The idea of cruising down the Mooloolaba canals, eating the famous Mooloolaba prawns while sipping on beer and champagne sits really nicely with us.
But it’s not just the seafood that brings the local theme to Saltwater Ecotours’ boat cruises on the Sunshine Coast. Their vision is to “establish a unique marine experience that would inspire a deeper connection to Indigenous culture and the ocean.”
The cultures of both Torres Strait Islander and the local Kabi Kabi people are explored and explained in detail on this two-hour cruise, set on a beautifully restored, century-old sailing vessel.
There’s a variety of different cruises they offer, with subtle differences depending on what you’re after from your experience.
As well as all that $1.50 of each ticket to the Southern Ocean Carbon Company, a carbon mitigating company with a focus on growing seaweed in the oceans of Southern Australia. So you can cruise along with a champagne in one hand and a prawn in the other, and know you’re doing your bit for Mother Earth. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Located 200km north of Broome (which is pretty remote as it is) an untouched paradise awaits travellers on the completely Aboriginal owned and operated Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours.
Led by Jawi woman Roseanna Angus, find out about the mission that ran here until 1962, and about the extraordinary cultures of the neighbouring Bardi and Jawi people.
From Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, you retrace (by boat) the ocean journey from Bardi Country on the mainland, and through the network of islands and tidal passages that make up Jawi Country, navigating massive tides, whirlpools and eddies.
Gorgeous white sand flanked by clear turquoise waters awaits at Sunday Island, where there is the opportunity to drop a line or go for a swim.
Nestled in between a heap of sandalwood trees, Talbot Lodge is a no frills building of simplistic beauty that reflects the simplistic beauty of nearby town, York.
The oldest inland town in Western Australia, York sits on Ballardong Nyoongar land next to the Avon River.
There’s no shortage of timber in this part of the world, something the builder of the Lodge was clearly aware of. Rustic timber floors and a cathedral ceiling sandwich artful timber-panelled walls, and it all works so nicely.
There are two fireplaces on the inside and a fire pit on the outside, so it’d be remarkable if you ever got cold. There’s a chef’s kitchen to create, and a gorgeous verandah to kick back and listen to the trees rustling and the cockatoos calling.
Hector’s Deli is fast becoming a legendary fixture of Melbourne’s inner-east. While its owners have worked at fine dining royalty like Attica, Stokehouse and more, here they have managed to maintain a focus on keeping things simple; an uncomplicated menu features no more than five or six sandwiches at any time, comprising of fairly standard combinations (HCT, schnitzel, fried mushroom).
Yet these sangas consist of fresh ingredients and are meticulously sculpted, so much that this café’s unusually residential setting often has queues snaking through the streets.
Get in early.
*Hector’s were bringing their delicious sangas to a new location in Coventry Street, South Melbourne, mid-year, only to be thwarted by the pandemic.
After some sleuthing on their Instagram it appears this is now scheduled for (COVID dependent) early October.
The best part of this little architecturally designed hideaway is the secret access point through the trees via a swing bridge. As the sun drops and the birds call, you can either sit by a roaring fire or with a wine in your own private outdoor cedar bathtub.
And if you prefer a steam over a soak, don’t worry, because your delightful ‘Nest makers’ at Nest Treehouses (Liz and Andy) have literally thought of everything.
There’s even a luxury cedar sauna you can use with uninterrupted canopy views.
As if we needed another reason to visit Tassie, the team behind Forty Spotted Gin have just gone and opened a bar. Hidden away from Hobart’s main strip, the venue is a work of art, and has been built using thousands of individual pieces of timber joined together to symbolise the nest of a forty-spotted pardalote – one of the Apple Isle’s rarest birds and the gin brand’s namesake.
The entire Forty Spotted range is available to sip and sample, including the just-released half-strength Raspberry and Rose, plus there’s an impressive collection of more than 20 unique gins from right across the world. You can even book a 90-minute gin-blending masterclass at the ‘Ginstitute’, and take home your very own bespoke bottle of the good stuff.
The name says it all, really. Canberra’s cool new bottle shop-meets-bar is a mecca for lovers of quirky, out-of-this-world wines, especially varietals that are natural and organic. With a simple brick frontage it’s unassuming from the outside, and just as relaxed once you step inside, making it the perfect place for a cheeky after work drink or lazy Sunday sesh, or to quickly pop into on your way to dinner, when it’s BYO and you need to impress with a fancy drop.
Nibbles come in the form of marinated olives, La Luna Holy Goat Cheeses, Ortiz anchovies and charcuterie platters, which can be enjoyed at the huge communal table or even across the road at Hassett Park. Our pick of the vinos? You can’t go past the house rosé – thank us later.
Don’t be surprised if the name Slow Lane Brewing rings a bell. You’ve probably seen the cute, candy-coloured tinnies at your local independent bottle shop, and with some luck you’ve even tried – and most likely loved – one of the popular sours or pale ales. If that’s the case, you’ll be stoked to hear this husband and wife-owned brewery has just opened the doors to its Botany based warehouse and taproom.
Be prepared to do a double take at the wall lined with wine barrels (Slow Lane ferment many of its beers in aged oak barrels – it’s a European thing), before settling at one of the tables to enjoy a delicious froff, including a hoppy sour ale brewed using an experimental yeast strain discovered growing on a tree in a Philadelphia graveyard. Yep, that’s a thing.
Just when you thought Melbourne couldn’t possibly have any vacant rooftops left to spare, along comes Harlow. Formerly the Great Britain Hotel, after a handy 1.3 million-dollar refurb this new space is ready to go, and believe us when we say, she’s a real beauty.
With a capacity for 200 people (without restrictions, of course), there are plenty of spots to perch and either sip a Rockstar – an exclusive rooftop-only cocktail of watermelon-infused tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, watermelon simple syrup and chilli salt or knock back a parma or burger. They also do a boozy bottomless lunch, which we all know is the cool thing to do right now. But it’s the sweeping, uninterrupted city views that will have you returning time and time again.
The 80s are back, baby, but this time they’re cool! Neon Palms is a Miami Vice-inspired, pastel coloured fever dream serving up frozen slushies, a synth-heavy soundtrack and guaranteed good times. Located in the trendy Perth suburb of Northbridge, it’s the brainchild of hospitality pals Hayden Carter and Sasha Fagan, who met bartending at the Ritz-Carlton Perth and share a love of the whole Miami-in-the-80s aesthetic.
There are private booths to cosy up in, an outdoor courtyard lined with AstroTurf and custom neon signs adorning the walls, while the lurid-looking (and no doubt, tequila heavy) cocktails match the décor perfectly. If hunger strikes, Brazilian chef Marcelo Kretzer is dishing out mean Cubano sandwiches, and his signature homemade empanadas are an absolute must-eat.
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