Top 10 Australian events and festivals

The Top 10 Australian events and festivals is a collection of the best bashes and cultural coming-togethers compiled from our 100 Incredible Experiences (right here in your backyard) special.

We Australians love a good bash; we throw celebrations across the country for everything from camel racing to blues music. Here’s our pick of the events you just have to attend.

1. Sail away – Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, Queensland

If there’s one thing that the Whitsundays is synonymous with it’s sailing. Every August yachties and spectators alike descend on Hamilton Island to watch sails race around the islands and enjoy the accompanying on-shore happenings from fashion shows to exclusive dining events hosted by the likes of Guillaume Brahimi. Add it to your bucket list because: You can see stunning Hamilton Island at its best during the country’s largest offshore yachting regatta, Race Week . 20–27 August 2016.

2. Feed your inner Bacchus – Margaret River Gourmet Escape, WA

In just a short number of years the Gourmet Escape has become one of the country’s premier food events. So well-curated is the Escape and in such a stunning location that international and homegrown chefs both clamour for an invitation to be a part of it all. The names are big – last year it was bad boy Marco Pierre White and the year before Heston Blumenthal headlined – and the scenery, feasts on offer, and wines to devour are just as alluring to foodophiles. Add it to your bucket list because: You can see yourself in a tepee sipping a cocktail by those azure waters. For east-coasters, there’s no better excuse to cross the desert. 18–20 November.

3. Embrace the quirk – Adelaide Fringe Festival, SA

Adelaide in summer pretty much ticks all the holiday boxes: beautiful, uncluttered beaches, wineries a stone’s throw from the city, and award-winning restaurants and bars. Add the Fringe Festival to the list and you’re left with no good reason to stay home. The festival has been entertaining since the ’60s with the manifesto that anyone with a creative vision can join in, hence the wonderfully eclectic atmosphere and variety of arts on display, from cabaret to comedy. Add it to your bucket list because: The iconic event is basically Australia’s Got Talent, just more wild and totally live. 10 February to 12 March 2017.

4. Celebrate love in all its forms – Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

Perhaps one of Sydney’s greatest triumphs, the Mardi Gras , which culminates in a bedazzled and bawdy parade, is a festival of love and tolerance. It didn’t begin that way, however, when in 1978 the inaugural parade met its end in police violence. but The sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras returned in defiance and now attracts not only a worldwide LGBTQI community, but also anyone who loves a party. Add it to your bucket list because: It’s a visual spectacular that sweeps the whole city up in its infectious spirit. 4 March 2017.

5. Come over to the dark side – Dark Mofo, Tasmania

Dark Mofo defines itself by just how different it is from every other mainstream festival in Australia. Hosted by the equally peculiar and pleasing MONA, the festival celebrates darkness in all its literal and metaphorical incarnations through grand-scale, multi-discipline public art performances, such as crossbreed music, theatre and film events. Held over 10 days around June’s Winter Solstice, most (mainly night-time) performances happen in pop-up spaces around Hobart. The winter feast is a foodie must, while the annual nude solstice swim is an option for the fearless. Add it to your bucket list because: You won’t like or even understand everything that you see, but you’ll certainly be talking about it afterwards. 10–21 June 2016.

6. Settle an old debt – Alice Springs Camel Cup, NT

In typical larrikin fashion, the Camel Cup began as a bet between mates in 1970. The two took to a dry riverbed on their humped steeds and hilarity ensued. So entertaining was the grudge race that the event continues to this day on the second Saturday of July. Raising funds for those in need, it’s feel-good fun full of colourful characters. Add it to your bucket list because: If you get in touch with the right people, you may be able to mount a camel alongside your arch nemesis and settle that old grudge once and for all. 9 July 2016.

7. Join an outback institution – Birdsville Races, Queensland

On the dusty plains of cattle country, Birdsville swells with punters looking to get lucky at the races every September. The Birdsville Races began back in 1882 and starred stock horses and a handful of local spectators. Today there are 13 races and 6000 attendees. Like all legitimate racing carnivals, there’s a cocktail party and fashion on the field, albeit a little more wilted than at Flemington. Add it to your bucket list because: It doesn’t get much more Australian than having a cold one while watching horses race around in the dust. 2–3 September 2016.

8. Get folked Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland

The crowds are much smaller and the fireworks displays less intricate, but spending New Year’s Eve at Woodford Folk Festival is in the same league as partying at Times Square, New York. Woodford has been dancing to its own beat for 30 years and even moved to its own purpose-built site 22 years ago. Woodfordia is a micro-village, with all-weather roads, a visual arts studio, butterfly walks and ponds, that becomes home to about 2000 performers. Add it to your bucket list because: If you missed the Age of Aquarius and Woodstock, this is the closest you’re going to get. 27 December 2016 to 2 January 2017.

9. Let your dreadlocks down – Byron Bay Bluesfest, NSW

Australia is home to many fantastic blues festivals, but the ultimate remains the five-day Byron Bay spectacular held over Easter. Yes, it attracts covetable headline acts and is located on the east coast’s most desirable beachside getaway, but if we’re honest, what makes the Bluesfest such a must-do attraction is the vibe. The celebration of chilled-out tunes and a laidback crowd makes it an enduring treasure of an event. Add it to your bucket list because: Unlike other festivals, it doesn’t matter what age you are or where you’re from, everyone is here to enjoy the music and soak up the atmosphere. 13–17 April 2017.

10. See the greats in action – Australian Open Tennis, Melbourne

It doesn’t matter if your tennis prowess is limited to a hit and a giggle with friends, come summer it seems everyone turns pro. The Australian Open is one thing to watch on television, but to be close enough to see the sweat bead on the pros’ brows is fantastic. The atmosphere courtside is electric. If you go to one sports event once in your life, make it the Open. Add it to your bucket list because: You could find yourself at the match that reveals who Australia’s next big tennis star will be. 16–29 January 2017.

Beyond the winding bitumen and coastal views lies another side to Victoria’s most famous route.

There’s something hypnotic about this stretch of Victoria’s coast. Maybe it’s the way the road hugs the ocean so tightly, or how the cliffs catch the sun in colours you can’t name. Or, for local Victorians who drove this route as kids, maybe it’s the memories of winding through the impossibly tall trees as they seemingly guide you on your journey like wooden guardian angels. Most travellers know it for the 12 Apostles, but there are plenty of alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road equally as worthy of your time.

So, next time you’re in that neck of the woods, park that car, stretch those legs and try these experiences.

1. Discover living culture at Budj Bim

Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism — Walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Breakaway Creek’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is a masterclass in educational storytelling. Join a guided tour with Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism to walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system, where the Gunditjmara people built sophisticated eel traps and stone channels more than 6,000 years ago.

Budj Bim’s aquaculture system predates Egypt’s pyramids by roughly 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest examples of human engineering on Earth. If that’s not enough to get your history-loving family members involved in this road trip, we’re out of ideas.

2. Unwind in the hot springs at Warnambool

woman relaxing at Deep Blue Hot Springs — Let mineral-rich water heal you.

If your legs need a break after a long drive, Deep Blue Hot Springs is your remedy. The geothermal pools sit just metres from the coastline, filled with mineral-rich water that bubbles up from deep underground. Move between open-air baths, waterfall pools and quiet zones made for meditation.

The water in Deep Blue’s geothermal pools comes from an ancient aquifer nearly 850 metres below the Earth’s surface, which, in non-scientific terms, means it’s far more likely to have healing properties than the mineral water you’d find at the supermarket.

3. Take to the air at Princetown

12 Apostles Helicopters flight alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road — See an icon from a different view.

You may have seen the Twelve Apostles from the trusty viewing platform, but a helicopter flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters shows you just how sprawling and rugged this coastline really is.

The trip covers everything from Port Campbell to London Bridge (not to be confused with the UK’s own), giving you a rare chance to watch waves carving the limestone cliffs from above. It’s worth noting that the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles are said to erode by roughly two centimetres each year, so the longer you leave it, the less of the Apostles you’ll see.

4. Step into the past at Flagstaff Hill

Continue the tour through Warnambool at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum , a recreated 19th-century port town. Hear stories from the days when shipwrecks were as common as seagulls, with an astounding 180 ships believed to have sunk along the Shipwreck Coast in less than five years.

The night show, complete with lights, sound, and sea spray, brings the coastline’s most dramatic stories to life.

If you’re staying the night, Simon’s Waterfront offers relaxed dining with fresh local seafood and oceanfront views. Order the catch of the day and toast to the sailors who never made it ashore.

5. Learn to surf in Torquay, Lorne, or Anglesea

kid having a lesson with Go Ride A Wave — Learn how to hang 10. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Whether you’ve surfed before or can barely stand on a board, Go Ride A Wave will have you upright in no time. Torquay’s calm beaches are ideal for first-timers, while Lorne and Anglesea bring a bit more energy for those unafraid to get dunked.

Bells Beach, just down the road from Torquay, has even hosted the world’s longest-running professional surfing competition since 1962. So, for those eager to have a gander at pros using surfboards like they’re an additional appendage, the competition usually runs sometime in autumn.

6. Tackle the trails in Forrest

Barwon Flow Trails Otways Flow MTB — Hire a bike and explore MTB trails through the Otways.

Forrest is a haven for mountain bikers thanks to an expansive network of trails through stunning natural scenery. The Forrest trail network has almost 100 kilometres of singletrack across 36 trails, so there’s something for every level of rider. That’s including more than 60 kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trails winding through the Otways’ dense forest. Cycle through ancient myrtle beech trees and towering tree ferns, with smaller ferns and soft mosses forming a carpet at your feet.

Hire a bike from Forrest MTB Hire and take your pick from easy, scenic rides to more challenging singletracks, such as Red Carpet or Rollercoaster.

7. See wildlife up close in Apollo Bay

bush rat on Wildlife Wonders tour — Get help spotting the locals. (Image: Doug Gimsey)

If spotting koalas and kangaroos in the wild feels like winning the lottery, Wildlife Wonders gives you guaranteed sightings without cages or crowds. Every visit to the sanctuary helps fund the Conservation Ecology Centre which supports endangered species across the Otways, so your business is appreciated by humans and animals alike.

The guided walk takes you through protected Otways habitat where you might spot potoroos (or joey lookalikes for those unfamiliar with a potoroo), wallabies, and sleepy koalas lounging in the trees.

8. Visit the Cape Otway Lightstation

Towering over the sea on a cliff above the Southern Ocean, Cape Otway Lightstation has been guiding ships since 1848. Before the lighthouse was built, Cape Otway was one of the most treacherous points on the Victorian coast, with dozens of shipwrecks occurring in its surrounding waters. Pick the right day, and you may bump into a local willing to tell you about the wreck of Eric the Red .

While at the Cape Otway Lightstation, explore the keeper’s quarters, walk the coastal trails, and take in views that only stop short at the horizon.

And no, contrary to popular belief, the Round the Twist lighthouse is actually located in Split Point, just shy of two hours in the direction of Melbourne. Nothing’s stopping you from embarking on a lighthouse crawl, though.

Plan your next no-stone-unturned journey along this iconic Aussie road at visitgreatoceanroad.org.au.