5 of Australia’s brightest lighthouse stays

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Want to take a sleep back in time and play lighthouse keeper for the weekend?

Here are five Australian lighthouses which have seen the light, offering comfortable cottages and quirky accommodation:

1. Montague Island, NSW South Coast

Montague Island Lighthouse, off Narooma, NSW.
Montague Island Lighthouse, off Narooma, NSW.

Two lighthouse keeper’s cottages on Montague Island (NSW South Coast) have reopened to guests. With a penguin colony (of around 12,000), visitors can tour the island on a day trip (eurobodalla.com.au), explore on a night tour, or sleep overnight in one of the refurbished cottages. A two-night package with transfers, tours, plus the five-bedroom head keeper’s cottage is $3600 (sleeps up to 12).

2. Cape Byron, Byron Bay

Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Cape Byron SCA
Lighthouse Keepe,rs Cottage, Cape Byron, NSW.

Overlooking Cape Byron, each of these two three-bedroom keeper’s cottages has a kitchen, laundry and period furniture, with the added privilege of rising with the sun at Australia’s most easterly point. The Byron Bay Lighthouse. from $697 per night.

3. Sugarloaf Point, Seal Rocks, NSW

Sugarloaf Point, Seal Rocks, NSW.
Sugarloaf Point, Seal Rocks, NSW.

Relax in one of three cottages at this secluded Seal Rocks lighthouse, which boasts beach views from the master bedrooms. From $450 per night during whale season (May–September).

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4. Cape Otway, Great Ocean Road

Cape Otway Lightstation, Great Ocean Road, Victoria.
Cape Otway Lightstation, Great Ocean Road, Victoria.

The Southern Ocean can be volatile, but Australia’s oldest lighthouse has guided sailors safely to shore since 1848. The Cape Otway Lightstation sleeps up to 16 in four renovated bedrooms and has a beautiful old-style wood stove and open fire place. From $450 per night.

5. Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island

Cape Borda lighthouse, Kangaroo Island.
Cape Borda lighthouse, Kangaroo Island.

Located at the south-west tip of Kangaroo Island, Cape Borda lighthouse getaway offers a more secluded option for travellers in a three-bedroom lodge, a self-contained cabin, and a quaint single-room stone cabin. From $219 per night.

 

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Film lovers need to add these Victorian theatres to their bucket list

    Ricky French Ricky French
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    Theatres have always been a cornerstone of regional Victoria, reflecting the character and history of their local communities.

    From grand, gold rush-era masterpieces to Art Deco wonders to repurposed prisons, we’ve rounded up four of Victoria’s best regional theatres to catch a show at next time you’re travelling through.

    Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat

    Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat 
    Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat has been standing for 150 years. (Image: Michael Pham)

    A monument to the immense gold rush wealth flooding through Ballarat in the second half of the 19th century, Her Majesty’s Theatre (‘Her Maj’ to locals) celebrates its 150th anniversary as the city’s premier performing arts venue this year.

    Built in a classical style and immaculately preserved (thanks largely to a recent $16-million restoration), this Lydiard Street landmark is the oldest continuously operating theatre in mainland Australia, notable for its double balcony and a stage that slopes towards the front, making it one of the most audience-friendly venues in the country to see a show.

    The Capital, Bendigo

    The Capital Theatre, Bendigo
    The Capital in Bendigo was built in 1873 as a Masonic Hall. (Image: Michael Pham)

    Denoted by its distinctive Corinthian columns, more reminiscent of ancient Greece than regional Victoria, The Capital theatre in Bendigo has been through several iterations since the first stone was laid in 1873.

    Originally a Masonic hall, the renaissance revival-style building became a theatre in the 1890s, falling into disrepair for a time during the 1970s, before being restored and reopened (as the Bendigo Regional Arts Centre) in 1991. Today, the 480-seat venue hosts everything from comedy to cabaret to traditional theatre, dance, opera and live music.

     Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo

    a look insideBendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre
    Inside Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre, a former prison. (Image: Michael Pham)

    Bendigo has busted out as a regional performing arts hotspot, so it’s fitting that one of its newest venues is housed within a former prison. Meaning ‘meeting place’ or ‘gather together’ in the language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people, the $26-million, 950-seat auditorium rose from within the red brick walls of the historic Sandhurst Gaol in 2015.

    It’s an eerie feeling as you approach the imposing granite facade, pass beneath the old gallows and pick up your ticket from the box office occupying a repurposed cell block. With the building playing a main character in the show, this is performative architecture at its finest.

    Rex Theatre, Charlton

    the Rex Theatre in Charlton
    The 1938-built Rex Theatre in Charlton is an Art Deco gem. (Image: Jenny Pollard)

    Regional theatres don’t come more romantic than this Art Deco gem in the river town of Charlton, in north-central Victoria. Built in 1938, the 350-seat community-owned theatre provides an essential entertainment outlet for residents in the Wimmera Mallee region, as well as visitors making the trip up the Calder Highway from Melbourne.

    The volunteer-run venue is the last remaining purpose-built cinema in regional Victoria, and hosts the Charlton Film Festival every February, plus three weekly film screenings (Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday).