Tigertales August - September 2018

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TAKE ME AWAY

Australia | August – September 2018

READY PLAYER ONE ➔ Actor Colin Friels takes us behind the scenes of his one-man play at the Arts Centre Melbourne

HAP P Y VALLE Y

W E E K E N D WAR R IOR S

PITCH PERFECT

Tasmania’s Tamar Valley is an arts festival hub

Two different travellers take on Darwin

New glamping spots in South East Queensland

Sunday, October 21, 2018 Where is Rottnest?

Rottnest Island is 20km off the coast of Western Australia.

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WELCOME ONBOARD

Tigerair is about friends, family and fun Affordable travel means you can catch up with mates, see the relatives, or take the band on the road

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elcome onboard and thanks for choosing to fly with Tigerair Australia.

Here at Tigerair, we know how important it is to go for the moments that matter, to go connect with your friends and family, to go travel the road less taken. Tigerair provides affordable, reliable and convenient options for travel so you can go for any reason, no matter how small.

You may have checked in for your flight today at the airport.

Did you know that you can also check-in for your Tigerair flights online? Web check-in is available for most passengers at webcheck.tigerair.com.au and is open between 72 hours (three days) and one hour before your flight. Once you’ve checked in, you can print your boarding pass or send it to your

We’re offering something for every taste and budget, including classic dishes like the posh ham and cheese toastie and fun snacks like the cinnabun. We know that travelling

“Tigerair provides affordable, reliable and convenient options for travel so you can go for any reason” mobile device, free of charge. If you’ve checked in online and have luggage to check, you can do so at our dedicated web check-in bag drop desks at the airport. Our friendly airport team will be available to assist you if needed.

Now that you’re onboard, take a look at our Tigerbites winter menu.

is thirsty work, so we’ve also got an extensive drinks menu that includes everything from chai lattes to cider and espresso martinis.

Every day, Tigerair flies hundreds of Australians who are going after their dreams. To support these go-getters, we recently held the Tigertunes

competition, inviting unsigned artists to submit their music to be featured on our inflight playlist. Hundreds of amazing tracks were submitted and Sydney band The Kava Kings was selected as the 2018 Tigertunes winner. Listen out for their winning track “Happy Days” as you disembark from your aircraft at the end of your flight today.

Whether you’re going to see friends, to have a holiday or for no reason in particular, all of us here at Tigerair hope you have a great time onboard and at your destination. Next time you decide to go for it, we hope you choose to fly with Tigerair.

Happy travels!

Merren McArthur Tigerair Australia CEO

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CONTENTS

Destination directory Inside this issue… wherever you’re going, we’ve got you covered ND WARRIORS

DESTINATION DARWIN

THE POINTY END

DE S T IN AT ION D A R W IN

C HR I S T INE

is a frequent visitor to Darwin and particularly loves to escape to the NT during winter

Weekend Warriors – Darwin

weekend warriors ONE

DESTINATION, TWO DIFFERENT LOCAL VS VISITOR

ADVENTURES

63

L IND A

is a long-time Northern Territory resident who makes her home in Darwin during the dry season

Experience the Whitsundays three ways

THE POINTY END

I

WORDS MATT SHEA

was on a sailing boat the last time I saw Airlie Beach like this – in the distance, a sun-kissed, coastal visage shimmering through a typically dewy Whitsunday afternoon.

This time, though, there’s no sailing boat.

I’m on dry land, in the shade of an enormous, hardwood pagoda with a high, vaulted roof.

Northerlies Beach Bar and Grill (Lot 116 Pringle Road, Woodwark; northerlies.com.au) has plenty going for it – a fabulous, produce-driven menu; a handsome bar with a huge variety of beers – but, west of the main township, it’s the views that are the killer app.

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Feed wild dolphins at Tangalooma Island Resort

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Behind the curtain

Taking up 4.5 hectares across the river from Flinders Street Station, the Arts Centre Melbourne was first envisioned in the 1940s, but it was the late 50s when the plans, by noted architect Roy Grounds, were approved. The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) was built first and, due to construction issues thrown up by the proximity of the river, the Theatres Building didn’t open until 1984.

Since then, this arts precinct – capped by the famous spire and including the nearby outdoor auditorium that is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl – has hosted the best Australian and international artists.

Sweeping upgrades to the precinct were announced earlier this year. It’s a major transformation that includes plans for a new NGV Contemporary, expected to be completed in 2025. With that in mind, we thought it was the perfect time to take a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the Arts Centre Melbourne, through the people that make sure the show does go on.

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efore the Arts Centre Melbourne existed, the southern bank of the Yarra River was home to travelling circuses, the first of which – Cooper and Bailey’s American circus – first pitched its Big Top in 1877. This winter, celebrated Aussie actor Colin Friels (Water Rats, Mystery Road) will play the 99-year-old clown Scaramouche Jones in a one-hander by British playwright Justin Butcher.

“It’s an anti-celebrity play in a way,” Colin says.

“We have to remember there are just normal people in the world, the ordinariness of human nature and the beauty of that ordinariness; the sheer beauty in the dangers, in the anarchy, in the fear of life and all that life throws up.”

I’m sitting with Colin on the curved white couch of the Truscott Lounge surrounded by emerald green walls capped with a gold roof.

This hidden room in Arts Centre Melbourne is named after John Truscott, a production and costume designer who designed the interiors of the centre. The two Oscars Truscott won for his work on the 1967 film Camelot sit in a glass cabinet in the corner of the room.

Back on the couch, Colin is discussing the pressure of a one-person play on an actor, his passion for this particular story, and the need for good stories in the theatre, not

The Arts Centre Melbourne has been the city’s heart of the arts for over 40 years. Paul Chai takes a look behind the scenes at Melbourne’s arts precinct.

The clown

Colin Friels Actor

PHOTOS SAMARA CLIFFORD

Scaramouche Jones plays at the Fairfax Studio from August 15-25; artscentremelbourne. com.au

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CO V E R S TO R Y 12

c u r t a in c a l l

here can you see a green turtle floating in the ocean with the Brisbane CBD as the backdrop? Just a few metres in front of our accommodation at Tangalooma Island Resort, as it turns out. This juxtaposition perfectly sums up Tangalooma’s appeal: a natural getaway just a 75-minute ferry ride from the centre of the Queensland capital.

Within an hour of leaving the Tangalooma Wharf at Pinkenba, near Brisbane Airport, we have dropped our bags at our blue-and-white,

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two-storey beachfront villa and plunged into the ocean. Cue the sea turtle and squeals of excitement from the kids.

Tangalooma Island Resort is a former whaling station on Moreton Island, the world’s third-largest sand island. Whaling ceased here in 1962, and since the 80s the resort has been owned by the Osborne family. As a family-run affair it has grown organically but quickly, and now houses around 1,800 guests. The resort likes to keep you busy with a head-spinning array of activities from quad ê

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ENCOUNTER

w hi t s u n d ay s t h r e e w ay s

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Fly, dive and eat your way around the reef

Behind the scenes at the Arts Centre Melbourne

just flashy production values. But he’s also giving me an insight into what goes on before the audience arrives.

Contrary to the picture of an actor being doted on by wardrobe and make-up artists, Colin does his own make-up (if he wears any at all) and cleans and looks after his own costume. Each new play requires its own routine where the thespian turns up at least three hours early to an empty theatre.

“I have to get my head in some sort of space before I can put the show on,” he says. “You have to turn up every night to a live performance in neutral gear. I don’t know what’s going to happen until I get on stage; I am not going to forget the words, I am not going to forget where I move – that’s second nature – but I will just throw the rest out.”

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some last-minute backstage dramas. “I’ve had car accidents, and people die on me before a show.

I’ve had dead dogs in the back of my car, I’ve had a horse in a float outside – all sorts of chaos,” Colin says. In the case of the dog, Colin took his beloved pet to the vet and was told it would have to be put down.

“I put him in a blanket, put him in the back of my ute and had to drive straight in to the theatre and just made it,” he says. “It was a huge part, I didn’t shut up for three hours, and I was okay, I was together, but there was a part in the play where there was an emotional shift in the play and that was it – I was off, and I cried through the whole play. But I managed to get away with it.” ê

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WORDS PAUL CHAI

ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE

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“It’s pretty special, isn’t it?” says general manager Ken Meighan, arriving at the table in time to see us gawking at this peculiar sight. Northerlies is very much Ken’s project. Over plates of fresh-cooked prawns and perfectly pan-seared barramundi he explains what he thinks makes it special.“This is something different for Airlie Beach,” he says. “It’s for locals and tourists, but it’s a little different to the backpacker thing the town is known for.”

It’s not just Northerlies. Since being scuttled by Cyclone Debbie in March last year, Airlie Beach has been rebuilding, but also reinventing itself.

There are now better options for a wider ê

Feed wild dolphins at Tangalooma

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13 Take a road trip with Jack River

37 TAMAR VALLEY

PHOTOS TOURISM TASMANIA

THE POINTY END

Valley of the arts

F E AT U R E

t a m a r va l l e y Tasmania’s Tamar Valley is not only home to some incredible scenery, but also a very lively arts scene. Joanne Brookfield explores a region of Tassie that is punching above its artistic weight.

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ONA, it’s fair to say, has radically transformed perceptions of Tasmania. Dwarfed in comparison to the continent, and separated by a notorious stretch of sea, the distance was once both geographical and social. Mainlanders – who although capable of their own parochial interstate rivalry (Melbourne is better than Sydney, by the way) – would traditionally unite when it came to mocking the southernmost state.

Now, they flock there. The Museum of Old and New Art, along with its associated MOFO and Dark MOFO festivals, has seen Hobart become one of our hottest cultural destinations. However, it’s not the only hub where the creatively inclined come out to play. This spring, the Tamar Valley – just a few hours north of Hobart – comes alive with writers, artists, musicians and performers.

“It’s just amazing the scope and quality of the arts landscape offerings here in northern Tasmania,” says ê

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Arts festivals and a wine trail in Tasmania

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Editorial & Art Editor Paul Chai Designer Cynthia Lau Creative Director Stephanie Goh Sub Editor Adam Scroggy Production Manager Ian Scott

Advertising National Advertising Manager Stephanie Kavanagh (02) 8188 3668 stephanie@citrusmedia.com.au Printed by Bluestar Web

Cover photo Colin Friels, photographed by Samara Clifford

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Hit the road with Jack River

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WORDS PAUL CHAI

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Management Financial Controller Stuart Harle Director Jim Flynn Tiger Tales is published on behalf of Tigerair by Citrus Media, PO Box 20154, World Square NSW 2002 Tel. (02) 9186 9186 citrusmedia.com.au

ydney songwriter Holly Rankin, who writes and records under her “pirate name” Jack River, grew up on the New South Wales north coast. She has risen quickly on the Australian music scene since she dropped her debut EP Highway Songs No. 2 in late 2016, and this June saw the release of her first album Sugar Mountain on independent label I OH YOU.

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“To me, an album is a great way to capture a place in time and to draw the line and be able to move on from a certain chapter in your life,” Holly says. “So I kind of felt that it was personally necessary to tie together a certain chapter of my life and present it. I love listening to albums and being able to know what time in, say, Neil Young’s life that each album related to and why.” ê

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© 2018 All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution in any form, in whole or in part, is prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holder.

Citrus Media is not responsible for the views and opinions of contributing journalists. Although the advice and information in this book are believed to be accurate and true at the time of going to press, neither the authors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

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THE POINTY END ê Go dining in comp s y lete wa e da re rke h t ss s i ay

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Snorkelling the sunken ships of Tangalooma

to the highw a Take y wit h sin g er

Get wrecked in Brisbane

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THE POINTY END

T HE R OUND-UP W HAT E V E R YO U ' R E I N T O, T H E R E ' S P LE N T Y T O S E E A N D D O

K ID S

S P OR T

R OALD DAH L’ S GEORGE’S M AR V E LL O U S MEDICINE A theatre adaptation of Dahl’s children’s book.

Check out our interview with the Arts Centre Melbourne’s head programmer for families in our feature on page 52.

Melbourne; Sep 25-29 artscentremelbourne. com.au

MOO BREW’S W I LD W E E K E N D What does a golf weekend look like when played by the team behind Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)? There will be feasting, wild entertainment and a round or two at the famous Barnbougle Golf Course. Worth teeing off and checking it out.

Hobart; August 10-12 barnbougle.com.au

S K Y L AB The story of Skylab, a science laboratory that was launched into space in 1979, is turned into a fantastical comedy by the Black Swan State Theatre company. Playing at Perth’s Studio Underground, this play imagines what might have gone on in the topsecret Skylab experiments.

Perth; until Sep 2 bsstc.com.au

F OOD C E N T R AL B E E R DISTRICT Located at Queen Victoria Market, this winter beer fest is headed up by Brick Lane Brewing Company and invites guest brewers. To go with the beers there is a range of street food and barbecue options.

Melbourne; weekends until September 9 qvm.com.au

F E S T I VA L S B R I S B A N E F E S T I VAL A citywide arts program hits the Queensland capital in September attracting over a million visitors each year. Catch the best of theatre, music, circus and opera – and major outdoor events along the Brisbane River.

Brisbane; September 8-29 brisbanefestival.com.au

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AF L G R A N D F I NAL Watch the country’s sporting capital erupt in a weekend-long party for the AFL Grand Final on September 29. Whether you are going to the big game, heading to a pub or restaurant or watching at home, that "one day in September” is a great day to be in Melbourne.

Melbourne; September 29 afl.com.au

M E LB O U R N E F R I N G E F E S T I VAL “For two and a half weeks this September, Fringe artists are transforming our city into a playground and shining a light on all the games we play, in every possible form,” says Simon Abrahams, Creative Director & CEO. Melbourne; Sep 13-30 melbournefringe.com.au

A S AD O The team behind Melbourne’s top South American diners, San Telmo and Pastuso, has opened a new joint on Southbank dedicated to the parilla grill. Asado, with a menu by exec chef Ollie Gould, started the fire in winter and will be grilling up Gippsland lamb.

Melbourne; asado.melbourne

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THE POINTY END

Feed wild dolphins at Tangalooma Island Resort

WORDS PAUL CHAI

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here can you see a green turtle floating in the ocean with the Brisbane CBD as the backdrop? Just a few metres in front of our accommodation at Tangalooma Island Resort, as it turns out. This juxtaposition perfectly sums up Tangalooma’s appeal: a natural getaway just a 75-minute ferry ride from the centre of the Queensland capital.

Within an hour of leaving the Tangalooma Wharf at Pinkenba, near Brisbane Airport, we have dropped our bags at our blue-and-white,

two-storey beachfront villa and plunged into the ocean. Cue the sea turtle and squeals of excitement from the kids.

Tangalooma Island Resort is a former whaling station on Moreton Island, the world’s third-largest sand island. Whaling ceased here in 1962, and since the 80s the resort has been owned by the Osborne family. As a family-run affair it has grown organically but quickly, and now houses around 1,800 guests. The resort likes to keep you busy with a head-spinning array of activities from quad ê

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THE POINTY END

More Tangalooma activities B E A C H S E G W AY T O U R S Hit the sand on two wheels as you Segway along the Moreton Island coastline.

WHALE WATCHING From June to October, the resort offers whale-watching tours.

PAR ASAILING Get a sky-high, 360-degree view of the waters off Moreton Island.

For a full list of activities and booking options, visit tangalooma.com

biking to hiring a tinny for a fish, but activities are short and sweet.

As a family with two young boys, that suits us just fine. A busy kid is a happy kid, as they say, so it’s not long before we dive into our first experience.

Snorkelling the wrecks Just offshore, 17 ships were deliberately sunk in order to provide a breakwall for smaller boats visiting the island. As a bonus, the rusted, twisted metal has become home to a wide range of local sea life, from wobbegong sharks to kingfish.

We have perfect weather for the afternoon snorkel. Shafts of sun probe the ocean and give great visibility. My two boys, 11 and eight years old, are peering into the boat’s glass bottom as keenly as they watch morning TV. You can swim out to the wrecks, but we’re glad of our boat, and guide, because there’s a pretty strong current pulling through the

“A drift snorkel leaves you without too much swimming to do“

rust-red hulls. On the upside, a drift snorkel leaves you without too much swimming to do, but you have to stay alert and avoid being dragged into some of the pointier bits of the wrecks. Both the boys have life vests, and we cruise the wrecks easily.

We float over “Trevally Alley”, where schools of these heavy-set silver surfers flit left and right. Below, we can see some divers moving through the wrecks at a more leisurely pace, but it’s all I can do to spot fish and keep my kids in arm’s reach. Eventually, my youngest joins the guide on a floating ring, freeing me up to check out the tropical troops below. To cap off the snorkel, we spot a sea turtle having a rest on the sea bed. I’m not sure if it’s our turtle from earlier, but the kids are claiming it.

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Feeding wild bottlenose dolphins Tangalooma’s signature activity is handfeeding some of the area’s wild dolphins that congregate around the jetty come sunset.

You’ll see their dorsal fins slipping into, and out of, the sunlit waves.

The activity is very closely monitored by the resort’s eco rangers, who make sure to feed the dolphins only 10-20 per cent of their daily intake, so they never rely on the resort for their food and get too lazy. Each day, guests register for the feeding, and the number of participants determines the size of each fish (all local herring) on which the dolphins get to snack.

As we head down to the feeding area we’re assigned a queue, and out at sea the dolphins line up accordingly. Then it’s time to head down to the water line, all with a herring in hand, and present them to Echo, the dolphin in our queue. The water comes up to our shorts, and Echo plucks the fish from our hands very gently. Then, with a swish of his tail, he turns around, ready for the next course.

Afterwards, we head into the resort’s dolphin centre, where we’re shown the “presents” from the dolphins to their human handlers: a tank full of half-eaten eels,

sharks and fish to say thank you for the nightly feeds. The eco rangers also use the evening feedings to check the dolphins for any injuries or entanglements with ghost fishing equipment, to keep the dolphin family healthy.

Hitting the sand

NEXT STOP: HOON TOWN. THE AUTHOR AND HIS SON DO A QUAD BIKE TOUR

The following morning we’re up and at ‘em for a Desert Safari Tour, the highlight of which is a bit of sand tobogganing. A bus tour leaves from the resort to the Tangalooma Desert, so named because this area has little vegetation, allowing the wind to sculpt the sand hills into 50-metre peaks – perfect for launching yourself down… apparently.

After we’re each handed a wonderfully lo-fi sand toboggan (a rectangular piece of plywood), we set off on a single-file trudge to the top. Here, our boards get a bit of surf wax from a guide. We’re coached to keep our elbows up, and then off we slide. Pro tip: keep your mouth firmly closed.

My wife bows out after one slide. I make it up a second time before retiring, but the kids head up again and again. On the way back, we discover that the desert is believed to have been made when a meteor crashed into the sand island. The area is also magnetic, which attracts a lot of lightning, hitting the sand and fusing the grains into “lightning rocks”. Looking for these rocks becomes the boys’ new favourite thing for the rest of the morning. ê

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THERE’S PLENT Y TO DO AT TANGALOOMA RESORT, FROM PARASAILING TO QUAD BIKES

In the afternoon we get a different view of the sand, from the back of a quad bike.

This activity splits the group: adults are highly dubious, kids are off-the-chain excited. Our eldest opts for a kid-size quad of his own, which takes a bit of getting used to, while I go tandem with the younger one. Initially grumpy at not having his own ride, my youngest soon cheers up when I hang back in the line of quads and take the turns with gusto, kicking up sand behind us (this isn’t my first quad-bike rodeo) while his older sibling spends some time bumping into trees. But the real surprise is that Mum – who opted out of snorkelling and hated on sand tobogganing – ends up as Hoon of the Match, and finds out she loves quad biking!

The quad bike tour also gives you sunset views of the shipwrecks, beach and bushland, reminding you that Tangalooma is both beautiful and a heap of fun.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Brisbane from five destinations; tigerair.com.au

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THE POINTY END

“We snorkel over ‘Trevally Alley’ where schools of these heavy-set silver surfers flit left and right in front of us“

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THE POINTY END

Why I live in

men a ngl e & s y dne y

In July, Sydney five-piece The Rubens release their follow-up record to Hoops, the blockbuster album whose lead single – also titled “Hoops” – topped the 2015 Triple J Hottest 100. Lo La Ru retains the distinctive, soul-flecked feel of a Rubens release, but also takes some creative risks. Keyboardist and backing vocalist Elliott Margin talks to us about the album, growing up in the country, and his go-to spots in Sydney.

How does Lo La Ru differ from Hoops?

The making of this album was really different to Hoops. We got to make this in our home town of Menangle, near Camden. We made it in an old World War II bunker that a mate is renovating and making into a studio. So, that’s super different to the first two albums, where

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we flew over to New York and did it in a proper studio over there.

It was cool to be in our hometown, work our own hours, and have our friends and parents come over and see what we were doing. I think that probably found its way onto the record.

It made for a creative environment where you aren’t working on a studio’s hours; you’re working your own hours, so there’s freedom there to try and create ideas that maybe you wouldn’t have before.

What was it like growing up in Menangle [near Camden in Sydney’s south-west]?

It was awesome. Menangle was great; it was just riding bikes, going to the corner shop, throwing rocks at trains, lighting tyres [laughs]. Getting up to mischief – all that type of stuff. We [Elliott and his

brothers, fellow Rubens’ members Zaac and Sam] didn’t live on a property, but our house was on the side of a big farm where we would venture and throw cow pats at each other.

It’s good having those adventures as a kid. You can make flying foxes, make billycarts – all those kind of cliches you read about in books, you can actually get up to.

Could you see a gig in Menangle?

Growing up, we didn’t get to see a lot of live music. I pretty much went to my first gig when I was 15. It was something you could do on the weekend, but you had to get the train into the city to see any live music – which was probably good in some way, because we weren’t a part of any scene, or listening to what was being

LISTEN TO LO LA RU

played in bars. So we really just made music that we liked listening to.

We had always played music separately in our bedrooms but never thought of doing it together. Music was your own thing you would do in your own time. We never thought of jamming together until Sam and Zaac started. We went from there.

We’re still pretty shy about coming up with ideas. We often do it separately on a laptop, then build it up from there. Even though we’re brothers – three of us – we’re still pretty shy about showing each other new ideas and being vulnerable in front of each other. It’s something we’re learning to do.

Where do you hang out now in Sydney?

Zaac and I are living in the Inner West, so we go up and down Parramatta Road.

There are a lot of great pubs like the Lady Hampshire (91 Parramatta Road, Camperdown; ladyhampshire.com.au), an awesome pub right near us that has been redone. It used to be a bit dingy but now it has reopened and it has that awesome pub vibe. There’s a beer garden and they have local music and barbecues and things.

Where is your favourite spot for a gig?

My favourite venue just to see live

The idea behind the name was to create a fake nation that represented the little world the group had created in the sessions in Menangle.

The group also recently launched the Mushroom After Hours series at Colonial Brewing Company in Melbourne.

These intimate showcases aim to bring new local music to fans via small gigs and “a few tins with friends.”

For more information on The Rubens, visit therubensmusic.com; to find out more about Mushroom After Hours, see mushroom.com/ afterhours

lo and behold The Rubens’ Lo La Ru was recorded in their home town.

music would be the Enmore Theatre (118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown; enmoretheatre.com.au). It’s one of those venues where when you walk in for the first time, it’s just beautiful. It has this atmosphere that treads the line between a theatre show and a big pub gig, which I think is good. It’s a lot like The Forum in Melbourne, where it feels like it has this classy pub vibe, and you can be anywhere in the venue watching the band because the floor is tilted and you’re not missing out on anything and the sound is great.

I’ve seen plenty of bands there. I’ve seen Kings of Leon, or friends’ bands, and they’re always the best shows.

How about after a gig?

There are a lot of good pubs that stay open late over in the Inner West. The Lord Gladstone (115 Regent Street,

Chippendale; lordgladstone.com.au) is awesome and is owned by the same people as the Lady Hampshire.

Great food and great beers, and open till late. And right nearby us, Norton’s Irish Pub (1 Norton Street, Leichhardt; facebook.com/irishnortons), which is open till five, is kind of our last stop before everything is closed and the sun comes up.

And there’s the Strawberry Hills Hotel (453 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills; strawberryhillshotel.com.au), which is always a hilarious place to end up at the end of the night. You meet a lot of characters over there in the early morning, which is fun.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Sydney from eight destinations; tigerair.com.au

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19

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THE POINTY END

Experience the Whitsundays three ways

WORDS MATT SHEA

I

was on a sailing boat the last time I saw Airlie Beach like this – in the distance, a sun-kissed, coastal visage shimmering through a typically dewy Whitsunday afternoon.

This time, though, there’s no sailing boat.

I’m on dry land, in the shade of an enormous, hardwood pagoda with a high, vaulted roof.

Northerlies Beach Bar and Grill (Lot 116 Pringle Road, Woodwark; northerlies.com.au) has plenty going for it – a fabulous, produce-driven menu; a handsome bar with a huge variety of beers – but, west of the main township, it’s the views that are the killer app.

“It’s pretty special, isn’t it?” says general manager Ken Meighan, arriving at the table in time to see us gawking at this peculiar sight. Northerlies is very much Ken’s project. Over plates of fresh-cooked prawns and perfectly pan-seared barramundi he explains what he thinks makes it special.“This is something different for Airlie Beach,” he says. “It’s for locals and tourists, but it’s a little different to the backpacker thing the town is known for.”

It’s not just Northerlies. Since being scuttled by Cyclone Debbie in March last year, Airlie Beach has been rebuilding, but also reinventing itself.

There are now better options for a wider ê

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THE POINTY END variety of travellers. You can see it in the classy fine dining of Hemingway’s (60 Shingley Drive, Airlie Beach; hemingwaysairliebeach.com.au) at Abell Point Marina, or Walter’s Lounge (Mantra Boathouse Apartments, 33 Port Drive, Airlie Beach; walterslounge.com.au) with its views over the Port of Airlie Marina.

In 2018, you could conceivably travel to the Whitsundays and not even hit the ocean. Not that Johnny Gaskell would recommend that.

The next morning, he meets us aboard the Seaflight, Cruise Whitsundays’ (24 The Cove Road; cruisewhitsundays.com) handsome catamaran powering us out towards Hardy Reef, 39 nautical miles north-east of Airlie Beach.

Gaskell, a marine biologist, is based on Daydream Island and achieved a degree of fame last year when, on an outer reef, he discovered a hidden lagoon some 20 metres deep. After spending four-and-a-half years exploring the area, he knows it better than most.

“They call this the heart of the reef for a few different reasons,” he says, “but – despite Debbie – it’s a relatively healthy and extensive part of the Great Barrier Reef. In the north, there’s a lot more bleaching because of the warmer waters, and further south they’re suffering from the crownof-thorns outbreak. There are few signs of human impact here.”

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HEMINGWAY ’S IS PART OF A NEW WAVE OF UPMARKET DINING

Later, he shows us. After Seaflight docks at Heart Pontoon, we pull on stinger suits and flippers and slip into the warm, turquoise waters.

It’s like entering another world. Gaskell leads us in inspecting endless fields of coral and all sorts of oddly shaped sea life. Schools of hyper-coloured fish spiral in front of us, the more timid species peeking out from inside darkened crevices.

Gaskell’s enthusiasm for his job proves infectious: he points at giant slabs of coral shifted

by Debbie a year earlier, underlining the category four cyclone’s power, and marvels at the new life that has already sprung in its place.

“The stuff that wasn’t totally destroyed has recovered really well,” he says. “And there was no bleaching during the summer, which was much-needed relief.”

Later that evening, after most of Cruise Whitsundays’ guests have departed back for the mainland, a chosen few sit, sharing glory stories from our day on the reef. The one-upmanship is so rife we barely notice the staff upstairs laying out Heart Pontoon’s signature experience – a reef sleep under the night sky.

After dark, lying in our swags, there’s nowhere to look but up. A bright blanket of light is spread across the heavens. It’s a brilliant sight, if one that lulls us to sleep just a little too quickly.

“We moor just off the beach, the sand almost luminescent in the afternoon sun”

IF YOU ARE SPL ASHING OUT, THEN YOU MAY A S WELL FLY !

Of course, the Whitsundays isn’t about opting between the mainland and the middle of the ocean. Back on Hamilton Island, Steve Owen waits to show us the middle way. His vessel? The Aquila (via Cumberland Charter Yachts: Shop 18, Abell Point Marina, Shingley Drive; ccy.com.au), a fabulous 13-metre catamaran. Our destination?

The iconic Whitehaven Beach.

The wind has strengthened overnight, but the powerful Aquila hardly minds, slicing eastwards towards Solway Passage and the iconic strip of silica beyond. We moor just off the beach, protected from the wind, the sand almost luminescent in the afternoon sun.

Champagne is cracked as Owen busily fries up freshly caught barra for our supper. Our only regret is that we didn’t make it in time for beach cricket. “Next time,” our skipper says. “There will be a next time, right?”

Yes, Steve. Definitely.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Whitsunday Coast from Sydney; tigerair.com.au

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23

2017 Gold Major Tour and Transport Operators

2016 Gold Major Tour & Transport Operators

THE POINTY END

THE FEAST 1 0F 2

TRICKS OR TREATS? Dining gimmicks can make a night interesting, but the food must come first

ILLUSTRATION JESSICA HU

T

he world of dining is forever changing, but the dining gimmick is something that remains a constant. Whether it’s a pop-up, a permanent restaurant or something more, dining gimmicks can relate to just the food itself, or sometimes to every facet of the dining experience. When it comes together, the gimmicks can make the experience highly rewarding – at least for a while.

But when the gimmick becomes the focus, that most important part of the meal – the food – suffers.

One recent dining gimmick to hit Melbourne is Dans le Noir (“In the Dark”), which gives diners the opportunity to experience a threecourse meal in complete darkness.

The concept originated in France in 1997 and revolves around the idea

that our sense of taste and smell is heightened when sight is taken out of the equation. Whether or not this is the case is questionable, but the gimmick works because Dans le Noir is also about how we deal with our dining companions and waitstaff when blind.

The experience encourages people to think about how they perceive disability and employment. Waiters and front-ofhouse employees are actually blind, and hosts work with organisations that help the visually impaired, donating part or all proceeds to charity. As a complete concept, the gimmick works.

Another wildly successful dining phenomenon is Diner en Blanc (“Dinner in White”). The concept also originated in France when, 30 years ago, François Pasquier arranged a picnic in Bois de Boulogne with a handful of

friends and asked them to wear white so they would be easily recognised.

Today, Diner en Blanc events are held all over the world and involve guests registering on a website in the hope they are invited. The exact location of the picnic is kept secret until the day of the event, and guests pay $48, plus an $11 “membership” fee, for the privilege of being invited. Guests must follow a number of rules, including dressing in white, and bringing their own white tablecloth, table, chairs, “sufficiently ê

DINING IN THE D A RK Is Melbourne’s Dining in the Dark restaurant – where punters spend the evening having dinner in the pitch black – just a gimmick, or a fun night out? We sent along journalist Catherine Best to check it out. Find out what she thought in her story on page 29.

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25

THE POINTY END THE FEAST 2 0F 2

elegant” glassware, plates, cutlery, and food. Despite not getting anything tangible for your outlay, Diner en Blanc events are hugely popular worldwide.

Not all gimmicks are as bold as these, and some simply come down to picking a theme for a restaurant and seeing if people are receptive to the idea.

SafeHouse, a restaurant in Milwaukee, USA, has been taking diners on CIA safehouse-themed dinners since 1966.

In Melbourne, restaurant Witches in Britches has combined Halloweenthemed food and cabaret for almost 30 years. And who can forget Japan’s themed restaurants, which range from the cute to the disturbing and everything in between.

Is it all just a bit of fun? Does it prove that people are gullible? Or does it show that if you get the gimmick right, there are big profits to be made? Probably a bit of all three. Here are five Australian gimmick restaurants worth checking out if you’re looking to dine somewhere that transcends the kitsch and delivers a unique experience with fantastic food and drink to match.

Colonial Tramcar Restaurant (Melbourne, VIC)

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skh

Melbourne’s heritage trams have been almost completely taken out of service from a public transport perspective, but the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant lets you experience this old-world charm by riding a refurbished heritage tram that takes you around the city and down to St Kilda beach.

The menu is admittedly on the retro side (think 1980s fancy), but the food is very tasty. It offers Europeaninfluenced cuisine made using local, seasonal produce.

Mjølner (Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC) Named after Thor’s mythical hammer, Mjølner is a casual dining spot with a Viking theme that asks the question: what would Vikings eat if they were around today? It’s owned by the Speakeasy Group, which has a good track record – think Melbourne’s Eau De Vie and Boilermaker House – in designing venues based around a theme.

There’s no shortage of Viking iconography here with axes, leather and meat hanging from giant hooks to get you in the mood, and fantastic food and drinks on offer.

Secret Foodies (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast) Secret Foodies launched in 2010 as a small dinner experiment with 10 friends and 10 strangers and quickly morphed into creator Alex Adams’ full-time gig.

Events are held up and down the east coast of Australia.

The concept is simple. Guests purchase a ticket to a secret themed event, unaware of where they’re going or who they’ll meet until two hours before. Past events have been held in places like restaurants, rooftops, warehouses, laneways and parks.

While the event is a mystery, what’s guaranteed is great food and drink – as well as a fun time.

Fervor (Various locations, WA) Chef Paul Iskov started Fervor in 2013 with a simple aim: to introduce diners to native ingredients like silver cobbler, quandong, bush banana, and boab

tuber. The Fervor events, which are held across Western Australia, provide diners with much more than just great-tasting food by putting an emphasis on offering a complete experience.

Fervor cultivates strong relationships with native land owners, who teach Iskov and his team about the ingredients and the land from which they come.

The events are generally alfresco occasions set in the place where the food is from. It all adds up to a dining and educational experience with a true sense of place, leading to food for both your stomach and your soul.

The Welcome Dinner Project (Australia-wide) The first Welcome Dinner Project was held in Sydney in 2013 by not-for-profit group Joining the Dots and has since spread across Australia. The concept is simple: to foster new and meaningful connections between newly arrived people and established Australians over pot-luck meals.

Register for a dinner on the website (joiningthedots.org) and bring a plate of food to the event. You’ll get to enjoy some fantastic, home-cooked meals from a diverse range of cultures, all while sharing stories with Australians new and old and from all walks of life.

A truly humbling experience.

THE CITY L ANE Paul Kristoff is the editor-in-chief of food, travel and culture online magazine The City Lane, and he is one third of the craft-beer podcast team Brunswick Beer Collective.

Visit thecitylane.com and brunswickbeercollective.com to find out more.

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THE POINTY END

Dine in the dark in Melbourne

WORDS CATHERINE BEST

N

othing good happens in the dark. Not with a room full of strangers wielding knives.

Every consumer of horror films knows that. It’s with some trepidation, then, that diners are surrendering their phones, smart watches and other personal belongings to participate in Melbourne’s latest culinary experiment: Dining in the Dark.

The Paris-born concept, Dans le Noir (“In the Dark”), doesn’t involve mood lighting, candlelit tables or blindfold tastings. It’s as the name implies – dining in the dark. Complete. Pitch. Black. Guests are led into the restaurant by blind and vision-

impaired guides and served a mystery three- or five-course meal at a share table, with the option of paired wine.

It sounds messy, confronting and awkward.

And it can be at first. But it’s a deeply visceral experience; one that removes your social inhibitions and hyper-stimulates your senses.

Usually, you eat with your eyes first, so when vision is removed, you have to rely on other sensory cues: touch, taste, smell and sound.

“It’s more than a restaurant. It’s a total, complete experience with different levels,” says ê

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THE POINTY END

Dans le Noir ? Melbourne (the question mark is part of the name) manager Aurore Lépy. “It’s the sensory experience, the social element and the human experience as well. You don’t have your cell phone, you don’t have anything that can distract your attention, so you’re really focused on what the other people are saying, and conversations are more intense and more authentic and spontaneous.”

Standing in a conga line with my hand on a stranger’s shoulder, we’re shepherded behind a foreboding black curtain. There isn’t a flicker of light, and we shuffle, blind and tentatively, until our guide calls a halt and helps each of us into a seat.

The conversation is stilted at first, but our first challenge, pouring a glass of water from a jug, is a great ice-breaker.

To my right is a British-born couple from Perth celebrating their 24th anniversary; to my left, new parents enjoying their first night

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“It’s the sensory experience, the social element and the human experience“

CONGA LINE INTO THE DARKNESS

out since their son was born eight weeks earlier. The conversation flows, snippets of life stories are shared, and there’s much laughter – punctuated by the arrival of food and a soft hand guiding me towards my wine glass.

Eating is a journey; an exercise in exploration.

I go in with fingers at first, then a fork and, with growing confidence, a knife, too. Often, the fork reaches its target empty, or is too full to fit in my mouth. It’s a guessing game, rolling morsels around with my tongue to pick the textures and flavours. A juicy pillow of meat... maybe duck? The crunch of a vegetable chip... parsnip perhaps? And the unmistakable sweet fuzz of fairy floss. Fingers are licked, plates sometimes too. No one is watching.

Nearby, a waiter starts singing happy birthday and the room erupts in singing.

There are no candles to blow out. On another table (there are five, accommodating 12 guests), a man gets down on bended knee and proposes to his girlfriend.

The dark is not for everyone. Occasionally, guests ask to get out. It usually happens within five minutes of entering the restaurant, but most will go back in once they’ve had a few moments to process the experience.

“It can take a couple of minutes to adjust, but when people are starting to have ê

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their food and their drinks, they feel more comfortable,” Lépy says. There are infrared CCTV cameras rolling at all times, just in case.

The original Dans le Noir was launched in Paris 14 years ago by French entrepreneur Edouard de Broglie of Ethik Investment Group.

Since then, it has expanded internationally, with more than one million people experiencing the concept at restaurants in Paris, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Auckland, Saint Petersburg, Nice and Nantes. Melbourne was the “obvious” choice for Australia’s first Dining in the Dark experience, Lépy says, hinting that more may be coming.

After more than two hours in total darkness, we emerge, blinking and squinting, back into the light. Apart from sleeping, it’s the longest I’ve been in the dark – that dark – since the womb. Disembodied voices are given faces, hugs are exchanged, the menu is revealed and, remarkably, I leave without a skerrick of spillage on my clothes.

Dans le Noir ? Melbourne opens for dinner, Thursday to Sunday, at The Como Melbourne; melbourne.danslenoir.com

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Melbourne from nine destinations; tigerair.com.au

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THE PACK

T HE P L AY L I S T

THE POINTY END

Pack these on your next trip away

STUFF TO BUY BEFORE YOU GO

Ü 1 VEGE CHIPS Vege Chips have a new addition to the range: Vege Twists Cheese Max. Made from potato and lentils, the new Twists are a practical choice for the kids in between meals as they are lower in fat than regular potato chips. $6; vegechips.com

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HE AVEN AND E ARTH

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ALBUMS MATT SHEA

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THE POINTY END

Hit the road with Jack River

WORDS PAUL CHAI

S

ydney songwriter Holly Rankin, who writes and records under her “pirate name” Jack River, grew up on the New South Wales north coast. She has risen quickly on the Australian music scene since she dropped her debut EP Highway Songs No. 2 in late 2016, and this June saw the release of her first album Sugar Mountain on independent label I OH YOU.

“To me, an album is a great way to capture a place in time and to draw the line and be able to move on from a certain chapter in your life,” Holly says. “So I kind of felt that it was personally necessary to tie together a certain chapter of my life and present it. I love listening to albums and being able to know what time in, say, Neil Young’s life that each album related to and why.” ê

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37

THE POINTY END Like Neil Young, a Jack River track wouldn’t be out of place on a road-trip playlist; her songs are guitar-driven folk with detours into pop and balladry. The Highway Songs hit “Palo Alto” – one of Holly’s earliest tracks – references one of the US’s most iconic road trips, and was intentionally written to sound like a drive along the West Coast.

“Driving from Big Sur to LA is amazing, but in Australia I really love driving down the south coast – from Sydney down to Mollymook is a pretty beautiful drive. That is our version of that US road trip,” Holly says.

“There’s a lot of space, and it’s so amazing how close the mountains are to the sea.

There are so many great small towns that are not crowded, and the water is just pristine. I love that type of open country.”

Classic beach road trips THE NSW SOUTH COAST Follow Holly’s lead and take a drive down to Jervis Bay from Sydney, taking the coast road to avoid the traffic jam at Berry. Stay at beach spots like Huskisson, Culburra or Mollymook. visitnsw.com/destinations/ south-coast

T H E G R E AT O C E A N R O A D , VICTORIA It’s a classic for a reason with coastal switchbacks and clifftop views (and, yes, the “slightly less than 12” Apostles). Stay at beach spots like Aireys Inlet (walk out to the lighthouse), Lorne or Wye River (have lunch at the pub). visitgreatoceanroad.org.au

Growing up in the north coast town of Forster, Holly admits to being “a massive beach kid.”

“I love the ocean and surfing,” she says.

“One Mile Beach in Forster is my favourite place, but there are some amazing places like Seal Rocks, Boomerang Beach and Pacific Palms – some of the most beautiful places in Australia, I think.

“If you’re a bushwalker and an ocean lover walking around the rocks, there are a lot of places you can’t get to by car, so exploring the trails and walking around the coastline is pretty awesome. You come across big rock pools and lots of ocean wildlife that you don’t see at the main beaches.”

JACK RIVER IS A SELFCONFESSED BEACH FAN WHO LOVES TO SURF

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Just three hours south of Perth is the sun, sand, food and wine of this coastal region. Stay at Eagle Bay, Yallingup or Busselton (home of the famous jetty). margaretriver.com

PHOTO MICHAEL PITIRIS

MARGARET RIVER, WA

Now based in Sydney, Holly also moonlights as organiser of the female-focused music festival Electric Lady (electriclady.world), which saw Meg Mac, Nina Las Vegas, Wafia and Kardajala Kirridarra (as well as Holly) take the stage at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games this year. Holly has plans to take the show on the road to London and Los Angeles in the coming months, which might leave a bit less time for road trips.

“It’s a huge time in the world. There’s a mass awareness that has happened in the world, with the women’s marches in 2016 and the #MeToo movement last year,” Holly says. “Naturally, it has to find its place in each industry, and

Hear Jack River “A Jack River track wouldn’t be out of place on a road trip; her songs are guitar-driven folk with detours into pop and balladry“

Jack River’s debut album Sugar Mountain has taken five years, and the final mix was plucked from “hundreds of songs” that Holly has written. Holly calls it a “mix of grit and glitter”, and it’s hard to improve on that call.

Sugar Mountain is out on I OH YOU; iohyou.com/label

for me I wanted to make something in the Australian music industry, so I made Electric Lady. It was started one year ago, and within a year we had a stage at the Commonwealth Games and at Mountain Sounds Festival (mountainsoundsfestival.com.au). I’m amazed at what can happen.”

Holly is also the brains behind the Grow Your Own festival (growyourown.tv), which takes acts like The Belligerents and Skegss (and, yes, Jack River) to the Tuncurry Footy Fields in her north coast home town.

So does Holly get any time to wind down?

“I see a lot of music at the Oxford Art Factory and the Lansdowne Hotel, which is doing a great job of putting on live music and creating a culture around the venue,” she says.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Sydney from eight destinations; tigerair.com.au

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39

THE POINTY END

THE PASSENGER

TRAVEL & GLAMPING

1 0F 2

A round-table chat with three different travellers.

This issue’s topic: glamping

ILLUSTRATION JESSICA HU

Paul Chai, glamper As far as I’m concerned, glamping is short for “glad we’re not camping” and is the only way you’ll get me into a tent.

I really hate camping. I hate putting up my own flimsy canvas accommodation, I hate bugs and flies, and I really hate having to poop in the bush, or in a longdrop toilet. In fact, I can’t decide which is worse. Some people call camping getting back to nature; I call it devolution.

Why would I sleep in a tent when I

already have a house? It seems like choosing to eat a meal with my fingers when we invented cutlery.

But I do love a bit of nature, so the idea of glamping – or glamorous camping, to give it its full name – is the perfect compromise for me. Glamping is roughing it but without the rough edges; getting back to nature while not going backwards.

The worst thing about camping is how terribly I sleep on a mat on

the ground. You can’t enjoy the great outdoors without a great night’s sleep.

Like camping, glamping brings you places that a hotel can’t. On a recent glamping experience on French Island in Victoria, I had a great sleep in a double bed, then stepped out of my tent and waved to my neighbour, a koala in the next tree that my kids named “Sleepy Joe”. On a river bend in Kenya, I was in a tent that was posher than my house, ê but woke to the braying of hippos.

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THE POINTY END TRAVEL & GLAMPING

2 0F 2

GLAMPING SEEMS TO ME TO BE SOME FRANKENSTEIN-LIKE CREATION THAT’S NEITHER ONE THING NOR THE OTHER; SOME ABOMINATION THAT’S UNLIKELY TO MAKE ANYONE HAPPY. I’M NOT CONVINCED WE NEED A CAMPING-HOTEL HYBRID. PICK A SIDE! The biggest problem with the glamping trend is that there’s no quality control on the word. Call me spoiled, but it’s not glamping unless there’s a flushing toilet in your tent, or very nearby. There must be electricity sockets too. There’s nothing glamorous about composting toilets and dead phone batteries. I think the only thing you need to call yourself glamping, rather than a hotel, is a bit of canvas somewhere on your domicile.

There’s no law on how much canvas you need, but you need to have some.

Connor McLeod, camper Glamping seems to me to be some Frankenstein-like creation that’s neither one thing nor the other – some abomination that’s unlikely to make anyone happy. If I’m camping, I want to go to sleep to the wild sounds of the surrounding bush, not the hum of my mini-bar fridge and a playlist on a Bose stereo. If I’m staying in a luxury hotel, I don’t want to track dirt into my posh room and have to worry about keeping the front door zipped up to keep out bugs. I’m not convinced we need a camping-hotel hybrid. Pick a side!

I camp to strip back my creature comforts, to live simply and be flexible

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enough to pack up on a whim and move further into the wilds. There’s nothing adventurous about staying in a tent that can only be moved by a team of 10 people and a flatbed truck. You’re not free and you’re not comfortable – you’re in some in-between world.

What I love about camping is that you’re forced out into the world; your tent isn’t comfortable enough to lie around in all day. This means you’re more likely to go on a hike or discover a new place to swim. When you glamp, you could spend the whole day in your queen-size bed with a book or the TV. What’s the point of that? Stay home.

As a camper, one of the great joys is that it makes you realise just how great we have things in the Western world. After a few days of camping, I haven’t bothered to shower, or shave; I haven’t watched TV, I haven’t had refrigeration, and I haven’t had air-conditioning or heating. When you get back home, you feel lucky to have all these things. Glamping doesn’t require any effort or sacrifice, and that’s what I like about camping.

Sarah Mitchell, either When it comes to a “glamping vs. camping” showdown, I’m all about the location – what type of tent I sleep in comes in a very distant second. I get the whole deprive-yourself-of-moderncomforts vibe, but it’s not why I would go camping. I would go camping to wake up somewhere that doesn’t have a hotel; somewhere I can only experience by sleeping rough.

But I don’t have a problem with glamping either, provided it’s in a really amazing spot. I cannot imagine myself selecting a holiday based on how luxurious my tent is; once it’s camping – glamorous or otherwise – it has to be location, location, location. If hotel and glamping accommodation were side by side, I’d probably go the hotel every time.

But I do like the eco-friendly side of glamping. Admittedly, it’s a lot gentler on the environment if you pitch your own tent and don’t have electric lights, but compared to a hotel, a lot of glamping options do tick that eco-tourism box for me.

To me, saying you’re either a camper or a glamper is limiting yourself.

Sometimes I like to go fine dining, and sometimes I like junk food. It just depends on how I’m feeling at the time.

THE POINTY END THE SPLURGE

BEECHMONT GARDEN RETREAT Olinda, Victoria

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hy it’s worth it: This mountain retreat is owned by Melbourne florist Cherrie Miriklis, from Flowers Vasette, and there are blooms and petals in the DNA of every room. Four living spaces circle the central kitchen: the games room has a huge painting of a fire-engine red flower; the dining room has botanic etchings and ceramics covered in flowers;

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floral pillows are scattered along the couches of the TV room; and chairs surround the Coonara log fire. In the bedrooms, dragonflies and butterflies flit across the silk wallpaper.

Throughout the entire house are Cherrie’s fresh arrangements, and the rooms are full of plumes of live orchids. The theme is consistent but subtle (books in the games room are arranged according

going green Wander the gardens, then crash on the couch.

to colour), guided by the design aesthetic of someone who creates beauty for a living.

WORDS PAUL CHAI; GARDEN PHOTO ANNETTE O'BRIEN FOR THE DESIGN FILES

Bang for your buck: Ten acres of gardens are the huge draw, with a sloping lawn at the rear of the house leading down to a pond. The property is protected by stands of mountain ash, blackwood wattles and beeches that appear to be jostling for a better view of the hedged walkways and manicured lawns of the English garden.

On arrival is a welcome pack from Sassafras Providore, full of handmade preserves, cereals, coffee and baked beauties from Proserpina Bakehouse.

It’s everything you need for an indoor breakfast picnic by the floor-to-ceiling

walls, which make you feel part of the garden even in inclement weather.

Get to know the pair of magpies that appear to rule the patch of grass outside the window, take time to watch the passing parade of parrots (when the magpies go off duty), and see ducks make use of the pond. Set your watch to “bird time” and just get into sync with the avian locals.

The digs: The country house has bedrooms on either side, with a grownup wing – master bedroom (with king bed and deep bath) and a guestroom, both with their own ensuites; and a more kid-friendly wing – a cartoonfestooned kids’ room and double room sharing bathroom facilities. At its centre is the circle of living spaces. Read by the fire, dine together with garden views, play charades in the games room or watch Netflix in the TV lounge.

There are Bose speakers throughout the house, the kitchen has everything you need, and there are lovely pockets of greenery all over.

Must-do experience: Ten minutes down the hill is Puffing Billy (1 Old Monbulk Road, Belgrave; puffingbilly.com.au), where you can get an adult take on a childhood classic by taking the lunch “Steam and Cuisine” train. The period dining cars once travelled the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania, and now they offer three-course meals as you wind up the famous Puffing Billy small-gauge track into the mountains.

An early morning visit to Proserpina Bakehouse (361 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, Sassafras) is also a must.

Grab a breakfast pizza, the panino (a sublime take on an egg-and-bacon roll with chutney and fresh coriander), or the best pain au chocolate you’ll find.

The damage: Two nights on the weekend from $1,020; two midweek nights from $620. vrgetaways.com.au

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Melbourne from nine destinations; tigerair.com.au

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Brisbane brewed.

Brisbane owned.

Airtight, lightproof beer tubes from

Visit newsteadbrewing.com.au

THE POINTY END

THE GREAT OUTDOORS T he ol Barsto

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hy does a drink taste so much better outside? As a nation we love a good rooftop bar, flocking to them in fine weather to enjoy a beer in the sun. But this winter, in Australia’s second-coldest capital (Hi, Hobart!), Melburnians have shown just how much they love drinking outside as they embraced a clutch of new rooftop offerings that arrived in winter.

The city’s list of rooftop bars is getting longer, even as the days get shorter.

Traditionally, rooftop openings were a summer event to take advantage of the long summer evenings, but much of what we still love about a good rooftop bar is just as valid in the cooler months.

There is the view of the city, grand by day, twinkling with office lights by night.

There is the sun on our skin (when it chooses to make an appearance) that can feel even more vital when the weather is cold. And, well, there is sharing a drink with friends.

Here are the newcomers to the rooftop bar scene. Grab one of the complimentary blankets, huddle near a heater, and hang in there as spring is just around the corner.

Bomba

Our love of a rooftop bar is now yearround with a host of winter openings and now the Spanish restaurant’s top floor has chosen to focus on gin. If you have ever had a gin and tonic in Spain, this makes perfect sense; they beat the insipid offerings in the UK hands down.

The bar is serving tapas from exec chef Andrew Fisk and head chef Matt Jordan such as Jamón Ibérico with truffle, or smoked ham hock, mahón and mozzarella. All with the same killer views you remember.

103 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne; bombabar.com.au

Union Electric This back-alley gem constructed a gin-centric rooftop bar just as summer ended. The Union Electric Gin Garden offers a huge range of gin and tonics, killer dirty martinis and snacks all set in a garden of Australian botanicals – many of which feature in the huge range of locally distilled gins. Don’t forget to pay homage to the downstairs portrait of Bill Murray on the way up.

13 Heffernan Lane, Melbourne, unionelectric.com.au

The Duke Melbourne’s oldest pub, The Duke of Wellington, just got the city’s newest rooftop bar, right in the middle of winter.

But that hasn’t stopped city drinkers from climbing the stairs for one of the best

views of Federation Square, as well as great draft beers and a quality pub menu.

The Duke offers an AC/DC Lane chicken burger or The Warney, a pork burger with apple slaw.

146 Flinders Street, Melbourne; dukeofwellington.com.au

Cornish Rooftop Another late-summer arrival in the northern suburb of Brunswick, the Cornish Hotel is known for its vegan pub food downstairs. Now you can get a meatier menu on the rooftop, which has a great view of the Melbourne CBD skyscrapers. Try slow-roasted lamb with tabouli and chilli on chips, or buffalo wings with peri peri sauce.

163a Sydney Road, Brunswick; cornisharms.com.au So, why wait for the warmer months (shut up Brisbane and Darwin!) to make use of a rooftop bar? Melburnians know they can’t wait for good weather to do things; and now, with a year-round rooftop bar culture, they have plenty of options.

MEET THE AUTHOR Conner McLeod is bar reviewer and eggs Benedict lover who is constantly on the hunt for the perfect margarita

Not so much new, as renewed, this Melbourne favourite has had a facelift,

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MY ISUZU STORY RALSTON FAMILY

FAMILY, ADVENTURE & RELIABILITY: THIS IS THE RALSTON’S STORY Sarah and David live in the picturesque Bateman’s Bay with their three kids, Kaitlin, Zoe and Campbell. They live across the road from the beach, and in summer, they practically live there. But when the temperature drops in the winter months, for them, it’s all about camping. They load up the family ute, strap-in their Blue Heeler Nikita and head off to find an adventure. Ever since going to an I-Venture Club training day, David and Sarah have built their confidence in off-roading and are exploring more of the beautiful New South Wales national parks nearby. They are an adventure-loving family that need a reliable vehicle to go their own way. That’s why they love their D-MAX.

WATCH THE RALSTON’S STORY: ISUZUUTE.COM.AU/MYISUZUSTORY

Non-genuine aftermarket accessories and modifications featured are not recommended or endorsed by Isuzu UTE Australia, as the modification or accessories may impact the New Vehicle Warranty.

For detailed information on ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’ covered by the Manufacturer’s Warranty please refer to the Warranty and Service Booklet.

THE POINTY END

Learn how to four-wheel drive

WORDS PAUL CHAI

J

ust drive right off that near-vertical drop and don’t use your brakes,” said no driving instructor, to me, ever. But David Wilson, instructor at my Isuzu I-Venture Club, just gave me that very directive. And he looked very pleased with himself while doing it.

Despite my best efforts at dawdling to get to my car (so I wouldn’t be the group guinea pig), I’ve ended up at the front of a long line of fourwheel drive owners with my car teetering on the edge of a very steep plunge, so vertiginous I can’t

see the bottom over the hood of my Isuzu MU-X. Mind you, I say mine, but it’s not. I’m borrowing it from the kind folks at Isuzu Ute Australia, so it’s not even my car to total!

This is Isuzu’s I-Venture Club, a series of fourwheel drive workshops where the car company helps you get more out of your ride. With me for the day-long course at the Melbourne 4x4 Training and Proving Ground – a man-made obstacle course in the city’s outer suburbs – are a collection of relatively new off-roaders. Luckily for me, ê

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THE POINTY END

“To my surprise, the car just about drives itself down the incline, sticking to the rocky trail like velcro“

the day didn’t start off with obstacles. Instead, David and his team took us through a rigorous teaching session, where the whiteboard got the only thorough workout.

We covered what happens to your car in 4WD; tyre pressure and tyre management; and how the term SUV is like a swear word to real 4WD enthusiasts. There’s only part-time 4WD (where you have to switch from 2WD to 4WD), full-time 4WD (always on) and AWD (all-wheel drive). Glad we got that sorted.

We also learn another term: the clacker valve. This is where your, er, backside tightens at the sight of a particularly gnarly track.

So, back to my cliffhanger, and I figure if I end up with my wheels pointing to the sky, it’s best I say I followed David’s advice. I ignore my clacker valve, drop the Isuzu into gear and head off over the precipice.

PROOF THAT THIS WRITER DIDN’T JUST SIT AROUND SCOFFING THE MORNING TEA

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GETTING READY FOR THE CREEK CROSSING AT I-VENTURE CLUB

Upcoming events Check out where to learn a thing or two about off-road driving

L ANCELIN SAND DUNES, WA A one-day sand bash with 12 spots available each day, and breakfast and lunch included, in the slippery dunes of WA. August 10, 11, 12

MELBOURNE, VIC This is the same four-wheel driving course that we took, and a total eye-opener to the novice off-road driver.

Perfect as a starter course.

September 7, 8, 9

RIVER ISL AND, NSW Hit the rough ground of the Southern Highlands to learn about river crossings and navigating rocky and gravelly roads.

October 12, 13, 14 For more information visit iventureclub.com.au

To my surprise, the car just about drives itself down the incline, sticking to the rocky trail like velcro. Then, I have to turn around and drive her through some tyre-deep mud.

I fishtail in the muck, and David comes through my two-way radio to tell me I’m going a bit fast. Easing off, I make it to the other side. They’re not taking it easy on us novices, but having David as my fairy-4WDgodfather sitting on the dash is a big help.

We do a few more circuits of this track, then tackle a section of dirt that leans more heavily to one side than the other. I’m still at the head of the queue, and with some guidance I manage to not disgrace myself again.

We break for lunch and swap war stories from the morning course before it’s time to head back out again.

I never really understood the need to get off-road until a recent trip to Fraser Island, where I managed to drive around on the sand for a few adventurous days. Most people do it to gain access to places normal cars can’t reach, but here at the 4WD Proving Ground it’s really just to test our driving skills, and that makes for a very entertaining day. When it’s over, I’ve learned a lot about my car, I feel more confident behind the wheel, and I’m itching to find another off-road outing.

But first we have to drop down a steep track and drive along the bed of a river whose water flows to just below the vehicles’ grilles. It’s an unnerving mission, and there are plenty of squeals through the two-ways as everybody takes their turn. It’s surreal chugging your way up through the flowing water – but rewarding, too. I think about Fraser Island and how I tackled it knowing nothing. Where could I get to now?

A full day of dropping off ramps, driving up a river and sluicing through mud pools makes the drive back to Melbourne – back in the seat of my very sedate sedan – a touch on the boring side. There might be a budding 4WDer inside me after all.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Melbourne from nine destinations; tigerair.com.au

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Behind the curtain The Arts Centre Melbourne has been the city’s heart of the arts for over 40 years. Paul Chai takes a look behind the scenes at Melbourne’s arts precinct.

PHOTOS SAMARA CLIFFORD

Scaramouche Jones plays at the Fairfax Studio from August 15-25; artscentremelbourne. com.au

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ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE

Taking up 4.5 hectares across the river from Flinders Street Station, the Arts Centre Melbourne was first envisioned in the 1940s, but it was the late 50s when the plans, by noted architect Roy Grounds, were approved. The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) was built first and, due to construction issues thrown up by the proximity of the river, the Theatres Building didn’t open until 1984.

Since then, this arts precinct – capped by the famous spire and including the nearby outdoor auditorium that is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl – has hosted the best Australian and international artists.

Sweeping upgrades to the precinct were announced earlier this year. It’s a major transformation that includes plans for a new NGV Contemporary, expected to be completed in 2025. With that in mind, we thought it was the perfect time to take a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the Arts Centre Melbourne, through the people that make sure the show does go on.

B

efore the Arts Centre The clown Melbourne existed, the southern bank of the Yarra River was home to travelling circuses, the first of which – Cooper and Bailey’s American circus – first pitched its Big Top in 1877. This winter, celebrated Aussie actor Colin Friels (Water Rats, Mystery Road) will play the 99-year-old clown Scaramouche Jones in a one-hander by British playwright Justin Butcher.

“It’s an anti-celebrity play in a way,” Colin says.

“We have to remember there are just normal people in the world, the ordinariness of human nature and the beauty of that ordinariness; the sheer beauty in the dangers, in the anarchy, in the fear of life and all that life throws up.”

I’m sitting with Colin on the curved white couch of the Truscott Lounge surrounded by emerald green walls capped with a gold roof.

This hidden room in Arts Centre Melbourne is named after John Truscott, a production and costume designer who designed the interiors of the centre. The two Oscars Truscott won for his work on the 1967 film Camelot sit in a glass cabinet in the corner of the room.

Back on the couch, Colin is discussing the pressure of a one-person play on an actor, his passion for this particular story, and the need for good stories in the theatre, not

Colin Friels Actor

just flashy production values. But he’s also giving me an insight into what goes on before the audience arrives.

Contrary to the picture of an actor being doted on by wardrobe and make-up artists, Colin does his own make-up (if he wears any at all) and cleans and looks after his own costume.

Each new play requires its own routine where the thespian turns up at least three hours early to an empty theatre.

“I have to get my head in some sort of space before I can put the show on,” he says. “You have to turn up every night to a live performance in neutral gear. I don’t know what’s going to happen until I get on stage; I am not going to forget the words, I am not going to forget where I move – that’s second nature – but I will just throw the rest out.”

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some last-minute backstage dramas. “I’ve had car accidents, and people die on me before a show.

I’ve had dead dogs in the back of my car, I’ve had a horse in a float outside – all sorts of chaos,” Colin says. In the case of the dog, Colin took his beloved pet to the vet and was told it would have to be put down.

“I put him in a blanket, put him in the back of my ute and had to drive straight in to the theatre and just made it,” he says. “It was a huge part, I didn’t shut up for three hours, and I was okay, I was together, but there was a part in the play where there was an emotional shift in the play and that was it – I was off, and I cried through the whole play. But I managed to get away with it.” ê

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The school holiday saviour

Mary Harvey Creative producer, families and young people

M

ary Harvey is the person that helps keep you sane when the school holidays roll around, thanks to a carefully curated program aimed at kids aged 0-12. “The thing that makes a great children’s show is to not dumb down any experience,” she says of her role. “We need to make children think, make children question things, so they go away and have a conversation with their parent or carer, or siblings or friends.”

One of the most satisfying parts of Mary’s job is commissioning works from artists that don’t normally do children’s shows. She likes to reach out to people and suggest that they consider making theatre for kids, to challenge the sorts of shows they normally put on.

While Mary has been at the Arts Centre Melbourne for a year, she says she can still get lost when she ventures into the backstage areas. However, when it comes to those backstage spaces, she loves the flexibility they offer. “We don’t have dedicated spaces here for children, so what we do is we create those spaces,” she says. “For example, if kids come in to see a play in the Playhouse, on some occasions what we are able to do is completely transform the box office area into a large activation. In the Easter holidays just passed we created, in response to the production of The 78-Storey Treehouse, a giant Scribbletorium” – a space taken from the books where kids were free to draw all over the place.

“We find another way for children to engage with the art as well as seeing the show,” she says.

A successful use of the behind-the-scenes area was the Children’s Republic of Melbourne, which took over a rehearsal room to allow kids to create their own country with its very own flag, constitution and rules. Over 2,000 children came to the centre over a five-day period. “The kids had to travel down to the depths of the Arts Centre to participate in this,” Mary says. “The kids were hidden away down there, creating their own republic that culminated in a parade of 300 young people in the forecourt.” ê

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ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE

Upcoming kids events include Erth’s Prehistoric Aquarium (September 8-9) and Film Making Workshops (until October); artscentremelbourne.com.au

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Arts Centre Melbourne At Australia’s largest performing arts centre, we bring people together for remarkable experiences.

Every day on our stages we’re proud to offer the best local and international music, theatre, opera and dance, plus exciting shows for kids.

Check out our unique venues with daily guided tours or pop into our artisan market, held every Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Or explore your love of contemporary Australian music with a visit to the Australian Music Vault, a free exhibition open daily.

100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne | artscentremelbourne.com.au

The giver of light

W

hen it comes to being a lighting guy, the stories that come out are generally to do with darkness,” says Bernie Manchee, who has worked in the lighting department of the Arts Centre Melbourne since 1997.

“Back in the day we had the Russian Ballet in town, and for many years there was a magnetic torch that hung above the lighting control desk, for emergencies.

One night, as all of the male dancers began leaping down-stage, the torch fell off the roof and hit the blackout button and plunged the stage into darkness.

Obviously, the torch had a new location directly after that.”

ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE

Bernie Manchee Lighting manager

Bernie now looks after the lighting team from an office with a window, but he has spent enough time behind the scenes to know where all the hidden spots are. “The Fairfax Theatre has a space quietly hidden away in the roof,” he says.

“It’s designed so creatives can view their casts during shows without interrupting the audience, so they can take notes. It’s a convenient place to watch a show and not get noticed. We have two mezzanines in the Fairfax; we have an audience

mezzanine, and then we have a working mezzanine – that one was affectionately renamed the man -zzenine purely because I had left it in a mess one day.

“So that is my place to go and hide.

It’s a nice place to watch a show from; it’s the equivalent of Gold Class if you’re a technician.”

Much of the actual lighting these days is digital, which means Bernie and his team are a lot less hands-on during the actual performance, but Bernie says one of the big perks of the job is seeing the acts, particularly at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. “We get the stars,” he says. “Prince, Ray Charles, Bon Jovi, Metallica – they have all played here over the years.” ê

Go behind the scenes GUIDED TOURS Enjoy an insider’s look at the significant works of Australian art throughout the foyers.

Monday – Saturday, 11am

BACKSTAGE TOURS Take Arts Centre Melbourne’s Backstage Tour and discover what lies beyond, behind and beneath the walls of the theatres, and how the magic of performance is brought to life.

Until December 23

Bernie recommends Bangarra’s Dark Emu (September 6-15); and The Boy from Oz, for which “all the bells and whistles will be out” (August 11-26); artscentremelbourne.com.au

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Visit Kenzan Japanese restaurant for some of the freshest sushi and sashimi dishes in Melbourne, along with à la carte dishes and surprising specials. The restaurant has been in its current CBD location for 35 years, and is the most awarded Japanese restaurant in Melbourne.

Enjoy an authentic Japanese dining experience.

JAPANESE RESTAURANT

KENZAN.COM.AU | +61 (0)3 9654 8933 56 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE

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ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE

The archivist

Carolyn Laffan Australian Music Vault senior curator

U

nderneath the Arts Centre Melbourne sits the Australian Performing Arts Collection.

This collection – which contains over 680,000 objects of significance in the worlds of music, circus, dance, opera and theatre – predates the Arts Centre Melbourne itself.

“Among the first things to come in was the Dame Nellie Melba costume wardrobe,” says Carolyn Laffan, who has worked with the collection since the 90s. “Her family donated costumes and accessories and beautiful operatic scores and librettos; then Barry Humphries came on board. He donated not just beautiful Dame Edna Everage frocks, of which we have many, but also his early sketches and written material.”

This is a key aspect of the collection.

It isn’t just after visual pieces that can be put on display; it’s an attempt to capture the spirit of the Australian arts scene.

“A lot of the collection is either about trying to collect the performance – which is impossible – or the creative mind or the creative process – which is equally impossible – but it gives you some sense of what’s going on in both those things,” she says.

The Australian Music Vault in particular does its best to keep alive the sense of past concerts. Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue are patrons of the collection and down in the vault are Nick’s diaries, filled with lyrics and personal entries, and Kylie’s famous gold pants, which have their very own pantsshaped Styrofoam to protect them.

“We look at display potential, but also research potential. So it might be something that is not going to be beautiful in a showcase, but it might be an important part of that person’s career,” Carolyn says. “It could be something like a set list that is a scrunched-up piece of paper, but it is from a particular performance – say if you had the Big Day Out where Kylie and Nick performed together. That would be a good one.”

Carolyn works deep in the labyrinth of the Arts Centre Melbourne, and the fact that the collection isn’t cleaned presents its challenges. “It’s very funky down there,” she laughs. “The Split Enz costumes in particular, because they are often made of what I think is not very stage-friendly material; there is a lot of velvet and leather and vinyl and it gets very hot.”

Keeping the collection smelling of smoke and sweat has a purpose,

though. “It’s the aura of the performance, so we want to keep it intact, but there are also conservation reasons, because we wouldn’t want to clean something and inadvertently damage it.”

“We look at display potential, but also research potential” So does Carolyn have a favourite piece? “We all love the Chrissie Amphlett costume,” she says. “Chrissie is such a singular person in Australian music history, and having that in the Vault, you see people make a beeline for it.”

Being underground with no windows, Carolyn says she has to keep track of time, because tracing the connected history of the pieces can lead down a number of rabbit holes (“It’s a bit like the internet – but real!”) But it’s always an exciting time when new things come in and need sorting. “Every time a new piece comes in, it’s like the band is getting back together,” Carolyn says. ê

The Australian Music Vault, located in the Arts Centre Melbourne, is free and open daily; australianmusicvault.com.au The Australian Performing Arts Collection can be accessed online at collections. artscentremelbourne.com.au

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ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE

Check out the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of An Ideal Husband (until August 18); artscentremelbourne.com.au

The costumier

David Hansen

D

avid works in the backstage area of the State Theatre on Level 2, which is four levels underground. “Arts Centre Melbourne is a bit like an iceberg,” he says. “It is much bigger than it looks, and most of it is below the ground floor. My team of staff (approximately 35) work very closely with the performers, so we are located away from the stage and quite close to the dressing rooms.”

David has worked at the Arts Centre Melbourne since 2008 and says his colleagues have been there a lot longer.

Scoring a prime gig at Melbourne’s heart of the arts is not something you give up easily.

There are rarely costume dramas behind the scenes, but David acknowledges there are some challenges. He cites quick costume

“Arts Centre Melbourne is a bit like an iceberg” 60

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Wardrobe supervisor changes as one of the trickiest situations he has to face.

“Opera Australia did a production of A Little Night Music in 2009 that had some very fast costume changes,” he says. “The designer, Roger Kirk, had costumed Sigrid Thornton in black tights, black shoes, a corset, bloomers, bustle, petticoat, skirt, bodice, bolero, feather boa, gloves, necklace, earrings, wig and hat – and then had to remove almost everything and change into white tights, white shoes, a pannier hoop, petticoat, skirt, bodice, different necklace, different earrings, different wig and different hat – in 14 seconds. The change took about five people and looked a bit like a pitstop at the Grand Prix.”

So as someone with an eye for design, what’s his favourite place in Arts Centre Melbourne? “The State Theatre Lounge and Amcor Lounge are spectacular,” David says. “The walls are covered in a giant artwork made of marbles and various items discovered during construction of the building. After all these years I find new curiosities to look at every time I see it.”

He says the Arts Centre Melbourne is special because it’s constantly in flux. While his role is often similar, he’s working with different companies, productions, crew and artists every couple of weeks. Of course, this can lead to some confusion given the maze-like nature of backstage areas.

“The dressing room areas for the State Theatre, Playhouse and Fairfax Studio are all connected via corridors backstage, and it is really easy to get lost,” he says.

“The doors are colour coded so that visiting companies and artists know that they are in the right place, but I regularly find people who have taken a turn and ended up in the wrong place.”

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Melbourne from nine destinations; tigerair.com.au

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DESTINATION DARWIN

DE S T IN AT ION D A R W IN

C HR I S T INE

is a frequent visitor to Darwin and particularly loves to escape to the NT during winter

weekend warriors ONE

DESTINATION, TWO DIFFERENT LOCAL VS VISITOR

ADVENTURES

L IND A

is a long-time Northern Territory resident who makes her home in Darwin during the dry season

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WEEKEND WARRIORS

BUSH TUCK ER

DIV E IN CROC ROCKIN’ A close encounter with a croc is the best way to get into the Territory vibe. I’m too chicken to do the Cage of Death at Crocosaurus Cove (58 Mitchell Street, CBD; crocosauruscove.com). Feeding baby crocs is more my speed (and seeing these bigger guys from afar).

Just when I think I may never enter the water again, the sparkling Recreation Lagoon at Darwin’s Waterfront (waterfront.nt.gov.au) precinct proves irresistible.

A stroll over the Sky Bridge, past Parliament House, and along the Esplanade leads me to historic Lyons Cottage. Home to Aboriginal Bush Traders (74 Esplanade, Darwin City; aboriginal-bush-traders. myshopify.com), it’s a happy hunting ground for vibrant fabrics and artworks. The cafe menu at Aboriginal Bush Traders with its bush ingredients is tres tempting.

I try the wild rosella iced tea and freshly made damper with Kakadu plum jam.

C HR I S T INE

feeds some crocs, has some bush tucker and goes on a cruise

f r id ay

10:00

12:00

13:00

S TAY A WHIL E

BE ACH BRE A K

BIG BRE A K FA S T When I’m in the mood for brunch I head to Alfonsino’s porchetta bar. Tucked behind Darwin’s busy main drag (20/69 Mitchell Street, CBD; facebook.com/Alfonsinos-152997558531871), its rustic ciabattas laden with porchetta, pumpkin, and spinach will keep you going all day.

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Now it’s relax time. Whether you bring a book or phone a friend, a favourite place to hang out is De La Plage, a cafe on the beach in the northern suburbs (Darwin Surf Life Saving Club, Darribah Road, Brinkin; facebook.com/delaplage0810).

The water here is mesmerising. It’s the tropical equivalent of gazing into an open fire. I could sit here all day but perhaps it’s time to stir myself.

DESTINATION DARWIN

HE A DING TO THE H A RBOUR A little-known fact is that Darwin Harbour is seven times bigger than its Sydney counterpart.

It’s a great place to watch the sunset with locals and visitors alike.

GE T TING M Y CRUISE ON A few operators offer sunset cruises on Darwin Harbour – check out Darwin Harbour Cruises (darwinharbourcruises.com. au). It’s a great way to finish my first day in the Territory as a visitor. A glass of bubbly, fish and chips, and a sunset on the Darwin sandbar. Life doesn’t get much better.

ROOF TOP COCK TAIL S Friday arvo is mellowing into the weekend. Time to check out the view from rooftop bar Rorkes (22 Smith Street, Darwin City; rorkes.com.au) over an Aperol Spritz.

15:00

17:00

19:00

L IND A

takes a book to the beach, hits the ski club and goes dancing

TOP END SUNDOWNER

JE T T Y WA NDER The Nightcliff foreshore is another spot loved by locals. As the day cools down I join the cyclists, joggers and walkers and wander along to the jetty.

There’s still time to slide into the Darwin Ski Club (20 Conacher Street, Fannie Bay; darwinskiclub.com.au) for a sundowner.

L A NE WAY JIV E The Laneway Series (livedarwin.nt.gov.au) is bringing places like Austin Lane, aka Graffiti Lane, alive with music, DJs, a pop-up beer garden and some of Darwin’s tastiest treats once a month.

Just don’t forget your dancing shoes.

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WEEKEND WARRIORS

S WINGING M A RK E T S Mid-morning and the Parap Village Markets (36 Parap Road, Parap; parapvillagemarkets.com.au) is in full swing. Locals and visitors are dropping by for fresh juices, Mary’s famous laksas, roti wraps, and a casual wander amongst the stalls of easy-breezy clothes, upcycled handicrafts, and fresh fruit and veg.

ON YOUR BIK E It’s the perfect day for pedal power. I pick up a Spinway bike (spinwaynt.com.au) near The Tourism Top End Visitor Information Centre and get myself moving.

L A NE WAY COFFEE First stop: Laneway Specialty Coffee (4/1 Vickers St, Parap; lanewaycoffee.com.au) to get caffeinated. It’s only meant to be a pit-stop but after a glance at the menu (for future reference) I order an Eggs Benny with pulled pork and spinach.

C HR I S T INE

takes a bike ride, goes to the markets and has a dip

S AT UR D AY

08:00

10:30

12:00

WATER WORK S Why swim in a public pool when there’s this beautiful oasis? The manmade Lake Alexander at East Point Reserve is a favourite with kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders too.

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FORES T S OF THE SE A Darwin has one of the richest mangrove communities in Australia.

The Mangrove Boardwalk at East Point is a special way to experience these forests of the sea. The rise and fall of the tides makes every walk different.

GOING TO CHURCH Eva’s Botanic Gardens Café (Gardens Road, The Gardens; botanicgardenscafe.com.au) doesn’t just serve great coffee. Its location in a heritage-listed Wesleyan church, with a deck overlooking the lush gardens, makes this a lovely place to while away an hour or two.

DESTINATION DARWIN

S WIM FA N

TIME FOR SOME A R T There’s more to Parap than its weekly market. I explore the latest exhibition at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art (Shop 8, 36 Parap Road, Parap; nccart.com.au) and check out the newest gallery on the block: Salon Indigenous Art Projects (Vickers Street, Parap; salonartprojects.com.au).

Time for a refreshing dip. Just around the corner, the recently renovated Parap swimming pool (77 Ross Smith Avenue, Parap; darwin.nt.gov.au) does the trick.

DECKCH AIR S OV ERBOA RD A couple of cushions and a tub of locally made ice-cream and I’m ready to kick-back at Deckchair Cinema (Jervois Road, CBD; deckchaircinema.com).

Watching a flick or two under the stars is a magic way to spend a Saturday evening.

14:00

17:30

20:00

L IND A

goes for a walk in the mangroves and visits the Botanic Gardens

G A RDEN PA R T Y A visit to Eva’s is best rounded-out with a wander in the George Brown Botanic Gardens. There are rainforest areas, cycads, and the bulbous boabs to discover.

WH AT A PE A RL ER I can’t resist the lure of the Australian South Sea pearl pieces in the Paspaley window (19 Smith Street, CBD; paspaley.com) whenever I’m in the CBD. Nearby, the creations of long-time Darwin designers, Raw Cloth (Shop 1, 132 Smith Street, CBD; facebook.com.rawclothdarwin), are usually another stop on a windowshopping tour.

L OC A L M A RK E T Malak Marketplace (Chambers Crescent, Malak; malakmarketplace.org.au) hosts farmers and stallholders who offer predominantly organic produce and food. Held on Saturday evenings during the dry season, there’s live music and a myriad of dinner options from paella to Russian borscht. No wonder it’s converting locals.

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WEEKEND WARRIORS

A R T M AGNE T HEL L O KIT T Y Alley Cats Patisserie (14/69 Mitchell Street, CBD; restaurantwebx.com/AlleyCats) is an early opener even on a Sunday. I grab a gargantuan almond croissant and coffee to go.

H A RBOUR TIME It’s continental breakfast al fresco at Bicentennial Park (The Esplanade, CBD) followed by a stroll overlooking the stunning aqua waters of Darwin Harbour.

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (19 Conacher Street, Fannie Bay; magnt.net.au) is a great way to get to know Darwin and its surrounds. It houses all manner of Indigenous art; Sweetheart, a 5.1-metre saltwater croc captured in 1979; and the eerie sounds of Cyclone Tracy, which decimated the city on Christmas Eve 1974.

C HR I S T INE

grabs some pastry, checks out local art and visits Mindil Beach markets

S UND AY

09:00

11:00

12:00

S A LT Y S TA R T You’ve got to get up early if you want to nab a beanbag at Salty Plum Cafe (facebook. com/The-Salty-Plumcafé-1707999209287775) at East Point Reserve on weekends. It’s one of the food trucks turning Darwin’s best-loved beauty spots into outdoor dining experiences.

M A NGO M A DNESS

L A Z Y SUNDAY When temperatures rise, locals pack a picnic and head to Berry Springs Nature Park (Cox Peninsula Road, Berry Springs; nt.gov.au). About 50km from the CBD, it’s a favourite spot to laze away a Sunday.

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Not far away there’s another way of keeping cool. Family-run business Crazy Acres (70 Reedbed Road, Berry Springs; crazyacres.com.au) serves up the luscious flavours of the tropics, including mango and choc popsicles and homemade passionfruit ice-cream, on a 25-acre mango farm.

DESTINATION DARWIN

A R T S A ND CR A F T S

H AV E YOUR C A K E...

I drop into nearby Tactile Arts (19 Conacher Street, The Gardens; tactilearts.org.au), to see the latest exhibition by local artists and craftspeople and come away with a new watercolour painting.

Once a month, Burnett House – an early example of tropical architecture at Myilly Point, (4 Burnett Place, Larrakeyah; nationaltrust.org.au/places/burnetthouse) – holds afternoon tea in its garden. The most difficult choice of the afternoon: do I go trad and have scones or sample the chocolate and almond cake?

14:00

16:00

SUNSE T A ND S A ND A visit to Mindil Beach Sunset Markets (Mindil Beach, Darwin; mindil.com.au) is the ideal way to end the weekend. Live music, whipcracking demonstrations, souvenirs galore, and all kinds of cuisine including the it’s-got-to-be-tried menu served at Roadkill Cafe.

19:00

L IND A

heads to Berry Springs then dives into the cultural melting pot of Mindil Beach

FIT TING END It’s showtime: watching the sun set at Mindil Beach is a performance that never gets old no matter how long you live here.

SUNSE T M A RK E T S To keep the weekend vibe going as long as possible I make tracks to the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets (Mindil Beach, Darwin; mindil.com.au).

OY S TER B A R There’s every kind of food on offer here, from Sri Lankan to Turkish. For my money, nothing beats half a dozen freshly shucked oysters from The Sunset Oyster Bar.

FANCY AN ADVENTURE? If you want to be one of our Weekend Warriors, get in touch.

tigertales@citrusmedia.com.au

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PHOTOS TOURISM TASMANIA

Valley of the arts

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TAMAR VALLEY

Tasmania’s Tamar Valley is not only home to some incredible scenery, but also a very lively arts scene. Joanne Brookfield explores a region of Tassie that is punching above its artistic weight.

M

ONA, it’s fair to say, has radically transformed perceptions of Tasmania. Dwarfed in comparison to the continent, and separated by a notorious stretch of sea, the distance was once both geographical and social. Mainlanders – who although capable of their own parochial interstate rivalry (Melbourne is better than Sydney, by the way) – would traditionally unite when it came to mocking the southernmost state.

Now, they flock there. The Museum of Old and New Art, along with its associated MOFO and Dark MOFO festivals, has seen Hobart become one of our hottest cultural destinations. However, it’s not the only hub where the creatively inclined come out to play. This spring, the Tamar Valley – just a few hours north of Hobart – comes alive with writers, artists, musicians and performers.

“It’s just amazing the scope and quality of the arts landscape offerings here in northern Tasmania,” says ê

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TAMAR VALLEY

THE TAMAR VALLEY IS GETTING A REPUTATION AS AN ARTS HUB

72

Mary Machen. She is the president of the Tamar Valley Writers Festival, one of regional Australia’s biggest writers festivals, and a board member of the Junction Arts Festival, which kicks off a wonderful flow of festivals from early September.

Junction, as locals affectionately refer to it, is billed as “an intimate festival of extraordinary experiences in unusual spaces,” and is held across one jam-packed extra-long weekend from September 5-9. “Through collaborations with Tasmanian artists, dancers, performers and musicians, and presenting that work in spaces unique to Launceston, we’ve been able to create special events that you will not experience anywhere else,” says Junction’s creative director, Greg Clarke.

The Tamar Valley is also Tasmania’s oldest wine-growing region, and Junction’s

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“Our festival is about Tasmanian writers and writers that have Tasmanian stories to tell”

TAMAR VALLEY

Festivals in the valley Check out these dates on the Tamar Valley calendar...

NOT EVERYONE APPEARS IMPRESSED WITH THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL LINE-UP!

J U N C T I O N A R T S F E S T I VA L September 5-9 junctionartsfestival.com.au

T A M A R VA L L E Y W R I T E R S F E S T I VA L September 14-16 tamarvalleywritersfestival.com.au

ARTENT WINE SCULPTURE BIENNIAL October & November artentwine.com.au

BLOOMING TASMANIA Tasmania isn’t just home to some of this country’s most amazing natural scenery; its green thumbs also have world-class gardens, and Blooming Tasmania is a celebration of this.

September 22-23, with Open Garden and Bird Trails statewide from September 14-30 bloomingtasmania.com.au

F A R M G A T E F E S T I VA L Berries, apples, olives, truffles and, of course, grapes – there are all kinds of produce being grown in the Tamar Valley thanks to fertile soils and microclimates. A selection of local farmers and producers open up their gates for a weekend in November, so you can go behind the scenes to meet the people who grow your goodies and get a real taste of life on a small, working farm. Take a tour, pack a picnic and enjoy getting back to the source.

November 24-25 farmgatefestival.net.au

Tamar Valley Feast celebrates this. Local produce is cooked on open fires by Tasmanian culinary wizards Hubert & Dan. It’s washed down with some award-winning wines and a live soundtrack from local musicians at Tamar Ridge Cellar Door, one of the north’s most picturesque locations.

The Tamar River lies at the centre of the Tamar Valley, which stretches from Launceston’s north-west to the coast.

The valley is all rolling green hills dotted with lakes and the Swiss-style village of Grindelwald, which is where the Tamar Valley Writers Festival is being held on the following weekend of September 14-16.

The theme for this year’s festival, says Machen, is “Tasmania on the Global Page”.

Over 50 writers from diverse genres will share their stories through masterclasses, panel discussions and author talks.

Tasmanian writers include bestselling author and former ABC reporter Rachael Treasure; Tamar Valley resident Shirley Patton, whose first novel is already into its second print run; and Robbie Arnott, who recently had his first book launched by Man Bookerprize-winning author Richard Flanagan.

Other festival guests include singer-songwriter Monique Brumby; New York Times bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy for young adults, Amie Kaufman; and human-rights advocate Julian Burnside.

“Our festival is shining a light on Tasmanian writers and mainland writers that have Tasmanian stories to tell, but it’s also inviting mainland writers to Tasmania to see what we have here, and to enable aspiring writers to rub shoulders with other storytellers. They can give encouragement to aspiring writers to put their toe in the ê

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TAMAR VALLEY

More Tamar treats Whether it’s wine, wildlife or the weird and wonderful, Tamar Valley has something for everyone.

Other key attractions include the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre at Beaconsfield. While the mine is perhaps more famous in recent times for the collapse that kept two men trapped underground for a fortnight, as Tasmania’s largest gold mine it’s also an important historical site, and the centre houses a museum of intriguing

artefacts, interactive displays and other exhibitions.

Seahorse World at Beauty Point provides a chance to see these unique sea creatures up close, while if you want to experience the magic of a monotreme, then Platypus House, also at Beauty Point, has both platypuses and echidnas on display. beaconsfieldheritage.com.au; seahorseworld.com.au; platypushouse.com.au

ê

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TAMAR VALLEY

ALL WHITE ON THE N I G H T: M U S I C A T JUNCTION FESTIVAL water and give it a go, because writing does have its mysteries and festivals like this help to demystify that,” she says.

A gala cocktail party kicks off the festival on the Friday night. With accommodation on-site, festival attendees are only a short stroll between events and, at the end of the day, their beds. Grindelwald also has a restaurant, golf course, indoor heated swimming pool, mini-golf and day spa.

Machen says one of the mistakes visitors to Tasmania often make is not allowing enough time. Despite the compact nature of the island, winding roads take longer to traverse, and time is required to simply enjoy the scenery and spend those leisurely afternoons in vineyards, enjoying a drop or two along the way.

“We’re offering two-night packages for our event,” she says, and suggests using the Writers Festival as a starting point for a longer stay – especially as it’s on the doorstep of the Tamar Valley Wine Route.

The Tamar River, a tidal river, is fed by the fresh water of the North and South Esk Rivers.

Combined with a cool climate, this has created a valley perfect for vineyards, and the region is famous for chardonnays, sparklings, aromatic whites and pinot noir.

Can’t get to the 30-plus wineries in the one trip? A way to combine some cellar-door

“The highway drive on the West Tamar is magnificent; take the high road to Grindelwald” visits with culture is the Artentwine Sculpture Biennial 2018. A celebration of contemporary sculpture inspired by the Tamar Valley, these artworks (all vying for the $20,000 prize) are exhibited among vines, gardens and wild areas at Goaty Hill Wines, Moores Hill Estate, Holm Oak Vineyards, Iron Pot Bay Vineyard and Tamar Ridge Cellar Door, which are all family-owned working wineries.

“The highway drive on the West Tamar is magnificent. You can take the high road to Grindelwald and Brady’s Lookout, which was named after a bushranger. Or you can take the low road, which is almost river level – it’s like you’re driving right beside the river, and you go past glorious old homesteads and vineyards,” Machen says.

With no shortage of scenery and stops along the way, you’re bound to return from Tamar Valley with your own stories to tell.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Hobart from Melbourne and Gold Coast; tigerair.com.au

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QUEENSLAND GLAMPING

Pitch perfect South East Queensland has fallen hard for glamping.

Matt Shea tours the region, taking in some of its best options...

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QUEENSLAND GLAMPING

A

fancy swamp. That’s what Mark Hopcroft calls it.

I wonder if I should take issue with Hopcroft’s description. The everglades at the northern end of Lake Cootharaba are an ecological treasure, next to the Florida Everglades one of just two such systems in the world. I pull out my phone: an everglade is a tract of low, swampy land, it tells me, characterised by tall grass and surrounded by fresh water estuaries.

Fancy swamp it is, then. Sorry, Mark.

Hopcroft has taken us deep into a twisting series of waterways that lace the northern edge of Lake Cootharaba, just outside Noosa. Rich in natural resources, this is the traditional domain of the Gubbi Gubbi people, a powerful Indigenous presence from Childers in the north down to Caboolture.

“This is the heart, lungs and brains of the river,” Hopcroft says. “A place of fertility for the Gubbi Gubbi.”

It’s a beguiling spot. When Hopcroft cuts the engines of our flat-bottomed boat, we’re left with just the sound of the breeze drifting through the trees. The water, stained a deep mahogany from an abundance of tea tree oil, slowly calms to produce a mirror image of the surrounding foliage.

Afterwards we zip back south across Lake Cootharaba, itself something of a natural wonder

“This is the heart, lungs and brains of the river“

– 10 kilometres long, five kilometres wide and only a metre and a half deep – to Habitat Noosa Everglades Ecocamp. This has been our home for the past two days – in particular one of the property’s brand new Paperbark Tents, the latest love letter in South East Queensland’s blooming affair with glamping.

Even for boutique camping operations, this is at the higher end, a canvas-sided cabin with landscaped surrounds and views across the wider site towards the lake. Inside are wooden floors, a queen bed and handsome wicker furniture.

Blessedly, there’s also an ensuite bathroom, meaning once you throw your shoes off you won’t need them again until morning.

Glamping has been a major focus for Discovery Tours since the company took over the Elanda Point campground in September last year. Popular for its unspoilt nature and acres of space for unpowered sites, Discovery wanted to avoid growing the business just through sheer numbers.

“People were really concerned about this sleepy little campsite being overrun,” says general manager James Kendall. “Going in the direction of glamping, we can still have the site as is for those that love it but open it up, getting higher yield with less people and less impact on the environment. It’s a smarter way to use the property.”

Kendall says it’s also about adding flexibility to an already enormously popular camping ground.

“It might just be about having something for those who aren’t so much into camping,” ê

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QUEENSLAND GLAMPING he says. “They can come and spend time with friends and family who have set up tents here.

It appeals to those who want the wilderness and not the hassle.”

The makeover doesn’t stop at the Paperbark Tents. On a central site, Kendall and his team have built CootharaBAR, a cosy, inviting bistro lined with hardwood and polished concrete floors. At one end is a blazing fireplace, a welcome addition on Queensland’s deceptively cold winter nights; at the other a bar with its own microbrewery.

We sip on freshly brewed pale ale and order large from a classy gastropub menu of pork, local lamb and fresh seafood. “How is it?” Kendall asks.

We could get used to this, we reply.

Only we can’t. The next morning we take breakfast on the balcony of our cabin, soaking up the views of Cootharaba one final time before loading up the car.

A vine time Our drive south is a straight shot on the Bruce Highway until we reach the foothills of the Sunshine Coast hinterland and climb towards the mountain villages of Montville and Maleny. This is dramatic country, the Maleny-Montville Road running along a narrow ridge with views straight out towards the Pacific Ocean.

There’s a quick stop for lunch on Maleny’s beautiful high street, a couple of beef and burgundy pies from Maple 3 (3 Maple Street;

“The stated goal at Sirromet has always been to put Queensland winemaking on the map“ CAMPING, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

facebook.com/maple3cafe) washed down with coffee from Shotgun Espresso (2/48 Maple Street; shotgunespresso.com.au), before we swoop down the range and back on to the highway. Picking our way around Brisbane’s outer fringes, by mid-afternoon we’re pulling into the parking lot of our next destination, Sirromet Wines.

Sirromet can initially feel like an aberration.

The gentle slopes on which this cellar door, restaurant and cafe sit have never been an epicentre for winemaking. But the winery’s parlour trick is that the vast majority of its vineyards are actually in the Granite Belt, three hours south-west.

The stated goal at Sirromet has always been to put Queensland winemaking on the map.

And owner Terry Morris and his team have gone some way to achieving it, winning more than 900 international and domestic awards since ê

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QUEENSLAND GLAMPING

GETTING BACK TO NATURE, THE E ASY WAY

opening in 2000. But they’ve also had to think outside the box in a market that still sometimes considers Queensland wine an oxymoron.

So you have Restaurant Lurleen’s, a classy fine diner sitting high on the property. And A Day on the Green, a regular music event that pulls thousands down the highway from Brisbane.

Now comes Sanctuary, Sirromet’s brand new glamping experience: 18 tented pavilions lined along the lower reaches of the property overlooking a beautiful, tree-lined lagoon.

We’re shown to our digs, closest to the water. They’re something else, an enormous space boasting a queen bed, lounge area and bureau. The zip-down sides very quickly have you in safari mode even if the back of the pavilion – with its ensuite, wardrobe and well-stocked minibar – might be built more like a cabin.

The details HABITAT NOOSA EVERGL ADES CAMP Lake Flat Road, Elanda Point habitatnoosa.com.au Paperbarks Tents start from $290 per night twin share (rate includes breakfast).

SANCTUARY BY SIRROMET 850 Mount Cotton Road, Mount Cotton sanctuarybysirromet.com Premium Pavilions start from $280 per night twin share (rate includes breakfast).

SPICERS CANOPY Off South Branch Road, Maryvale, Scenic Rim scenicrimtrail.com Spicers’ Scenic Rim Trail starts at $2,190 per person, all inclusive.

We crack open a bottle of chardonnay and enjoy the warm afternoon breeze blowing in from the sea, before climbing the hill to Lurleen’s to experience the restaurant’s extensive, eight-course tasting menu. On a Friday night the place is packed with occasion diners keen to experience chef Mat Fulford’s flair with local and seasonal produce. It gives the vaulted space with its acres of timber a lively, communal buzz.

“All that we do at Sirromet circles back to the wine,” general manager Rod Hill says.

“We’re engaging consumers in a different way, but none of the things would happen if it wasn’t ultimately about the wine.”

Time for some spice The next morning, we take Hill at his word, visiting the cellar door after check-out to taste a bunch of Sirromet’s best varietals.

Then, it’s back on the road, heading west towards Ipswich before swinging on to the Cunningham Highway.

This undulating two-lane blacktop is a major arterial for the tonnes of fresh produce farmed in Queensland’s Darling Downs region and shipped down to Brisbane, the Gold Coast and beyond. Our destination is a little closer, though – Spicers Canopy just on the far side of Cunningham’s Gap. ê

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NEWCASTLE

“High on a plateau, the tents gaze upon the peaks of Main Range National Park“

We pitstop in Mount Alford for lunch at Kooroomba Vineyards and Lavender Farm (168 F M Bells Road; kooroomba.com.au) and an afternoon beer at Scenic Rim Brewery (898 Reckumpilla Street; scenicrimbrewery.com.au), before powering towards the range. In front of us, primordial, vertiginous ridges rise hundreds of metres straight out of the plain. The car drops itself into low gear as the road snakes over the steep mountain pass. Once through the Gap, it’s just a few kilometres of rainforest before we reach the turnoff for Canopy.

Occupying a neat patch of rolling alpine grasslands, Spicers’ play for the glamping dollar at first simply looks like a gussied up group camp. But step inside one of these richly furnished eco-tents and you could almost be in a plantation-themed hotel room, one with polished floorboards and a huge bed decked out in lavish linen.

The real draw is the location. High on the plateau, on the edge of a 26 million-year-old caldera, the tents gaze upon the back peaks of Main Range National Park. In the late afternoon, when we arrive, their craggy escarpments have been struck pink by the setting sun. It’s a stunning sight.

Glamping might be thought of as a couple’s sport, but Canopy goes the other way, reserving itself for hikers on the Spicers Scenic Rim Trail or all-inclusive group packages.

After dropping our bags, we immediately take a glass of champagne and join some of the explorers in a tree-lined hot tub.

They catch us up on their glory stories while massaging stiff thighs and calves.

The rollicking conversation rolls on into dinner in Canopy’s luxuriously furnished central pavilion, before the night ends on low leather couches in front of the fire.

When the conversation dwindles, we start wandering back to our tents. Before turning in, though, we follow the staff recommendation, sitting on the front porch of one of the tents and looking up. Above us, the Milky Way is spread across the night sky like an endless gallery of light.

“Do we have to go home?” someone asks, mesmerised by the heavens. We do, we respond, but we’ll also have to come back.

t ig e r a ir f l ie s to Brisbane from five destinations; tigerair.com.au

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$36 $22

ROUTE MAP

Where to next?

Tigerair Australia serves 12 destinations right across the country

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sydney canberra (act) adelaide

FOR AN UP-TO-THE-MINUTE LIST OF OUR DESTINATIONS, VISIT TIGERAIR.COM.AU

melbourne (tullamarine)

hobart

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TIGERAIR NEWS

Tigertunes winners announced Sydney band, the Kava Kings, have won a slot at Airlie Beach Festival of Music in November

F

or the past few months you might have heard some new music piped through our fleet of Tigerair planes. The Tigertunes initiative gave unsigned artists the chance to have their music played on board as well as be in the running to win a slot on the 2018 line-up of the Airlie Beach Festival of Music.

Sydney band The Kava Kings have taken out the top spot on Tigertunes with their song “Happy Days”. The core of the band is brothers Tom and Chris Smithson, and they have been playing together for five years.

So what sort of music won the day?

“Someone described our sound as ‘crunchy coastal’,” says Tom. “It’s very laid-back and chilled, and it connects with nature and the beaches and that kind of lifestyle.”

That’s exactly the kind of life the brothers live in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire. “We live right on the National Park there, so we spend a lot of time in Garie Beach and all around the coast there,” Tom says. “Even one of our film clips is filmed at Garie Beach, so we are influenced by that.”

The band’s musical influences include Fat Freddy’s Drop, Foals, Phoenix and The Growlers, and they say the chilled

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TIGERTUNES RUNNERS UP Fool Child “Dance On Your Own” The Royce Twins “Picture Perfect” Brad & Brodie “Sky, Land & Sea” Chasing Giants “Till The Night Ends”

atmosphere of Airlie Beach will suit them.

Now in its sixth year, the Airlie Beach Festival of Music is headlined in November by US rockers Smash Mouth, New Zealand’s Dave Dobbyn and Aussie rockers The Church.

Festival organiser Gavin Butlin says the key to the festival’s success is inclusiveness. “We include the whole town and the festival is in town rather

than out in football fields and paddocks,” he says. “We have something for everyone – rock, blues, jazz, and a fair bit of country in there.”

Check out the Kava Kings at facebook. com/thekavakings and instagram. com/thekavakings. The Airlie Beach Festival of Music runs November 9-11; airliebeachfestivalofmusic.com.au

THE TIGERAIR GUIDE TO...

Spring

Celebrate the end of the cold with a trip around the Tigerair network

BY CONNOR MCLEOD

Get wet

Ocean Rafting Check out the new “Fly and Raft” package at the Whitsundays’ thrilling ocean rafting experience. The package offers a 60-minute scenic flight over the islands and Great Barrier Reef, including famous Heart Reef and Whitehaven Beach, then a fun day out on the tropical waters on Ocean Rafting’s Southern Lights or Northern Exposure tour.

Whitsundays oceanrafting.com.au

Big 4 Whitsundays The September school holidays are the perfect time to make the most of the sub-tropical climate and BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach has plenty of

water-based fun. The resort is home to a huge waterslide park specially designed for young families, and the massive overall area of the waterslide park is equivalent to an Olympic swimming pool.

Whitsundays adventurewhitsunday.com.au

Kayaking in Brisbane Explore the Queensland capital’s main river artery on a guided kayak tour from River Life. The experienced guides will take you under the famous Story Bridge and along South Bank. Tours run during the day, or take a night tour and see the skyscrapers reflected in the river.

Brisbane riverlife.com.au

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THE TIGERAIR GUIDE TO...

S P R I N G

THE SPOT

A

Kensington Street, Sydney

s the weather gets warmer you can stroll the back streets of the Kensington Street lifestyle precinct, a collection of high-end dining, street eats, ice cream and cellar doors just a fiveminute walk from Central Station.

There are so many options here.

Taste the rose wines – perfect for a spring tipple – at Handpicked Wines, a unique urban cellar door that sources grapes from all over the world (check out the map on the back wall to see their list of vineyards).

Mekong restaurant takes classics from Myanmar, Thailand and Laos and gives them a date-night spin, with perfectly matched wines. The

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brains behind Mekong is chef Tiw Rakarin, formerly of Mama’s Buoi (Surry Hills) and Alphabet St (Cronulla).

Think crab tacos with a coconut kick, Burmese king prawns with caramelised onions or a soft shell crab masala.

If you want something more casual head to Spice Alley, a bustling take on the hawker market that runs behind Kensington Street’s more refined diners.

Check out Alex Lee Kitchen that is turning out roti (Indian flatbread) teamed with a rich, deep Malaysian-style chicken curry.

Next door, Old Jim Kee is a little slice of Singapore with authentic

char kway teow (stir-fried noodles), a rich, soy sauce-based noodle dish with fresh prawns and spicy chunks of Chinese sausage.

Thai stall Bang Luck is Mekong’s Tiw Rakarin’s street-stall take on south-east Asian cuisine, while Hokie Poke is a fresh twist on Asian salads inspired by the city’s love of a good poke bowl.

To top things off, end the night with a negroni in the bar of The Old Clare, which has updated this old boozer while keeping the oldschool pub interior. And if you are lucky you might be staying in the attached boutique hotel. kensingtonstreet.com.au

THE TIGERAIR GUIDE TO...

S P R I N G

Get out

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The Yarra Valley

Balloon Aloft

Tulip Time Festival

Spring is the perfect time to get back to the valley, and not just for the wine. The Yarra Valley has so much to offer, from boutique gin at Four Pillars to incredible cheese at Yarra Valley Dairy and boutique brews at Coldstream brewery.

There is Herd bar in Healesville and the new Giant Steps winery for lunch. And, of course, the Healesville Sanctuary for the kids.

Melbourne visityarravalley.com.au

Another wine region well worth a look is the Hunter Valley, just a couple of hours north of Sydney.

And one of the best ways to see it is with an early-morning balloon flight over the vineyards with Balloon Aloft. Balloon flights begin at sunrise and take in views of the picturesque wine regions of Pokolbin, Lovedale, Rothbury or Broke.

Sydney balloonaloft.com

The Tulip Time Festival in Bowral is set in the historic Corbett Gardens, located in the centre of Bowral. A program of entertainment – including an Arts Walk and the historic Tulip Time Street Parade on Saturday, September 22 – is included in the festival, along with daily entertainment and activities in Corbett Gardens.

Sydney wsc.nsw.gov.au

SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL

Book your stay directly with us and receive 10% off our Best Available Rate.

Apply booking code I-RETURN when booking on Radisson.com/sydneyau or contact our reservations team. In addition receive a complimentary upgrade if you mention Tiger in-flight magazine at the time of booking. |Subject to Availability| Terms & Conditions Apply| Black-out Dates Apply|

Radisson Hotel & Suites Sydney 72 Liverpool Street Sydney 2000 reservations@radisson-sydney.com.au | +61 2 8268 8888

THE TALE END

Let your pictures tell a story We want your photos on the Tigerair Australia Instagram feed.

Add the hashtag #tigerairau to your travel snaps and they could appear as part of Tigerair’s social media.

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#tigerairau We would love to see your pictures, so use this hashtag when you travel with us!

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3

‘‘We loved arriving in style’’ Bec & Sam

Chauffeur services now available EAU0482

Experience the luxury and convenience of a chauffeur driven private transfer.

Whether it’s for a wedding, school formal, or special event, enjoy the VIP treatment with Europcar Global Driver Services.

To book visit europcar.com.au/driver * Velocity membership and Points earn are subject to the Member Terms and Conditions, available at velocityfrequentflyer.com

Handcrafted in the Adelaide Hills

Travelling to Adelaide? Love Gin? Come Visit the Distillery!

We’re Open 11am - 4pm Daily.

24 Victoria St - Gumeracha www.applewooddistillery.com.au