Play the world’s longest Golf Course on the Nullarbor Plain

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Not satisfied with cricket matches that take five days to complete? There is now a golf course that takes four days and 1365km to play.

Isn’t that typical of Australians? Not satisfied with Test cricket matches that can take five days to complete, we now have a golf course that takes four days to play even by the best ones.

Don’t miss: Top places you should stop along the Nullarbor

What is it

Stretching 1365km from Ceduna in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in the West, the Nullarbor Links is an ambitious project designed, as far as we can tell, to give travellers something interesting to do on that long and lonesome road so famously devoid of trees.

 

Hole 4: Wombat Hole Flinders Bay, Nundroo

Don’t miss: Driving the Nullarbor in summer: what you need to know

 

The brainchild of Bob Bongiorno, former manager of the Balladonia Roadhouse on the Nullarbor, the 18-hole cross-country marvel is due for completion in mid ’09 and will consist of a series of holes at select towns and roadhouses along the Eyre Highway.

 

Some of the holes already exist at working golf courses with their own – at Ceduna, Eucla, Norseman, Kambalda and Kalgoorlie – and a small number are at disused courses that will be rejuvenated expressly for the project.

 

Cocklebiddy lies on the southern edge of Western Australia’s vast sheep grazing belt

Don’t miss: Crossing the Nullarbor: your top questions answered

The remaining holes will be built completely from scratch at select locations including Penong, Nundroo, Border Village, Mundrabilla, Cocklebiddy, Balladonia and Fraser Range. At these ultra-remote spots, the tees and greens will be synthetic grass, with everything in between made up of all-Australian, all-natural terrain (ie, mostly dirt, rocks and gravel).

 

The course is also designed to give overseas visitors an unparalleled taste of the real Australia, with holes on working sheep stations, wheat farms and alongside gold mines.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

Where is it

 1365km from Ceduna in SA to Kalgoorlie in WA, along the Eyre Highway. 

 

Australian Traveller

Australian Traveller

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

    Ricky French Ricky French
    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).