Get Lost

Kuuma Nature Sauna

Only a few things can make a sauna cooler (pun very much intended); a dip in the Tasman Sea off a bespoke pontoon boat is definitely one of them.

This sauna cruiser was custom-built to be the best damn sweat you’ve ever had, taking the sauna experience to new heights by setting sail to various open water locations in the Northwest Bay of Southern Tasmania.

There’s one wood-fired sauna on board and it’s been carefully designed to maximise your epic surroundings with large, glazed windows, so you can see the Tasmanian landscape clearly (you might be perspiring but the windows won’t be) and direct access to the chilly waters of Snug Beach, Coningham Beach and Howden upon anchoring.

Kuuma—a literal and metaphorical embodiment of ‘warmth’—encourages eager sauna-goers to disconnect from everyday life for the duration of their experience in order to rejuvenate their mind and body. If you’re sceptical, don’t be. Tasmania’s southern waters are cold. Like, 9 degrees cold or, ‘I can’t feel my toes cold’. So you’ll definitely feel alive and ready for anything after taking a dip.

There’s a skipper on board so you don’t have to worry about any technical stuff (phew), and two different session options—going communal or hiring it out for your own private use. Kuuma even offers sunrise saunas in case you’ve ever thought about plunging into freezing water at 6 am on a Tuesday morning.

Naidiri Marine Biodiversity Park

You no longer have to work at the Naidiri Marine Biodiversity Park to snorkel at the Naidiri Marine Biodiversity Park.

Renowned for its leading coral and marine conservation efforts, the park is opening its doors in a Willy Wonka-esque move that’ll give regular Joe’s the chance to snorkel its healthy marine ecosystem for the first time ever.

Not only will thousands of tropical fish, crabs, sea snails, blue-spotted rays, octopus and plenty of colourful coral now be at your pruny fingertips, but this snorkelling experience promises a firsthand insight into just how much work the park’s been doing in the conservation space over the past 15 years.

This work includes supporting marine restoration by planting coral and replenishing fish stock in the qoliqoli, and safeguarding the island’s coral reefs for future generations by educating both tourists and locals on the importance of protecting the environment. And because of the park’s Marine Protected Area status, a whopping 28,800m2 of shoreline is protected from fishing and other potentially destructive activities.

The park doesn’t even keep all this extra money they’re now making; every single cent you pay goes directly to the local community for staff training and village infrastructure.

Image credit: Tourism Fiji

Valiant Bar

In an unassuming car park is Melbourne’s newest, and definitely glitziest bar – with no less than 200 disco balls to prove it.

To reach The Valiant from Collins Street you’ll cruise down a little laneway which goes past Melbourne’s oldest pub, and onto Little Collins. Here you’ll find one of those extortionate car parks which charge a small house deposit for a car park each day, which seems as mundane as the rest of them until you clock the painting of Mona – a beautiful AI-inspired woman surrounded by disco balls.

Follow her longing gaze and head up the stairs, and you’ll find a glitzy cocktail lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows.

There’s incredible cocktails, including get lost’s favourite, the Mona’s Secret: gin, muscat, orange blossom, strawberry, raspberry, lemon and pink pepper. It’s pink, its sweet, and it’s got a V for Valiant . smoothed into the top layer of the cocktail…and it’s god damn delicious.

Others included the Butter Dill Martini – Grey Goose vodka, noily prat, butter and dill – and the Marine Martini – voir, gin, white vermouth and tonic.

If you’re looking to hedge your bets, there’s a bunch of half-cocktail, half-shots, which is an interesting concept. It’s probably less hedging your bets – our own bet is you’d get absolutely obliterated doing this.

The food is great – unique dishes like burrata and mortadella with crushed pistachio focaccia; poached prawn with fennel celeriac remoulade and Saucisse en Croûte, which is essentially a sausage roll with a fancy name.

We were stoked with bumps of Siberian caviar – a refreshing change from doing bumps of something else in a cocktail bar – served straight off the back off your own hand.

And there’s disco balls…there are apparently 200 on the roof. You’re more of a 400 disco ball or more sort of operator? Say no more – apparently there’s another 200 on the way.

Valiant is an upmarket, centrally located place ideal for date nighters, promotion celebrators, after-work drinkers and disco ball and car park enthusiasts.

Snow Machine

It’s the southern hemisphere’s biggest winter party.

Snow Machine Festival is like après, but all day. It’s like a music festival, but on the top of a mountain. It’s like a week of skiing and snowboarding in one of New Zealand’s premiere snow destinations, but with sick tunes and parties included.

The Remarkables are a mountain range which extend to and elevation of 2,319m high, and tower over nearby Queenstown, the home of adventure in New Zealand.

Ladyhawke, Bag Raiders, Zahn Walker, Angus and Julia Stone and The Rubens are just a few that are suiting up to play this year’s festival, which is set out over a number of stages.

The festival’s main stage is in Queenstown, but DJ sets play on the mountain’s après stages in what is surely the world’s most epic DJ booth, plus there’s a daytime winery stage which looks pretty lit too.

Last year a world record was set for the largest slope run by a bunch of people in swimsuits, a phenomenon dubbed ‘The Polar Bare’.

There’s even a night ski with DJs to greet you when you reach the bottom.

Slopes by day, boogs by night.

StandardX, Melbourne

Melbourne hotels, you’re on notice. This new stay is literally setting the standard.

The StandardX, Melbourne is nestled in the heart of Fitzroy: a vibrant suburb bubbling with live music, street art and cafes that’ll sell you an $8 latte.

The cultural pulse is high here and the hotel’s interior, designed by firm Hecker Guthrie, reflects that. The revolving doors are bold, the ceilings are lofty, the columns are wrapped in macrame, the furniture is antique, and that’s before you’ve even checked into your room.

Whether you’re relaxing in the Cozy King or you’ve hit the Suite Spot, your senses are treated to an aesthetically pleasing colour palette, a focally placed bed you could easily get 10 hours in, a killer view of the city skyline and artwork spread across the walls by local talent.

That’s already gold standard kinda stuff, but with the addition of all-day Thai restaurant BANG, retail store The Box for all your lifestyle needs and luxe drinking spot The Roof (try and guess where it’s located), the hotel goes from above-par to off-the-charts.

Led by Executive Chef Justin Dingle-Garciyya, BANG bursts onto the culinary scene with a menu of dishes made from traditional recipes and locally sourced ingredients to bring you and your tastebuds some hibachi pork and octopus skewers, blue swimmer crab donuts and slow-cooked Wagyu beef short ribs.

The Roof is reserved exclusively for hotel guests. You’ll find all the regulars on the menu plus a few buzzworthy cocktails inspired by the hotel’s energetic surroundings.

5 things you need to see at Illuminate Adelaide

Winter nights are for Illuminate Adelaide.

Up there with the likes of Vivid in Sydney and Melbourne’s Lightscape, Illuminate isn’t just a snack for the senses, it’s a whole damn feast. From the colourful lights and interactive displays littered along North Terrace to the meticulously designed multi-sensory exhibits dotted around the city’s CBD, this is one innovative spectacle you’ll want to stay out late for.

Illuminate Adelaide will warm you up and ignite your imagination; perfect for solo adventurers and couples wanting to spice up date night.

This weekend is your last chance to see the lights – skip the research and read on for our top 5:

1. Fire Gardens

According to a new study conducted by luxury hotel MACq 01, the majority of Australians are in their ‘don’t get enough sleep’ era. And with bills to worry about, new episodes of your favourite Netflix series to watch, snoring partners and keeping tabs on Taylor Swift’s whereabouts, it’s little wonder.

Our favourite takeaways from the survey, conducted by Tasmanian luxury hotel MACq 01, include the fact that one in ten people have been kept awake because their pet sleeps in their bed, 8% of people have fallen asleep on the toilet, 4% have fallen asleep on a stranger’s shoulder, 7% have had a kip in a nightclub or pub and 5% have nodded off during sex. Wow.

MACq 01 has come up with a solution, or at least, an incentive. They care about your sleep, and the quality of it, just as much as your Apple watch does. For the next couple of months, this Hobart stay is offering travellers the chance to cut $100 off their bill for every hour of sleep they get over 6 hours. Meaning, 6 hours of sleep is the starting line, and 9 sweet, glorious hours is the finish line. The official holding the gun? A sleep analyser.

Yep, this Slumber Suite program allows you to not only get a decent, never-really-heard-of/swear-its-a-unicorn amount of sleep but to also bag your night for free. And the room does most of the heavy lifting.

The Slumber Suite is a carefully curated waterside room with scientifically backed lighting and temperature control for optimal sleepiness, a drowsy-generating bathroom set-up, a perfectly weighted blanket, a pillow menu and specially chosen room scents. If you can’t get 9 hours here, your brain hates you. Or you’re a robot.

There’s even a sleepy food and drink menu, so you can hit up room service before settling down for a marathon snooze-fest. The minimum stay is two nights, but you’ll enjoy it so much, you might never want to leave.