A million miles from the cans of Fosters and shrimps on barbies, Australia is a nation of out-and-out food and wine lovers, and is leading the way with its culinary delights.
From its highly modern and open approach to elegant nouveau style and fusion food, to the beautiful wine regions of Hunter Valley and Margaret River and of course, their love affair with coffee (they even invented their own – the flat white) Australia is an endless gastronomic treasure trove to truly tickle your taste buds.
fresh fusion flavours
ku-ring-gai national park
Australia is without a doubt the king of fusion food. Heavily influenced by its Asian neighbours in China, Japan and Thailand (to name a few) it’s no wonder that over recent years Australia has built up a reputation as the ultimate melting pot for cross-styled exotic cuisines. It’s bending rules and breaking foodie boundaries like nowhere else on Earth. So if the sound of racy Riesling with hot chilli mud crab, or a crocodile sausage with wattle seed sauce gets you salivating, this could be your kind of place.
With world leading restaurants all the over the country you really are spoilt for choice. Our top tip for the ultimate in fine-dining in an unrivalled setting? It has to be Sydney’s Cottage Point Inn in Cowan Creek. Accessed only by sea plane and surrounded by the 15,000-hectare Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, this is a true hidden gem in Sydney’s culinary crown. Tuck in to the likes of pan fried Hawkesbury river squid in a squid ink risotto. Mmm… amazing.
barossa vineyards
wondrous wine regions
When it comes to wine, Australia certainly more than mixes it up there with the big boys. With their nation now the fourth largest wine exporter in the world Australians guzzle down on average 22 litres of the good stuff per head every year. And who can blame them? With some of the world’s top vineyards on their door step it would be rude not to right?
From the sumptuous Semillon grown in the birthplace of Aussie wine: Hunter Valley and the world famous Shiraz varieties of Clare Valley, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley in South Australia, to the prize winning Cabernets and Chenin blancs of Western Australia’s Margaret River, there’s a whole new world of grape goodness out there to explore. (get it?)
Our top tip for the perfect wineland adventure? Beautifully nestled between rolling hills and some of the countries most pristine beaches the McLaren Vale is the perfect place to hop into a car (classic, naturally) and drive from vineyard to vineyard taking in the stunning scenery and sampling some the best wines in the business. Just don’t forget to spit them out when you’re done.
modern pukka tukka
juicy witchetty grub
Witchety grubs, mud crabs and Moreton Bay Bugs. Sound appealing? Ok, maybe not the food that first pops into your head when you think of Aussie fine dining. But in Australia you have a unique opportunity to take your taste buds on a 50,000 year journey back in time to explore the food that sustained Aboriginal people for thousands of years.
Don’t worry; it’s not all bursting bugs and crunching insects. In recent years ‘Bush Tucker’ has been overhauled to become a rather more refined affair. Some of the nation’s top restaurants, featuring some of its leading chefs, have started to ‘update’ modern cuisine by using traditional indigenous methods and ingredients. Another step in Australia’s ever evolving culinary history.
You can experience the best of Australian food and wine on our Alternative reefs and world class wines experience, or on our Luxury swag camping and fine wines experience.
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