15-Nights Southern Escape & Northern Retreats

Port Douglas

From the stunning sweep of its 4 Mile Beach to the wilderness of Dicksons Inlet, the world famous seaside village of Port Douglas has become an international holiday mecca. Port Douglas has a distinctive "laid back" low rise tropical old world charm, with an extensive range of accommodations and international shops and restaurants. It also offers extensive touring and cruise options with its magnificent marina and close proximity to world heritage rainforests. In Port Douglas you can also chose from activities and attractions such as bicycle riding, swimming, relaxing on magnificent 4 mile beach, shopping the exotic and colorful Sunday markets, the Shipwreck museum, the award winning Rainforest Habitat with its unique native flora and fauna, and a ride on the old sugar cane train. The Port Douglas hinterland extends to the sugar cane town of Mossman with picturesque golf course, rainforest walking tracks and swimming in the cool mountain streams of Mossman Gorge.

Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is a maze of hidden laneways, opulent bars, exclusive restaurants and off-the-beaten-track boutiques. Here you can soak up culture, hit the sporting grounds, taste the dynamic food and wine scene, dance til dawn or wander the parks and leafy boulevards. Visit Federation Square, the city's landmark cultural space, and enjoy a sunset beer on the St Kilda promenade. Shop till you drop on funky Brunswick Street or upmarket Chapel Street. Wander Southbank's cafes, bistros and bars and get a world tour of cuisines in Carlton, Richmond and Fitzroy. Take an Aboriginal Heritage Walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens and cheer with a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Five Must-Have Melbourne Experiences:

1. Shop till you drop

Bag a bargain at the Rose Street Artist's Market and browse the funky boutiques on Brunswick Street. Buy designer labels such as Akira Isogawa and Zimmerman on Chapel Street in Prahran or in the historic Melbourne General Post Office, which covers an entire city block. For everything from fashion to furnishings at fantastic value, visit Bridge Road in Richmond. Melbourne is a shopper's haven, offering eclectic boutiques, high-end fashion, funky homeware stores and European style piazzas in the city's arcades and hidden laneways.

2. Bar hop and dance till dawn

Sip a cocktail in a converted sea container in Chinatown, enjoy a sunset beer in a St Kilda pub or listen to cabaret in lush retro surroundings in jazz bars in the city. Linger over exquisite tapas and exotic wine in a Little Collins Street bar and mingle in a pink parlour with fake grass in Bourke Street. You can party from dusk in the bars of Brunswick Street. Or dance till dawn in bars in the city's lantern-lit laneways, secret apart from the spill of coloured light under heavy brass doors.

3. Get into the gourmet goodness

Let the aroma of good coffee waft over you in Melbourne's gothic European laneways. The city is famous for its coffee and old-world café culture but there's so much more to explore. Once you've downed a 'short black' or taken an afternoon aperitif, try tea in a nineteenth-century hotel or salivate over your silver spoon in acclaimed restaurants like Nobu, Botanical and Becco. Pick up fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood at the Queen Victoria Market on a Saturday, known for its bustling crowds and buskers. Try out the restaurants, cafes, bistros and bars in Southbank or Federation Square. Make your way around Melbourne's multicultural cosmos of cuisines: Carlton for Italian classics, Richmond for budget-friendly Vietnamese and Fitzroy for Spanish tapas.

4. Fill up on culture

See a performance by the Australian Ballet, which is based here in Australia's cultural capital. Or enjoy a dazzling musical at the Princess Theatre. Browse the Southern Hemisphere's best collection of international art at the National Gallery of Victoria. Or visit the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Federation Square, a landmark cultural 'space' for Melbournians. Challenge yourself with the creative collections in the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Southbank. To learn more about Melbourne's Aboriginal cultural heritage, see contemporary and dreamtime art or take an Aboriginal Heritage Walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

5. Go sports mad

Cheer for an Australian Rules Football game with a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over winter. Go cricket mad in summer, when the city hosts the Ashes and one day internationals. Or join the huge crowds watching the Australian Tennis Open at Melbourne Park. Rev heads head to Melbourne in March for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Albert Park. And whether you are a racing fan or just a casual punter, you won't want to miss the Melbourne Cup - the world's richest horse race on the first Tuesday in November.

Port Campbell

Port Campbell is an attractive, quiet windswept little fishing village set on a natural gorge at the mouth of Campbells Creek. The population of about 200 regulars is regularly inflated with visitors because of its proximity to some of the finest coastal scenery in the state. The village is half an hour away from London Bridge (what is left of it!), Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles. This small town has grown, almost unwillingly, because of the district's attractions. It has a small number of motels and restaurants and a pleasant beach and jetty.

Port Fairy

Beautiful Port Fairy has retained much of its colonial architecture, providing visitors with a fascinating insight into the history of one of Victoria's earliest ports. On a drive into this charming Shipwreck Coast town in Moyne Shire, the number and variety of historic buildings is strikingly evident.

Port Lincoln

Renown for its seafood, mild temperatures and the large, peaceful Boston Bay it rests within, Port Lincoln is ideally located with a wide variety of shopping, dining and outdoor activities. Venture to taste the regional wines at the Boston Bay Winery or the Delacolline Estate Wines, or visit the Nautilus Theatre, where the old Civil Hall complex has been renovated to house two art galleries and a theatre. Get out on the water along Eyre Peninsula with stand up paddle-boarding or kite-boarding lessons, or take the kids to the Glen Forest Park, featuring mini-golf, petting zoos, snack shops and picnic areas. Retreat from town along the Investigator Walking Trail, which snakes along the coastline of the Eyre Peninsula to inhale the fresh sea breeze, unwind at the Roseview Gardens - two acres of flora and fauna to explore and tea rooms to relax in -, or drive up to the Winters Hill Lookout up the Flinders Highway to catch amazing views of the bay, Boston Island and Port Lincoln.

Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is located in South Australia, approximately 70 km from Adelaide, the state’s capital city. The Barossa Valley has something to do for everyone – trails for cycling and walking, shopping, galleries and museums, golf, and a range of enjoyable options for families. The Barossa is world-famous for its wine culture and rich food heritage, and the valley is said to hold some of the oldest Shiraz vines in the world.

Robe

No information currently available.