You can get there fast with the American Express Explorer card, but where is ‘there’? If a long weekend is approaching, here’s a guide to five fantastic places around the country you can escape to.
This article is presented by the American Express Explorer Card.Want to get there now? With 100,000 Bonus Points* when you sign up for the Explorer Card and spend AU$1,500 in the first three months, you can take full advantage of long weekends. Offer ends 15 May 2017.
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The Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills
Long lunches your thing? The Hills are calling, offering an oasis of cellar doors and boutique accommodation just half an hour east of Adelaide. Stay in any number of the region’s cottages (Apple Tree Cottage is one such charmer), but spend your days tasting in the sun at Deviation Road, The Lane Vineyard and Barratt Wines and nights feasting under the moon (The Bridgewater Mill or Mount Lofty Ranges are two good picks). Don’t miss The Summertown Aristologist (pictured), a seriously relaxed wine bar/eatery/hangout created by local winemakers Anton Von Klopper and Jasper Button. Bucolic heaven.
Hobart
Hobart
David Walsh’s iconoclastic Museum of Old and New Art is still the major interstate drawcard, but there’s plenty to do in Hobart after you’ve experienced the internationally acclaimed art collection and a meal at MONA’s in-house restaurant The Source. The Hobart waterfront is packed with bars, restaurants and cafes to explore, and Salamanca Market is a must on a Saturday morning. Don’t miss dinner at Franklin, where chef David Moyle offers a seafood-focused menu that leans on native and local produce. Outside the city there are many idyllic bushwalks and hiking trails up Mount Wellington. If staying at MONA’s brilliant Pavilions isn’t an option, book a room at Lenna’s or the Hadley’s Orient Hotel for two of the best combinations of convenience and aesthetics.
Broome
Broome
A hop, skip and a jump through Perth, Broome’s isolation makes up a large part of its charm. Up here it’s either the wet or the dry season, so pick your time to travel – but once you arrive you’ll be blessed with unspoiled natural beauty, fresh local seafood and superb accommodation catering to all budgets. Stay at Eco Beach for solar-powered comfort or the Cable Beach Club (pictured) for centrality and style, but some of the many Broome essentials include the Willie Creek pearl farm tour, beach camel rides, a visit to Matso’s brewery for Mango beer, and watching the sunset over the Indian ocean with a tropical cocktail in hand.
NSW South Coast
NSW South Coast
Small-town hospitality, glorious produce and a beautiful shoreline collide in this largely unsung region of Australia; the vibe is so comprehensively relaxing that to pick a single town almost seems too hard. In Merimbula, stay at Coast Resort, with coffee at Bar Beach Kiosk; in Mollymook it’s Bannisters (pictured) for pristine comforts and Rick Stein’s blue-eye trevalla. Or you can go rustic at Eurobadalla’s The Bower accommodation, which also offers kayak tours and mountain biking. Hiking, sunbaking and Oyster Trailing is what it’s all about down here.
Daylesford
Daylesford
Eighty minutes from Melbourne is this wondrous spa town, where spiritual and physical rejuvenation are coupled with delicious local cuisine and a thriving wine culture. Go Macedon Ranges for the full breadth of the Pinot experience, or Herbal Lore Liqueurs for single malt whiskey and alcoholic cure-alls. Stay at the Lake House (pictured) and be sure to dine there-from Moreton Bay bug agnolotti to Patagonian toothfish, its reputation is well-deserved-but don’t miss The Farmers Arms for a pub meal to write home about. Gastronomy needs exercise; walk it off on the Great Dividing Trail or, a short drive later, at Hanging Rock (where picnics are finally back in vogue), and finish off with some supreme pampering at Mineral Spa. This is how long weekends should be.
