Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2017 i Australian Traveller

AESOP BOTTLED Aēsop was founded in Melbourne in 1987 and, as part of its 30th birthday celebrations this year, has revisited the design of its store in Fitzroy. Created in collaboration with architect Clare Cousins, traditional elements, including steel beams and a rustic concrete slab, are melded with signature Aēsop style as an ode to the history of Melbourne’s first suburb. And good news for anyone who’s ever wanted to bottle the aroma of an Aēsop store (that’s all of us): July sees the launch of a new collection of three scents that you can spritz at home. Aromatique Room Sprays now come in Istros – floral and smoky; Olous – green and citrus; and Cythera – perfect for winter with warm, woody and spicy notes. PACK A BAG WET…

A track winding back As far away as you can get from one city (Sydney) without starting to head into another city (Melbourne), the halfway point of Gundagai is an ideal place to hide from both. Kimo Estate is set on 7000 hectares of working farm, and although its century-old workers’ cottages make for a charming stay, it is the luxe, architecturally designed, solar-powered eco-huts, with sweeping 360-degree views of the Murrumbidgee flats that scream (or is it whisper?) ‘get away from it all’. kimoestate.com A WHOLE NEW RAE OF SUNSHINE Even the best of us need a declutter sometimes, and that includes award-winning Byron Bay, ultra-luxury property Rae’s on Wategos. Sydney interior designer Tamsin Johnson whisked away the old velvet and suede decadence and has installed, instead, natural materials…

DETOUR IS HOUSED IN an old industrial building within the antique precinct of Logan Road in Brisbane’s Woolloongabba. The atmosphere is warm and intimate, and my partner and I soon forget the commotion over the road: Adele is playing to 60,000 people at the Gabba. Opened in January, this 140-seater is the much-anticipated restaurant from Damon Amos, former executive chef at Brisbane’s hatted eatery, Public. The space itself is contemporary yet faithful to its industrial foundations; copper and wooden panels have been installed with a light touch against exposed brickwork and metal support beams that bear original signage – it all feels very textural. The menu at Detour is split down the middle between omnivore and herbivore options (meat-, egg- and dairy-free). The premise behind this is one of inclusiveness;…

MIDTOWN CAME ABOUT as something of a joke on Facebook. Occupying a no man’s land between Hobart’s sparkling harbour and North Hobart, one of Australia’s most in-vogue neighbourhoods, shopkeepers in the overlooked spot between NoHo and SoHo coined the name MidTown to put themselves on the map. Now the stretch of Elizabeth Street, from Liverpool Street in the south to Warwick Street in the north, is a thriving hub for creatives. They’ve transformed what was once a pretty tired-looking area into something that will draw the cool kids down from the nationally recognised restaurants and bars of North Hobart, and tourists up from the waterfront. With new breweries, restaurants and bars making a name for themselves and the arrival of a huge new student accommodation block on Elizabeth Street that…

Bewitching gorges dramatically and unexpectedly fall from the flat, baked earth. ONE SOLITARY ROCK IS all that it takes to unleash it . Just a seemingly benign souvenir, from a landscape with billions of such specimens, carelessly plopped in your pocket and forgotten about. Forgotten about, that is, until it comes knocking. What is it ? Hard to say, exactly. Cynics say it’s a steaming pile of hocus-pocus doo-doo. But then there are the believers; reluctant converts to the idea of the inexplicable, nebulous curse known as ‘Karijini Karma’. What do we know about it? It’s OK simply to pick up a rock in Karijini National Park, let its iron dust tint your palm;…

WHEN RAIN STARTS FALLING on Kakadu, it’s as if a sky-bound Buddha has broken his prayer necklace, sending delicate, clear beads dancing over the hills, dirt tracks, rivers and billabongs. Next, the wind picks up. It inhales and exhales with force. Colours shift in the sky. Blue tones turn steely. Then, when things get real, lightning percussion booms and the main monsoonal act arrives. Rolling sheets of water break like waves, colliding mid-air and crashing southwards – and, as it happens, across my head and shoulders. I’m midway along the 7.5-kilometre loop walk to Motor Car Falls in the southern part of the park. I’m soaked and quietly freaking out about my camera getting drenched, despite its position six layers deep in my backpack. But I feel high. Ecstatic even.…

BARBARA AND WARWICK WAINBERG are Southern Highlands farmers who adore this corner of New South Wales. In 2009, they fell in love with a grand, abandoned bank in the town of Mittagong. The historic two-storey building, constructed in 1892, was due for demolition until they saved the Victorian-Romanesque-styled property, embarking on a painstaking, seven-year restoration project. Now you can stay in their labour of love, the charming Old Bank Boutique Hotel, opened last September. Here they show you how to make the most of your time in town. THE NITTY GRITTY: WHERE EXACTLY: 90 minutes south-west of Sydney POPULATION: Around 8000 WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: A quaint, 19th-century town set among the bucolic countryside of the Southern Highlands, surrounded by vineyards. WHY GO? Mittagong is the gateway to the Southern…

YOUR FIRST BOOK I’m Just Here for Dessert HAS HIT BOOKSTORES. TELL US ABOUT YOUR INSPIRATION? I’m Just Here for Dessert was inspired by my surroundings, past and present experiences, things that I love and what I have learnt. It is a journey in which I build layers, adding to the experience for the reader. YOU HAVE 386K FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM. WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE SEEING YOUR SWEETS? It’s a visual overload – we eat with our eyes first. I think my community have come to know and understand me; they appreciate the quality of the photography, styling, concept and ideas that come to life in the form of sweets. ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS YOU ON INSTAGRAM WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR PRETTY PINK EDIBLE…

WHY NOT TAKE time out from your busy life, skip town, and find out what all the fuss is about? Swirl and sip your way through more than 40 family-owned cellar doors, plus a distillery and brewery. Treat yourself to the region’s famed local produce. Potter around boutique and chic shopping precincts and find hidden gems while exploring the region’s heritage. If you’ve visited Mudgee before, you’ll know that culinary passion runs deep, with the region now a household name among food-lovers. For those yet to visit, allow us to set the scene. Mudgee has a rich pastoral history, as reflected in its heritage streetscapes – wide and tree-lined, just as you would imagine from a refined country town. From the fertile farmland comes great local produce, and it’s readily…

Located 19 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia, the island is just 25 minutes from Perth and feels a million miles from everything. As a stunning natural A-class reserve, Rottnest is essentially a car-free zone, with bicycles the most common mode of transport. Take in the incredible scenery via joy flight, eco boat or a hop-on, hop-off bus service that tours the perimeter of the island. If you would prefer to explore by foot, traverse the island’s unique landscapes along the Wadjemup Bidi: a series of walking trails that will take you across spectacular coastal headlands, past stunning inland lakes, to encounter both natural and manmade attractions along the way. Surrounded by the sparkling Indian Ocean, you can choose from a smorgasbord of coastal activities. Snorkel through vibrant coral…

MILLY AND MOLLY HAVE ALWAYS been joined at the hip. As the older of the two, Milly has assumed the responsibility that comes with growing up in country New South Wales. Molly, on the other hand, has matured at a slower pace, in the shadow of her big sister. But Molly has finally come of age – and Milly is reaping the benefits of the change in dynamics. The morning sunshine is soft and warm on the outskirts of Milly. On a cottage verandah, hens spread their wings and settle down for a nap. A border collie nods off at the foot of a staircase leading to a stylish loft apartment. Bees buzz between strawberry flowers and dairy cows chew grass in a paddock over the back fence. It’s a…

PETE THE AIRBORNE AVIATION pilot picks up the end of the Tiger Moth plane and casually wheels it around to a different spot on the tarmac. Since it’s the same plane we are about to clamber into and head for the skies in, I try (and fail) to be just as casual when I ask about the total weight of the thing. “Five-hundred kilos, or not much over that,” he replies. “It’s all in the front end with the engine, so you can easily move it by the back. These wings are canvas on the outside, wooden spars on the inside, and just the frame on the inside is metal.” He looks at me for a moment and a hint of a smile comes up. “That’s all that’s between you…

EVERY DAY I GO INTO THE KITCHEN TO ASSESS THEIR NEEDS FOR THE DAY. I see what they’ve run out of; if they’re out of fermented products that I have in stock (we have a food lab near the restaurant where we do fermenting), then I’ll supply it immediately and if they’re products that need harvesting, I go out that day or the next to keep the larder full. GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU HAVE COUNCIL PARKS WHERE FRUIT IS JUST FALLING OFF THE TREES. There are special licences you can get if you’re harvesting out of state forests, but I don’t harvest there, so I don’t need one. No one seems to mind you harvesting the fruit, and we’re reducing the fruit fly risk or solving a messy fruit problem. In…

1. AS A CHILD, OUR FAMILY HOLIDAYS WERE ALWAYS TO... cheap and cheerful spots where we would pitch a tent and get back to nature. One of my favourite places to go as a kid was Second Lagoon on Bribie Island, where you can camp almost on the beach, just behind the dunes. Falling asleep to the roar of the ocean is heaven! 2. NOW IF I HAVE TIME FOR A SHORT BREAK... I love to pop down to the Gold Coast to unwind. Tallebudgera Creek and Palm Beach are gorgeous, easygoing places. 3. MY LOCAL’S TIP FOR MY HOME TOWN BRISBANE IS... to make sure you grab some brunch at a cool cafe in Fortitude Valley before taking a stroll along the Riverwalk in the sunshine. Finish the day…

TO CAPTURE THIS particularly wintry view of Australia, photographer Jeremy Simons had to don some unusual footwear to set out across the deep snow of the Porcupine Trail. Trudging out of Perisher with a pair of snowshoes means leaving the noise of the ski resort at peak season behind and heading off into the quiet beauty of the surrounding hills. “Just 15 minutes out of Perisher you can look back onto the carpark, and there’s lots of commotion, but eventually all you can hear is the crunching of snow and the cracking of ice,” says Jeremy. “As you’re about to leave all signs of civilisation behind, you descend into the snow meadows and there’s a moment of real beauty.” The 5.6-kilometre return trail heads up a well-marked path to Porcupine…

SUN PICTURES, BROOME’S famous open-air picture garden, has seen plenty in its 100-year life. This modest weatherboard building in Chinatown, which began life as an Asian emporium before being converted into a movie theatre, has long been an integral and distinctive part of the town. Indeed, the settler history of Broome can be read through its evolution. Today, Sun Pictures holds the Guinness World Records’ title of being the world’s oldest operating picture garden, but it has been through a lot to get here. “After 65 years, surviving thrice-yearly flooding, a town evacuation due to war, the onslaught of Cyclone Eva in 1970 and Cyclone Rosita in 2000, Sun Pictures was forced to close in 1981 due to the surge of television and video entertainment,” says current owner Marisa Ferraz.…

SYDNEY HAS THREE OF THEM. There are two in Brisbane. And Melbourne claims the original. Cat cafes are on the prowl across Australia, with Perth and now Adelaide joining the moggie movement. Aside from the excuse to make catty puns, cat cafes are resonating with people who’d love a pet of their own, but circumstance – their rental rules, travelling lifestyle or furlergic partner – means they can’t. Others go for the companionship and good vibes that animal interaction delivers. Or, in my case, pure entertainment. The cult-like popularity of LOL cat vids on YouTube has undoubtedly fuelled the demand. Cat cafes originated in Taiwan in the ’90s but achieved global fame in Japan (where there are now more than 100). The trend, which Wikipedia dryly describes as ‘pet rental,’…

WHEN BUZZ ALDRIN STEPPED onto the surface of the moon and gazed across its stark surface, he couldn’t help but put his emotions into words. “Magnificent desolation,” he exclaimed, in some ways eclipsing Armstrong’s famous first words. It’s a little how I feel gazing back at Thousand Lakes Wilderness Lodge – a tiny speck of white on the horizon, at the end of a vast expanse. There must be a fair few kilometres of wind-blasted tundra between our position and the lodge’s comforts, and no paths to lead us there. It’s exhilarating, like we’re cast adrift; detached from humanity. We’ve ‘free-walked’ out here, picking our own way through the dense scrub of the Central Highlands Plateau – part of Tasmania’s seemingly endless Central Highlands World Heritage Area. Indeed, it was…

THE VERY THOUGHT of Broome conjures striking imagery: an awe-inspiring contrast of dusty red earth, sparkling blue water and pearly white sand. That rich palette grows even brighter each September with the Shinju Matsuri, the annual Festival of the Pearl. A celebration of Broome as a world-famous producer of South Sea Pearls, Shinju Matsuri is a carnival of colours, flavours and sounds, and a microcosm of the multiculturalism that has helped define Broome for more than a century, originating from three separate festivals: Japanese Obon Matsuri, Malaysian Hari Merdeka, and the Chinese Hang Seng. Now in its 47th year, the nine-day festival is jam-packed with long-held traditions, hallmark attractions and community events, all bolstered by the remarkable landscape. Program highlights include the Floating Lantern Matsuri (8 September), a unique experience…

Located just minutes from sister property, Bells at Killcare, Pretty Beach House is the epitome of relaxed luxury – a very rare find and one of Australia’s prettiest hotels. Intimate and laid-back, with highly personalised service, Pretty Beach House manages to blend excellent hospitality with a genuine Australian coastal getaway. Perched high on the escarpment at Pretty Beach, NSW, the house sits lightly within its surrounds: an ancient Angophora eucalyptus forest with views over the glorious Broken Bay.The local beaches and bays are easily accessible via well marked walking trails and over coastal sandstone cliffs. Other activities include hands-on cooking classes, a chef ’s table dining experience, access to the property’s luxury boat, guided walking tours with a local guide, and a welcome smoking ceremony performed by a traditional elder.A…

Pencil diving off the side of a sailboat into the vivacious Tasman is unsurpassed as a wake-up ritual. BAFFLINGLY, THEY VANISH, one by one. Inevitably, I will be next. Only two hours into the journey, I lay prone inside the Lady’s womb-like quarterdeck. Energy levels at nada, it takes me, too. Fade to black… Dazed, dishevelled, I paw away a pool of drool from a random jacket that I’ve requisitioned as a pillow. My fellow passengers rematerialise on deck, one by one, with newborn eyes, in the same order they left. We all become Miss Marples and Hercule Poirots to solve this perplexing whodunnit: ‘The Mysterious Case of the Synchronised Powernap’. Ah-ha, mon ami! It was the ginger (anti-seasickness tablets), we deduce. And he would have got away with it,…

WIN AN ARC’TERYX KHAMSKI 31 BACKPACK WORTH $369.99 You’ve got to gear up properly before tackling the unforgiving terrain of a snow-covered mountain. From the masters of outdoor equipment, Arc’teryx, is the KHAMSKI 31 Backpack, expertly designed using the latest technology, and crafted for freeride ski touring, split boarding and ski alpinism. The KHAMSKI 31 is a fully seam-sealed, waterproof, weather resistant and highly durable backpack that comes with a spine-supporting back panel to ease strain and maximise comfort. arcteryx.com Q. IN 25 WORDS OR LESS, WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU TAKE THIS BACKPACK? WIN TWO TWILIGHT CLIMBS VALUED AT $756, COURTESY OF BRIDGECLIMB The best way to not only climb Sydney’s iconic bridge, but to see it at its most breathtaking, is with a Twilight Climb. With the…

FROMJULY 21 HOKUSAI NGV, MELBOURNE, VIC Marvel at the prints, paintings and books of Edo-period Japanese master Katsushika Hokusai, including his iconic The Great Wave.ngv.gov.au JULY BRISBANE GOOD FOOD MONTH BRISBANE, QLD The must-visit Night Noodle Markets return to the South Bank, and don’t miss ‘Laneway! Streetfood! Music!’ a new beer-infused street party. goodfoodmonth.com 7–18 JUNE SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL VARIOUS VENUES, SYDNEY, NSW See the works of up and coming directors, award-winning feature films and documentaries at gorgeous venues like the Hayden Orpheum. sff.org.au JULY 2830 ADELAIDE BEER & BBQ FESTIVAL ADELAIDE SHOWGROUND, SA A heady mix of live music, over 50 exhibitors proffering the best cider and beer from Australia and around the world, and top chefs cooking up a storm. adelaidebeerfest.com.au 25 JUNE ITALIAN WINE + FOOD FESTIVAL…