Australia’s most romantic holidays: Eight unforgettable escapes that will have you popping the question
Heart-lifting sunsets, wilderness cabins just for two, fresh oysters and local wines with more sparkle than a diamond ring. Lovers, take a leap into the unknown with these eight unforgettable escapes across Australia that will have you popping the question: why didn’t we go sooner?
Stanley. Tasmania
On an island of pretty villages, Stanley is top of the class for its brooding skies, marina of fishing boats, sweet main drag of historic shopfronts and The Nut, a 30-million-year-old basalt plug that dominates the skyline. Walk up or cheat and catch the chairlift, before coming down for a dinner of fresh crayfish at the recently renovated Hursey’s restaurant, run by a local fishing family. Despite its population of just 600, this little beauty does a roaring trade in uber-romantic stays, including the boutique Ship Inn, and a brace of turn-of-the-century stone cottages and secluded B&Bs, for windy nights best spent by an open fire and a heartwarming glass of Tassie red. See stanley.com.au, discovertasmania.com.au, shipinnstanley.com.au
Heart Reef, Queensland
The iconic Heart Island along the Great Barrier Reef.Credit: Salty Wings
The beating heart of the Great Barrier Reef lies 78km northwest of Airlie Beach; Heart Reef is a sweet little coral cay surrounded by limpid, turquoise waters. Ring poppers keep the local heli pilots in business here – it’s only a 30-minute flight from Hamilton Island, and while it’s beautiful from above, it’s even more beautiful from a fish-eye perspective. While you can’t swim directly onto the cay, you can get close on kayaks if you’ve booked the Bond-esque Journey to the Heart experience from Hamilton Island, which includes a flyover of the world’s most beautiful strip of sand, Whitehaven Beach, before landing on the nearby Heart Island pontoon, where you can explore the rich marine life around Heart Reef (or simply admire from the pontoon, champagne in hand). See hamiltonisland.com.au, queensland.com
Eden, NSW
The Blue Pool, Eden.Credit: Destination NSW
Walk to waterfalls, find a picnicworthy hidden cove or that perfect rockpool for a cooling dip (psst, it’s at Aslings Beach). Set on the Sapphire Coast in southern NSW, Eden lives up to its name. NSW’s most southerly town is also one of the best places in Australia to watch humpbacks on their life journeys. Otherwise, dawdle at cafes set by the sparkling water’s edge, take a slow, boardwalk ramble, bottle your own gin or take a short walk to the 23-million-year-old cliffs Pinnacles. Note to self: the Sapphire Coast is famous for its oysters. Eat up, Romeo! See visitnsw.com.au, sapphirecoast.com.au
Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Thorngrove Manor, South Australia.Credit: SATC
The cool, wooded hillsides of the Adelaide Hills are only 30 minutes’ drive from Adelaide’s hot, flat plains, where rows of neat, cool-climate pinot noir and chardonnay vines provide the backdrop for Gothic castles and historic boutique hotels, and tiny cabins just for two. Spend the day lunching on wide verandahs in world-class wineries and sauntering between the vines. Make sure to add a stop at Sidewood Estate, in the Hills’ most quaint town, Harndorf, to master the art of sabrage (whipping the top of a bottle of sparkling wine with a sword); practice on its Nearly Naked zero-alcohol sparkling wine. See southaustralia.com, sidewood.com.au
Watarrka National Park, Northern Territory
The spectacular Kings Canyon rim walk in Watarrka National Park.Credit: Tourism NT
Dangerously beautiful, the jewel of the Watarrka National Park has always been Kings Canyon, whose views on its six-kilometre Rim Walk are guaranteed to make hearts sing. From April, a new reason to visit is Light-Towers, the latest light installation by artist Bruce Munro, best known for his Field of Light installation at Uluru. Wander between the 69 colour-changing pillars of light on dusk, listening to the music as it blends with the soundscape of this 400-million-year-old landscape. Camp, glamp or ramp it up with a spa suite in the low-key accommodation sequestered within this ancient desert, for a timeless journey, together. See northernterritory.com
Lovers Falls, Tasmania
The majestic Pieman River.Credit: Discover Tasmania
The lush, temperate rainforest of takanya/the Tarkine harbours a secret: Lovers Falls, which is reached by an hour’s paddling on a kayak up the Pieman River from the old mining town of Corinna, now an eco-tourism village. Hidden amongst giant ferns, Lovers Falls is a natural spot for proposals and even weddings – sure you can fit a frock in a kayak – it’s a short, steep hike up a stairwell off the river’s edge to the hidden waterfalls. If paddling doesn’t pump your (love) heart, sail past the Huon pines up to the falls’ entrance on the Sweetwater cruiser. See corinna.com.au, discovertasmania.com.au
Wirruwana/Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia
Dirk Hartog Island National Park in the Shark Bay World Heritage Site.
Watch as Australia’s last sunset dips into the Indian Ocean from the high cliffs of the west coast of Wirruwana/Dirk Hartog Island. As far as romantic sunsets go, it’s pretty hard to beat on this island renowned for its blowholes, loggerhead turtles and determination to wind the clock back 400 years to the pristine ecological state that Dutch captain Dirk Hartog would have seen. Except this time round, there is an eco-lodge and don’t-rough-it camping (cue to hot showers, baristas and mixologists). Love the one you’re with, but also love gin? You may be on a remote island, but the westernmost bar in Australia also serves Inscription Gin, infused with botanicals harvested from the island. See dirkhartogisland.com, westernaustralia.com
Gariwerd/Grampians National Park, Victoria
The Boroka Lookout in the Grampians.Credit: Visit Victoria
Serene, historical, and well off the beaten track, gariwerd/Grampians National Park is a pretty, three-hour drive north-west of Melbourne. The beauty of gariwerd is that while you can take 13 days to hike the whole, new 160km track, with a night in its impossibly romantic Werdug huts, you can also stay in a remote cabin or country pubs at any of the towns and villages on its perimeter, and dip in and out of the park on one-hour, one-day adventures as the whim takes. Perhaps a sunset spent at Reed Lookout, or sunrise at Boroka Lookout. Marry with dinner at the hatted Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, rock-art viewing at Stawell and plenty of wine tasting. See visitgrampians.com.au, visitvictoria.com.au
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