The Coombs Hill Barn is a spectacular five bedroom “barn” with views to die for across the Delatite Valley.
The structure itself is a 160-year-old barn from Illinois, USA (YeeHaw!). It was painstakingly pulled apart and shipped across to Australia, before being rebuilt, albeit with a few added bells and whistles.
In essence, this place is epic. Picture a celebrity’s mountain pad on the ski slopes of Montana or Wyoming and Coombs Hill is it. A massive fireplace is the focal point of the 10 metre high main living room, with original barn beams crossing throughout.
A fully decked out kitchen, table tennis table, a couple of chill zones with floor to ceiling windows, dining table for 18 and a deck to lose yourself in the views; you’ll fund yourself strutting around like George Clooney.
This is the perfect pad to explore the Victorian High Country; from mountain biking the trail of Mt Buller to lounging in the Jamieson river with a craft brewski, it was damn hard to leave.
The Gold Coast is all beaches, theme parks and nightclubs right?
Wrong! The secret is slowly getting out about the appropriately named Scenic Rim, one hour inland from the coast, a haven of nature, wine and wildlife. Wander have recently built five eco-cabins on the banks of Lake Wyaralong, in the heart of the Rim.
The Gold Coast draws 5 million + visitors a year, and the cabins represent the perfect way to get away from maddening crowds, and get a bit of your own time in. It’s set on a winery, and there’s only five cabins, so you’ll hardly be jostling with 18-year-olds on their schoolies trips.
There’s wildlife, there’s waterfalls, there’s the lake and Eucalyptus bushland. Whatever the definition for idyllic is in the dictionary, replace it with a picture of this joint.
There’s also private hot air balloon rides, onsite yoga sessions, meditation and massage. Plus, the Gold Coast’s famed beaches are only an hour away (and Brisbane 90 minutes).
They go faster, they’re electric and good for the environment, and they’re very cool: we think Hyper Karting is here to stay.
The new Hyper Karting experience in Sydney is the perfect place to bring your mates, and unleash your inner-Riccardo.
The electric karts are a quieter, fume and grease-free experience in comparison to the old go-karts. Hyper Karts also say their karts are safer and faster, although we’re not sure how to verify that, or if it is even possible to be faster.
Boasting the longest go-kart track in Australia at 410m, the converted car-park space is ideal for a go-kart track. The track is lit up by the karts, giving the impression of a Formula One race held at night.
“It’s a dangerous business Frodo, going out your door.
“You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
So said Bilbo Baggins to Frodo…this weekend marks 20 years since the first Lord of the Rings movie was released – can you believe that?
And while CGI might have improved since then, New Zealand’s extraordinary Queenstown and Fiordland landscapes that featured in the films are still as majestic as they always were.
To celebrate the 20th birthday, we’ve counted down the top five LOTR experiences to be had across the ditch:
Chill out in Hobbiton – Hamilton Waikato.
Walk the charming paths and green hills of The Shire, grab a pint at The Green Dragon Inn, get a photo in front of a hobbit hole and dance under the Party Tree like it’s your Eleventy-First birthday. You can also go behind the scenes tales from the filming, and feast like a hobbit on the Evening Banquet tour.
Walk around goblins, elves, orcs and Gollums at the Wellington-based studio that created the costumes for LOTR and The Hobbit. It’s pretty cool being up close to the real wizardry (move over Gandalf) behind filmmaking creativity and discovering the people, processes and props that bring these worlds to life.
The makers of the one ring to rule them all actually made quite a lot of rings to rule them all. Jens Hansen submitted 15 prototypes in a variety of weights and finishes, and from this extensive collection, the final movie ring design was selected. More than 40 variations were used in the filming of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. One original ring is on display and for true fans, you can actually take home your very own ‘precious’ replica. Elvish engraving optional!
Soar into the air and over the famously majestic Queenstown and Fiordland landscapes that featured in the films, over the Shotover River gorge recognisable as the Ford of Bruinen as well as Isengard, Lothlorien and Dimrill Dale. Land high on a glacier alongside the Misty Mountains and get a sense of what it might be like to cross The Redhorn Pass.
Off-road advenutre meets Middle-earth magic as the films come to life on location around the dramatic scenery of Queenstown. Witness from a car the real life locations of the battle of the Wargs, Argonath (Pillars of the Kings), the Forrest of Lothlorien, and the loss of The One Ring at Gladden Fields.
Iconic Fijian island resort Turtle Island has re-opened it’s doors – just in time too, with the first flights departing from Australia to Fiji this week.
The island is a 500-acre barefoot luxury resort that has been one of the mainstays of travel to Fiji for over 40 years.
Staff recently recreated an image from 1980 – the same year the island provided the setting for the 1980 Hollywood teen-romance film ‘Blue Lagoon’.
From 1980…
….to now!
In addition to days of snorkelling, stand-up paddleboarding, sailing and fishing, dining has always been a big deal at Turtle Island Guests can get a fresh farm- and sea-to-table dining experience, and not just at a table either (boring) but in epic locations like the beach, the extraordinary garden and even on a mountain top.
During the closure, there has also been a focus on the expansion of the island farm to deliver a more sustainable guest experience – the 5-acre vegetable and hydroponic garden on the Island supplies over 80% of the produce used at the resort.
Check out the video below of the Island welcoming back visitors this week:
Wonderdome is, as you can probably guess, a big dome.
Inside the dome is where the magic is: the largest 360-degree immersive cinema experience ever to be seen in Australia.
Think ‘virtual reality’ without the goggles.
It’s been to Burning Man, Coachella, and now it’s at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney. It’s probably the hottest cinema experience in the world at the moment.
Reclining on a beanbag fit for a king, you’ll immerse yourself into watch made-for-this-experience films; Liam Neeson narrates a documentary about the state of the global climate, or you can listen to David Attenborough talk to us about dinosaurs. There’s Carriberrie, celebrating Indigenous dance and song, and an immersive exploration of some of Australia’s beautiful but under-threat coral reefs.
The films take up every corner of the dome, which is 21 metres in circumference. And you’ll probably take up every second of your catch up with friends telling them about it.
The western side of the Eyre Peninsula is one of Austalia’s most desolate, remote and special places. Which is really saying something, in a country of remote, special places.
Camel Beach House is a rustic space nestled amongst golden sand dunes, red rocks and peeling waves. It is in the dreamy setting of Venus Bay, a town not far from the edge of the Nullabor that wouldn’t be out of place in a Tim Winton novel.
Spend your days reading a book, surfing (watch out for grey suits) or sipping a coffee looking over the Indian Ocean.
There’s 250 acres of land to explore on the property, which should be enough, while at night, there’s complete silence, with the only company coming from stars so brightly you’ll think you’re back in the city under streetlight…except you’re about 660km away from that.
Check out the fly-through video below for more of an idea of the house (and while we’re at it, can we just appreciate this person’s drone skills?):
Frankly speaking, Currango Homestead is charming as f**k.
Nestled in amongst snowgums in Kosciuzko National Park, the homestead was built in 1895 and is part of a series of buildings that have been there since the 1830s.
Plenty of use of the snowgums is evident: some rooms are wall to floor timber, and there’s an endearing white picket fence as you arrive that skirts the perimeter of the homestead, where kangaroos will likely bounce through at dusk and dawn.
Running on solar power and with no mobile phone signal, you can get that off-grid getaway here without going that far off-grid.
The Bungle Bungles are a bunch of gigantic domed rocks will make you feel like you’re on another planet.
This 11 hour exploration of the Bungles takes place on foot, on four wheels and up in the air.
There’s a walk through these ancient beasts that give you an appreciation for their size and age. You’ll also careen through the Purnululu National Park until you get to the Echidna Chasm. Chasm is right, at least initially – it’s a giant space which narrows and narrows until it is just two shoulders width apart. The orange towering walls of the chasm look as if they are lit from within when looking upward.
But the best way to see outback Australia is from above; a scenic flight at the start of the day takes in some of Western Australia’s very very (very) best.
And if you’ve been anywhere else in Western Australia, you’ll know that that’s pretty bloody good.
The Bungle Safari camp is located in the Purnululu National Park, famous for the Bungle Bungles. These gigantic domed rocks will make you feel like you’re on another planet…one without Coronavirus.
The nearest accommodation to the camp is over 50km away, so we reckon you should have enough space.
There’s massive beds, a camp kitchen to whip up an outback storm, and hot showers to wash off the red sand you’ll accumulate – an absolute luxury in this remote part of the world.
The only way to stay at the Bungle Bungle Safari Camp is as part of a Kimberley Wild Expeditions tour.
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