The cry from the Outback: What Recession?!

Australian Traveller contributor Gail Liston is based in Alice Springs, and has been noticing that, far from a Global Financial Crisis going on out there, business is actually booming. But why?

In the office of Wayoutback Desert Safaris, the phones are buzzing. When asked why it’s so hectic, Lia Black throws her head back and laughs. “Busy? Someone forgot to tell us here in Alice Springs that there’s a recession going on!"

This appears to be the status quo in the Red Centre, where tourism is in no way feeling the global economic crisis squeeze, visitor numbers are up and, best of all, Aussies are flocking to the Outback to rediscover their heritage.

“We have haven’t felt the pinch of the recession at all," says Symon Conway, manager of Kings Creek Station, an Outback resort and campground facility near Kings Canyon about 300km from Alice Springs.

The message is the same no matter who you talk to: tourism is booming in Central Australia, thanks to the Aussies who are making this the year to see their country.

“Compared to last year, we’re probably twice as busy. We’ve had to put on more staff to cope with the pressure. We’ve got more travellers coming through, but the best thing is generally we’re seeing more Australians and less of the bus coaches with Europeans on board."

Taking the hint from the Tourism Australia and Tourism NT marketing campaigns aimed at getting us metrophiles to travel at home, more of us are jumping on planes, buses and trains – as well as getting behind the wheel to experience some of the wonders of central Australia. In 2009 you’re more likely to hear “G’day" rather than “bonjour" or “guten morgen" at Uluru, Trephina Gorge, Rainbow Valley or in the Todd Mall in Alice Springs.

“The marketing campaigns have been trying to get the Aussies to travel in Australia, so I think we’re seeing the results of that," says Warwick (Rocky) Rock, regional manager for Australian Pacific Touring (APT) in central Australia.

“The domestic market has definitely gone up because of these campaigns and there are terrific deals out there for Australian travellers, with operators such as ourselves running two-for-one deals. Why wouldn’t you travel in Australia this year when there are offers like this around?"

And Aussies are not likely to let a good deal go wanting, so it’s not at all surprising to find tour buses bursting at the seams with home-grown tourists seeking something a little different from their holiday experience.

“Used to be very rare that we got Australians on board," says Ben (Beno) Rogers, a driver guide with Adventure Tours, as he rounds up his 20-plus 20-something passengers who have been enjoying the winter sun in front of the café at Kings Creek Station. “But we’re seeing more and more this year. Everyone on this tour is Australian . . . very unusual."

Back at Wayoutback, company owner Don Wait is enthusiastic about the state of tourism in the centre. “Wayoutback is having its best year on record," he says. “It’s full on. It’s fantastic. It appears at this stage the economic crisis hasn’t hit us. I mean, it certainly hasn’t hit us here in Central Australia.

“I was at a tourism conference recently and someone said to me: ‘Everyone’s got beaches and Australia’s beaches are good, but you can good beaches all around the world. What you can’t get is what you’ve got here in the Territory.’

“It’s unique," he says, “and that awareness is out there about what we have here in the Territory and people here in Australia are starting to realise it. Finally."

Kathy and Brett Graham would agree with this. This pair of seasoned tourism industry professionals decided in June to open their own tourist operation, something some may think a little foolhardy in the current economic climate. They started by purchasing a block of holiday units called Hillsview Apartments in Alice Springs and in August launched SEIT Outback Australia, a touring company specialising in small groups and charters throughout the Red Centre.

“Since we took over the apartments we’ve had hardly any vacancies," says Kathy Graham. “We don’t see that there’s an economic downturn here at all. In fact, tourist numbers are up and we have strong bookings from the domestic market, and for a new business that’s really good news."

Husband Brett says more and more Australians are travelling in their own backyard. He’s not at all concerned about dipping his business toe into the often-fickle world of tourism. “I’ve said right from the start that you have to decide whether you’re going to take the recession on board or press on with life. We decided to ignore the recession, seize the opportunity and move forward – and it’s working ‘cause our bookings are strong."

According to Maree Tetlow, chief executive of Tourism NT, more Australians are visiting the Red Centre this year than in the previous two years.

“The Red Centre is effectively the heart of Australia and this unique travelling experience offers visitors the opportunity to embark on a journey of self-discovery and wellbeing – to refresh the mind, rejuvenate the spirit and get centred," she says.

“This destination is so different. For many, the experience of coming here is akin to an international holiday. Now with more people opting to stay closer to home during their holidays, many more Australians are moving their desire to visit the Red Centre from their holiday wish-list to a holiday booking."

The message is the same no matter who you talk to: tourism is booming in Central Australia, thanks to the Aussies who are making this the year to see their country.

Tourism NT – www.tourismnt.gov.au

Wayoutback Desert Safaris – www.wayoutback.com.au

Kings Creek Station – www.kingscreekstation.com.au

Australian Pacific Touring – www.aptouring.com.au

SEIT Outback Australia – www.seitoutbackaustralia.com.au

Adventure Tours – www.adventuretours.com.au

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat , now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate , whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor , who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will , who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods . “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield , embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House .

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument , which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds .

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens , hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

The cry from the Outback: What Recession?!

Australian Traveller contributor Gail Liston is based in Alice Springs, and has been noticing that, far from a Global Financial Crisis going on out there, business is actually booming. But why?

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