Australian Traveller

Packed with honest reviews and inspiring travel stories, Australian Traveller is the most authoritative and trusted guide to travelling this great country. It's no wonder that it's Australia's best-selling travel magazine.

Editor’s letter

AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLER

EXPLORE MORE • Home to gold rush TOWNS, captivating coasts, world-class vineyards and ancient BEAUTY, Victoria’s regions are ready for DISCOVERY and adventure.

IDLE IN BLISS

WISH YOU WERE HERE • TRAIL OF LIGHTS, MILDURA

PILLOW TALK • We round up the LUXE, the LOVELY and the LATEST places to stay in REGIONAL Victoria.

WINE & DINE • There’s no shortage of EXCEPTIONAL eateries in regional Victoria. From CASUAL classics to finely tuned FINE diners, here’s OUR PICK of the plentiful bunch.

EPIC ICONS • From NATURAL WONDERS to historical sites, we’ve rounded up Victoria’s most epic icons that DESERVE a place on your ITINER ARY.

TOUR DE FORCE • Get around the natural BEAUTY and bounty of REGIONAL Victoria on a guided TOUR that reveals extraordinary moments from COAST to COUNTRY.

MUSSEL up in Portarlington • Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of EXCEPTIONAL shellfish used by top CHEFS far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished TRAWLER to see how these PLUMP and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated, just as Chloe Cann did.

A BARGAIN FOR HISTORY • The PASSIONATE community that saved Bendigo TRAMWAYS has kept the story of this city ALIVE for generations, discovers Megan Arkinstall.

ROAD TRIPPIN’

HIP TOWN Castlemaine • After making a TREE CHANGE six years ago, Jocelyn Pride discovers this well-preserved GOLD RUSH town is where an idyllic COUNTRY vibe meets the best of CITY living.

Soak & Stay • From GEOTHERMAL pools and luxury spa sanctuaries, Victoria’s MINERAL-RICH waters and RESTORATIVE landscapes offer total RENEWAL. Katie Carlin explores the best wellness escapes.

SLOW CHARMS • Once a SERVICE TOWN for gold miners, Healesville has evolved into a DESTINATION brimming with CHARACTER.

The birth of surf • Torquay’s ICONIC Bells Beach is considered one of the best surf BEACHES in the WORLD. Craig Tansley EXPLORES how it came to DEFINE Aussie surf culture.

PUMP AND PEDAL • A town charmingly paused in TIME has become a HOT mountain BIKING destination, finds Craig Tansley.

THE COAST with the MOST • The Mornington Peninsula is a COASTLINE of contrasts, where convict and military HISTORY meets shipwrecks, WILD SEAS, and ADVENTURES above and below the surface, says Kellie Floyd.

The BEAUTY BENEATH • Mythical, HISTORICAL and most of all, spectacularly beautiful, BUCHAN CAVES demands you TAKE your time (and a tour), reveals Michael Turtle.

WIMMERA Mallee Lakescapes • From PINK salt landscapes to OASES fringed by forests of red gums, the LAKES of this RURAL region are astounding, writes Craig Tansley.

ANCIENT FOOTSTEPS • From ANCIENT aquaculture systems to SACRED rock art shelters, Victoria’s First Peoples cultural experiences offer a powerful CONNECTION to one of the world’s oldest living cultures – where every site, story and smoking CEREMONY invites a deeper understanding of the LAND beneath your feet.

TRIPS and TRAILS • Wind through FERN TUNNELS, stop for a wine in a TRAM BAR, or chase GIANT MURALS across the wheatbelt. These DRIVES AND RIDES prove Victoria’s best stories are found off the straight and narrow.

GOLDEN ERA

KEYS to the RIVER • SLOW down and find your RHYTHM on a Murray River JOURNEY through TIME and place.

PIVOT CITY • Abandoned mills and FORGOTTEN paper plants are finding SECOND lives – and helping REDEFINE a city long underestimated.

ONE PERFECT ESCAPE • The...