Australia's best kept retreats exposed

nobody@vox.com(reneena davidson) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:58:34 -0800

Retreats in Australia’s outback let eco-adventurers and wine lovers alike – of all levels and abilities – get off the grid in style with these getaways that shout, Visit me!

This country isn’t just worth visiting only because of the kangaroos but because of it’s outback retreats and wine-producing towns.

For the adventure seekers

PleaseTakeMeTo Flinders Ranges and Outback

Trek the Flinders Ranges National Park which is north of Adelaide. This 950 square kilometre park encompasses 1,118 meter-high peaks, craggy mudstone and shale, and wildlife spotted plains. You can also get an up-close view of 650-million-year-old fossils in Wilpena Pound, an 8,000-hectare amphitheatre.

For hiking beginners, this park is the best place to put those newly-purchased hiking boots into use as this park has a very accommodating staff armed with trail advice and detailed maps for your walk which would take from 30 minutes to 5 hours starting at the Rawnsley Park Station. Your route will begin from the Pine Caves loop leading up a moderately steep path, across the Kangaroo Creek then reaching up to the rocky hollow of the Ulowdna range.

If you’re feet gets tired, then the 20-minute plane ride over Lake Eyre, which is Australia’s largest salt lake is the next best option which Flinders range also offers. Biking is also a luxury activity here with more than 8,000 kilometers of backroads and forest tracks along the Mawson trail which extends from Flinders Range to the Baroosa wine valley.

For the wine-lovers

Healsville

An outback environment such as Australia isn’t short of good wine. Healsville, Yarra Valley’s unofficial capital, is approximately 50 kilometers of Melbourne. This is that city where Hunter Valley is to Sydney, a wine collector’s paradise. This place boasts of its Chardonnays and Pinot-Noirs.

You can sample local vintages at the Innocent Bystander Winery which is a new, modern wine-making operation complete with in-house bakery and restaurant. Surprising global dishes- tagine of whole chicken with pear barley and pomenegrate are paired with well-balanced wines produced with grapes grown on the surrounding 335-meter high slopes.

For filmmakers

First Pulse (2007)

Hollywood isn’t only the best place to make films nor that Bollywood is its closest rival. Australia’s Shootout Geelong 24-hour fillmmaking festival takes the creative juices of budding filmmakers into the greatest test. As the name suggests, the contestants race against time to create the most sensible and thought-provoking 7-minute short films of any theme in exactly 24 hours, with editing included with no access to high-tech editing studios. Above is a clip from a short film during last year's festival.

And what’s the thing that has been kept under wraps? You can actually fly to Australia and spend 7 nights for free as well. Yes, it’s not going to be for the weekend but a week-long stay. People view this country as quite an expensive place to stay, where you’ll only see hopping kangaroos but as what I have discovered and wrote above, this continent has more to offer than what most perceive it to give.

Australia can be a great escape from the smog and fast-paced lifestyle we endure every single day, if you know exactly where to go there.

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Australia's best kept retreats exposed