Escape artists: When travel & art collide

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Unleash your inner creative with these well-crafted itineraries

Shoot scenery on safari Bamurru Plains, NT

Join Lonely Plant photographer Richard I’Anson on a photography expedition based at Top End luxury lodge, Bamurru Plains . Expect incredible landscapes, prolific wildlife and a verrrry comfy bed each night. 5–9 April, $4899 per person, twin-share. 5 days

Study wine with a side of wilderness, Faraway Bay, WA

Learn the secrets of winemaking (and maybe taste one or two…) with acclaimed viticulturist Larry Cherubino at luxe Kimberley nature camp, Faraway Bay . Wines each evening will be paired with the fish you caught that day. 29 July–2 August, $5540 per person. 4 days

Paint the Pilbara, Karijini National Park, WA

If you’ve ever wanted to visit the ridiculously beautiful waterholes and gorges of Karijini National Park, this is a top notch way to do it. Archibald People’s Choice winner Jenny Sages will hand-hold you through landscape drawing or painting as part of Paint the Pilbara . 23–29 May, $3250 per person. 5 days

Capture Channel Country by 4WD, Beyond Longreach, Qld

Explore the unrivalled outback landscape of the Channel Country and Simpson Desert through your own lens. With guided tuition, capture exceptional images and explore this sunburnt country in a whole new light. 20–27 October, $3999 per person, twin-share. See blue-dog.com.au 8 days

Master bush food at Uluru, NT, one day

Head to our Red Centre for the inaugural three-day Tjungu Festival at Voyagers Ayers Rock Resort and you’ll connect with a smorgasborg of all things creative: cultural dance workshops, indigenous art and, our favourite, a masterclass on cooking and eating bush food. 24–27 April, free. 1 day

 

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This geological wonder is hiding in the heart of Victoria

    Michael Turtle Michael Turtle
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    Mythical, historical and most of all, spectacularly beautiful, Buchan Caves demands you take your time – and a tour. 

    In the pools of water, so still they could be mirrors, the reflections of the stalactites make these limestone towers seem even taller. Almost 400 million years ago, an underground river carved through the rock to create the Buchan Caves . Now, artworks created by dripping water adorn these subterranean galleries: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, pillars connecting some to the ground, even curtain-like wave formations clinging to the stone.

    Caves House
    Visit the caves for the day or stay onsite in the campground or at the self-contained Caves House. (Image: Ben Savage)

    “This is called the Fairy Cave because it’s full of fairy dust,” a guide tells visitors as they enter a cavern glittering with “calcite that’s solidified into thousands of tiny little diamond shapes”.  Buchan Caves is Victoria’s largest cave system, but Fairy Cave is a highlight and, along with nearby Royal Cave, is accessible only by tour. Naturally cold, naturally dark, these caverns deep below the surface light up as the local experts tell their stories. 

    couple walking in cave
    You’ll need to book a guided tour to see the caves. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the hundreds of caves, some can be easily accessed from the surface. For instance, a casual stroll along the FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk, as kangaroos watch on from beneath acacia trees, leads into the 400-metre-long Federal Cave and its natural steps of white limestone. A slightly longer track, the Granite Pools Walk heads through soaring forest down into moss-covered gullies where the calls of lyrebirds trill through the leaves. 

    A quick history lesson on Buchan Caves 

    Buchan Caves
    Buchan Caves are a must-visit attraction in Gippsland. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the geology and the nature are millennia of history. This part of East Gippsland connects the high country to the coast and was long a place of refuge for the local Gunaikurnai people on seasonal migrations to the mountains. Archaeological studies show humans lived here up to 18,000 years ago, with artefacts such as small stone tools found around the site. But not too far into the caverns – oh no! The Gunaikurnai didn’t dare venture deep into the dark at Buchan Caves, telling stories they were inhabited by gnome-like nyols (small grey-skinned creatures that could steal memories). 

    Buchan Caves Hotel
    The Buchan Caves Hotel was rebuilt after burning down in 2014. (Image: Jess Shapiro)

    By the early 1900s, more people had started to hear about these incredible caves and so the Moon family set up home at the site and started to run tours below ground for intrepid visitors. More than a century later, their historic residence is available as accommodation, with the three-bedroom house sleeping up to eight people and now equipped with modern amenities the Moons could only have dreamt of. 

    But whether you stay overnight or just spend the day here, it’s worth taking your time to explore more than just the main caves, to get a deeper understanding of one of Victoria’s fascinating geological attractions.