to do
Go snorkelling on the lagoon.
We saw green-blocked wrasse,
unicorn fish and tiny reef sharks
on a half-day trip with Islander
Cruises. People don’t visit Lord
Howe Island for the nightlife,
but we found the “Bowlo”
(bowling club) was the place
to be the afternoon of the
Melbourne Cup. The island’s
museum and visitor centre
has displays relating to history
and wildlife; also look out for
posters advertising film shows,
nature talks and other events.
The golf course (£25 for nine
holes, including clubs) is scenic,
well-kept and deserted. Go in
late afternoon for the best light;
there’s also a weekly barbecue.
For details of all the activities
above, see lordhoweisland.info.
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
SOUVENIR SEARCHLessons from global experts
The Sydney-based duo behind Dinosaur Designs,
Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy, started selling
their resin jewellery and homeware at a stall at
Paddington Market in 1985. Twenty-eight years later they
have boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and New
York, have collaborated with Louis Vuitton and Paul
Smith, and have exhibited at London’s Victoria and Albert
Museum. Their pieces reflect the natural colours of
Australia: the Ocean collection draws inspiration from
the Great Barrier Reef. From A$50/£29 for a ring to A$475
for a necklace (dinosaurdesigns.com.au).
Furniture designer Trent Jansen is best known for
upcycling old road signs into distinctive urban stools
(moooi.com). But his most covetable piece is a little
more luxe: a rocking chair for the design collaborative
Broached Commissions in Melbourne, which aims to
explore the identity of Australia through its designs. The
Chinaman’s File rocking chair was a response to stories
about Chinese immigrants in the mid-19th century who
walked hundreds of miles to reach the country’s gold
mines. “It struck me that a chair like this, with its
motherly rocking movements, would have brought them
some comfort,” says Jansen. From around
A$9,835/£5,798 (broachedcommissions.com).
In 2010 a group of surfers on Bondi Beach came up
with the idea of creating sunglasses that were not only
eco-friendly (made of sustainably grown wood and
bamboo, waxed and fitted with polarising lenses), but
also ones whose profits would go to a local foundation
to restore sight to people in developing countries. The
sale of one pair of wayfarer-style Grown sunglasses
pays for surgery for one person, or eye examinations for
12 children. From A$115/£67 (growndesigns.com).
Tim Jennings started his Mbantua Fine Art Gallery
25 years ago to provide an outlet for Aboriginal art from
the Utopia region of the Northern Territory. Today, he
has three galleries, in Alice Springs, Darwin and
Mornington, featuring art by more than 50 artists –
including Emily Kame Kngwarreye; one of her paintings
sold in 2007 for A$1,056,000/£618,637, at that time the
highest price ever paid for a work of Aboriginal art.
Artworks start at a few hundred dollars (mbantua.com).
Jurassic jewellery Louise Olsen
and Stephen Ormandy (with Skipper
the dog), at the Sydney boutique of
Dinosaur Designs. Their fan tortoiseshell
choker necklace, left, costs A$345/£202
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60,000Approximate age in years of the Kimberley’s Bradshaw rock-art paintings (five times older than
the Egyptian pyramids)
7,000Weight in kilograms of
fireworks that will be let off in October’s display of tall ships
and warships in Sydney Harbour
12,000,000Cost in dollars of Perth’s new rollercoaster, which will carry
thrill-seekers at 52 miles an hour, and at G-forces of upto 4.5 (greater than a space
shuttle launch)
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS
CUT TO THE CHASER
We have had bars in record shops, bars in art
galleries — so why not one in a men’s
hairdresser? The latest incarnation from
Sydney’s award-winning barman Mike Enright,
above, is The Barber Shop, designed in the style
of a traditional English barber and advertising
short back and sides, as well as drinks with
sides, such as platters of ham and cheese.
Although most barmen try to keep knives and alcohol
apart, Enright said he wanted to put “a bit of the barber
into the bar and a bit of the bar into The Barber Shop” –
which explains the mirrors, blades and brushes, and his
choice of cologne: a splash of gin. The Barber Shop, 89
York Street, Sydney (thisisthebarbershop.com).
COAST ROAD
The new Peninsula Link freeway, connecting
Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula, has
halved the journey time to 45 minutes – hence
the growing number of new places to stay
along the coast. Visitors to the Provençal-inspired Tussie
Mussie Vineyard Retreat (tussiemussie.boutique
retreats.com.au) can choose from a lodge, a cottage or
an old laundry, surrounded by kitchen gardens and rose
beds. The Spindrift Beach Retreat (spindrift.boutique
retreats.com.au), with its pale, New England-style interiors,
overlooking Balnarring Beach, is available for private groups to rent.
Gourmands might prefer to opt for George’s Boutique B&B
(georgesonarthurs.com.au), with its cooking lessons, and then drop in
to the new Red Hill Epicurean (redhillepicurean.com.au), which has
a restaurant, wine cellar, bakery and cheese larder. For more
information, see visitmelbourne.com/regions/mornington-peninsula.
Australians have always loved the
great outdoors, but they have only
recently begun to use their deserts,
harbours and cityscapes as
backdrops for classical-music
extravaganzas. Earlier this year, the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
performed a three-night season at
Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in the
Blue Mountains (to acclaim from the
Telegraph’s music critic, Michael
White; it will be repeated in March
next year). Next month, on October
18, Uluru will be the spectacular
backdrop for a Verdi concert by the
Darwin Symphony Orchestra,
celebrating the 200th anniversary of
Verdi’s birth and, on October 19, for
an evening of contemporary
Australian music, from jazz to
didgeridoo (ayersrockresort.com.au/
dso). In a more conventional
location, the Sydney Opera House
will, on October 27, provide the
setting for a concert to celebrate its
40th anniversary, with the same
Beethoven programme to which it
opened in 1973 (40.sydneyopera
house.com). In 2014, the festival
season kicks off in Sydney (January
9-26), followed by the biennial
Adelaide Festival (February 28-
March 16), the largest fringe festival
in the world after Edinburgh. The
Canberra International Music
Festival takes place in May, and the
Australian Festival of Chamber
Music in Townsville in August. There
are rock and jazz festivals, too. For
more information, see australia.com.
50Percentage of cetaceans
worldwide found in Australian waters: 45 species of whales,
porpoises and dolphins
ROCK MEETS CLASSICAL
Essential tech for your tripPocket Weather Australia
A$1.99
This uses data from the Bureau of
Meteorology, giving precise
information on expected rainfall,
temperatures and wind conditions
across the country.
Sydney’s Living History A$4.49
Detail-rich city guide by Sally
Hammond, author of Sydney Café
Culture, with quirky titbits from
the city’s oldest pub to highlights
from its museums.
Australia Taxi A$0.99
Phone numbers of local cabs in all
the country’s major cities, with
GPS to find the nearest rank.
ULTRA APPS
NEED INSPIRATION? THE ROYAL ACADEMY’S EXHIBITION, AUSTRALIA, HAS JUST OPENED, SHOWING 200 WORKS NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THE UK (ROYALACADEMY.ORG.UK)
Big country Matthew Wood,
of the Darwin Symphony
Orchestra, will conduct Verdi at
Uluru on October 18
Relax Spindrift
Beach Retreat,
below, and Tussie
Mussie Vineyard
Retreat, above right
In association with British Airways
In 1935 Australia was almost a fortnight away,
even by air. A four-engined biplane operated by
Imperial Airways would lumber into the sky
from London’s Croydon Airport and touch down
in Paris, from where passengers caught a night
train to Brindisi in Italy before lumbering into
the sky again. And again.
Twelve days later, after scraping over mountain
ranges and battling through Indian Ocean
storms, the intrepid adventurers finally landed –
a little shaken and definitely stirred – at the
fledgling airport in Brisbane, Australia.
The 12,754 mile trip, inaugurated in April
1935 and operated weekly in partnership
with Qantas Empire Airways and Indian
Trans-Continental Airways, cost £195 one way,
equivalent to more than £11,000 today.
To put that in context, BOAC’s successor,
British Airways, now operates a daily service
from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Sydney on
a Boeing 777 at a fraction of the price in a shade
under 23 hours with just a single refuelling stop.
And, with its codeshare partners, British Airways
can now take you to 11 destinations in Australia.
The wonder is that anybody went at all.
But then, as now, Australia was too enticing.
Colourful cities, sun-soaked beaches, big skies,
wonderful wildlife and friendly locals — Oz has it
all and lots of it. Whether you’re snorkelling on
the Great Barrier Reef, sailing in Sydney Harbour
How Down Under became much closer
For more information on British Airways flights to Australia, visit ba.com
Air travel has come far since 1935, when it took two weeks to reach Australia, but just like today visitors couldn’t resist, says Paul Dunbar
Flight path: from
past glories, right, to
today’s friendly crew
and World Traveller
and First cabins, top,
British Airways has
always led the �eld
or paddling with platypus on the Great Ocean
Road, you don’t do things by halves.
There’s Sydney, one of those cities where
the clichés – touring the Opera House, climbing
the Harbour Bridge, surfing off Bondi Beach –
don’t seem like clichés when you’re doing them.
Less than a two-hour drive from the city,
the Blue Mountains offer great wildlife
encounters, stunning scenery and some
incredible accommodation. Hiring a car and
doing the loop around to the Hunter Valley
makes for a great road trip.
Canberra is well supplied with first-rate
museums and galleries and Melbourne, city
of contrasts, dedicated in roughly equal measure
to high culture, fine food and competitive sports,
should not be missed.
Sunny, booming Perth is famed for its
laid-back coastal lifestyle of sailing, dining
and surfing, while elegant Adelaide is
surrounded by lush vineyards and bushland
hopping with kangaroos.
Brisbane has changed since Imperial’s
biplanes roared in, becoming a cosmopolitan
metropolis with the pleasure grounds of the
Gold Coast just down the freeway.
Hobart, gateway to Tasmania’s wild rivers,
rainforests and amazing nature experiences,
is also a delightful colonial-style city in its own
right. Hedonistic Cairns is an ideal starting point
The high life
begins on the
ground
British Airways flights
to Australia depart
from Heathrow’s
spacious, state-of-the-
art Terminal 5, opened
in 2008 and winner
of the Best Airport
Terminal category at
the Skytrax World
Airport Awards in
2012. It is used
exclusively by
International Airlines
Group (British Airways
and Iberia).
There’s no need to
queue to check in, as
this can be done online
up to 24 hours before
departure — leaving
more time to try out
some of Terminal 5’s
100-plus stores and
restaurants, including
Cartier, Harrods and
World of Whiskies.
First and Club World
travellers — and
Executive Club Silver
and Gold Members,
and oneworld®
Emerald and Sapphire
frequent flyers — will
find a sanctuary in the
luxurious and relaxing
Galleries lounges.
Here they can read
The Daily Telegraph
and other quality
periodicals, help
themselves to
complimentary food
and beverages,
including a selection of
fine wines, and watch
live sport or selected
entertainment in the
20-seat cinema.
Eligible customers
can even enjoy a
complimentary spa
treatment at one of
the terminal’s three
Elemis Travel Spas,
which offer a range of
facials and massages,
including the
unmissable “exotic
hand and arm
re-energiser”. Facilities
for arriving First and
Club World passengers
include showers and
a clothes pressing
service, so they can
finish their journey as
fresh as they started.
to visit the Great Barrier Reef, dubbed one of the
seven wonders of the natural world.
If the prospect of spending 23 solid hours on
an aeroplane fills you with dread, be assured
that things have come a long way since the first
passengers endured those thundering biplanes.
Each British Airways Boeing 777 has four
cabins. First passengers have their own suite
with fully flat 6ft 6in bed (with complimentary
pyjamas!), power supply and a personal
entertainment system that delivers endless
hours of audio and video via its 15in screen and
noise-cancelling headphones.
In British Airways’ award-winning Club World,
travellers have a super-comfortable armchair
that converts into a fully flat 6ft bed, plus
a power supply and a similar entertainment
system with 10.4in screen.
And World Traveller (economy class) offers
great-value, all-inclusive fares with no hidden
charges, delicious meals and full bar service.
Plus today’s reclining seats are ergonomically
designed and come with adjustable headrests
and lumbar support. The entertainment system
has a seat-back screen and free headphones.
In World Traveller Plus (premium economy),
seats are wider with greater recline, head and
foot rests, lumbar support and extra leg room.
They also have an entertainment system with
noise-reducing headphones.
Baggage allowances are generous, too:
up to three bags free in the hold for First and
Club World, two for World Traveller Plus and
one up to 23kg in World Traveller.
Dining aloft has a long pedigree. Even in 1935,
Imperial Airways’ advertisements boasted that
its cabin crews served “full restaurant meals”.
Today, from World Traveller meals specially
crafted by top chefs to match the time and
duration of the flight, to the apex of the airline
experience in First where travellers can choose
from à la carte meals, prepared to order at
any reasonable time, and a selection of fine
wines, the choices and quality available are
outstanding. I’d be tempted to stay on the
plane and fly straight back.
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
he 48-year-old fashion designer,
based in Sydney, was the first Australian to launch
a ready-to-wear collection in Paris. Her range is
now sold internationally, from Melbourne to
Moscow, and fans include Nicole Kidman and
Halle Berry. She has travelled widely, and at
the age of eight spent four years on a yacht,
sailing from South Africa to New Zealand.
Where do you go on holiday?
The past three years we’ve been to Italy. Two
years ago, my husband Bradley and I eloped to
Positano, and this year we went back with our
baby, to Villa Tre Ville (villatreville.it), which has
only 17 rooms and its own vegetable garden
and boat. It’s family-owned, and very discreet.
Where next?
Brittany, because Bradley loves to surf. Or South
America. Or perhaps Nihiwatu (nihiwatu.com),
a sustainably managed island off Indonesia
which is owned by Chris Burch [co-owner of
the fashion label Tory Burch]. It’s right on the
beach, with great surf, so I can lie by the pool
and eat the fish we just caught while my
husband goes surfing.
Your idea of a perfect holiday?
Somewhere I can go to a local market and be
inspired by a culture, or the local people, or their
crafts. It drives my husband insane, because he
likes to lie about and relax. I relax by perusing.
What if you did want to lie about?
I once went to Naladhu (naladhu.anantara.com),
a six-star resort in the Maldives. You get your own
pool, and the sea is clear and teeming with fish.
Favourite holiday spots in Australia?
We have a magical, retro Hamptons-style house in
Palm Beach, an hour north of Sydney, which is
right on the ocean, with kookaburras on the
verandah. We spend summers at our 30-acre
property three hours south in Milton, where
Bradley surfs and my daughter rides her horse.
The hottest hotels in Sydney?
The revamped Watsons Bay (watsonsbayhotel.
com.au) opens soon: small, chic, and right on the
harbour, beside beautiful beaches and a park.
Blue Sydney (tajhotels.com), on a jetty by the
water, is just a short walk from the Opera
House through the Botanic Gardens.
Any other Antipodean favourites?
We’re just back from the six-star, super-relaxing
Qualia (qualia.com.au) on Hamilton Island, which
has the whitest silica-sand beaches. We saw
whales in the bay, and stingrays leaping out of the
water. In New Zealand, where I grew up, we’ve
stayed at Huka Lodge (hukalodge.co.nz) and eaten
great food at Cape Kidnappers (capekidnappers.
com), on a farm on the North Island coast.
What about Europe?
I love the family-run Villa Brunella (villabrunella.it)
in Capri, which has a pretty pool and wonderful
views. In Paris, Le Meurice (lemeurice.com) for
work, or an apartment (booked through
parisperfect.com) in the 6th arrondissement
for a family trip, so we can wander to the food
markets. And in Rome, a loft apartment rented
through romeloft.com.
Favourite restaurants in Sydney?
It’s hard to choose, there are so many. The five
I go to all the time are: Sean’s Panaroma
(seanspanaroma.com.au), on Bondi Beach, which
serves line-caught fish and home-grown produce;
the sensational modern Asian restaurant Billy
Kwong (kyliekwong.org) in Surry Hills; Neil Perry’s
Rockpool Bar&Grill (rockpool.com) for seafood,
beef and great salads; Fratelli Paradiso
(fratelliparadiso.com) for casual Italian; and for
fine dining-style food in a relaxed warehouse
setting, Kitchen by Mike (koskela.com.au).
Best places to eat worldwide?
In London, the River Café (rivercafe.co.uk) for
dinner and Petersham Nurseries (petersham
nurseries.com) for lunch. In New York, ABC
Kitchen (abckitchennyc.com) or Locanda
Verde (locandaverdenyc.com), in The Greenwich
Hotel, which is unpretentious and fun.
Do you prefer luxury or simplicity?
I don’t like frills and fuss; I prefer hotels or villas
with character. White linen and mosquito nets
do it for me – plus a view and room service.
The most glamorous room you’ve stayed in?
Last week I was in the Presidential Suite of the
Mandarin Oriental (mandarinoriental.com) in
Guangzhou, which had six beautifully-designed
rooms, all Asian in style. The suites at the Hôtel
du Cap (hotel-du-cap-eden-roc.com), with its
gardens and romantic Thirties architecture, are
unbeatable. In Paris, the suite at the top of the
Plaza Athénée (plaza-athenee-paris.com) is
incredibly lavish, too, as is the penthouse at
Le Meurice, with its 360-degree rooftop view.
It makes me fall even more in love with the
city and want to throw a rock-star party.
Any tips for shopping abroad?
Look out for art and antiques and ship them back.
In London, I recommend Michael Hoppen Gallery
(michaelhoppengallery.com) and, in Paris, the
lovely white porcelain shop Astier de Villatte
(astierdevillatte.com) or Le Bon Marché
(lebonmarche.com) for fashion. When I was in
St Tropez this year, judging at an Antipodean
film festival, I drove to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which
is full of antique shops, then stopped off
for moules and a glass of wine. A perfect day.
Do you like travelling to remote places?
You have to in Australia! We often rent houses in
the middle of nowhere for fashion shoots, and I’ve
been to Broome, where Lord McAlpine has a hotel
(mcalpinehouse.com.au), and Cape York, with
only crocodiles, sharks and turtles for company.
Finally, do you travel light?
No, I’m a terrible packer. I take everything – and
far too many shoes. On the last trip, I took about
10 pairs. I’ve learnt: clothes don’t crease quite as
much in hard Samsonite suitcases, so everything
is now thrown into one or two (or three) of those.
Interview by Lisa Grainger
TRAVELLING LIFE Collette DinniganThe Australian fashion designer on Sydney’s best restaurants, an Indonesian idyll and a six-star resort in Queensland
TQualia, on
Hamilton Island, has the whitest
silica-sand beaches. We saw whales in
the bay and stingrays leaping out of the water
*Availability may be extremely limited, particularly during peak periods. Flight prices are return from London Heathrow to Melbourne and include all pre-payable taxes, fees and other charges, correct as at 05/09/13. Routing is based from London to Melbourne via Singapore and Sydney. Prices subject to change. Bookings must be made by midnight 15 October 2013 for selected travel between 03/11/13 to 26/11/13 and 09/02/14 to 02/04/14. Some payment methods attract a handling fee. For selected destinations, eligible travel dates and full terms and conditions visit ba.com/australiadeals