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The world’s first rotating Snowtunnel is coming to Australia

Taylah Darnell Taylah Darnell
An all-new Aussie invention is bringing year-round snow Down Under.

Despite boasting plenty of world-class ski resorts, Australia’s snow season typically only lasts three to four months each year. And while a winter road trip certainly has its charms, many Aussies still prefer the more enticing slopes of New Zealand and Japan.

But now, an elite team of action sport entrepreneurs is hoping to change that. After more than 20 years of work, the Australian start-up has unveiled plans to open the world’s first Snowtunnel Park in Melbourne – with a never-before-seen attraction at its heart.

Introducing Snowtunnel Park

Snowtunnel Park in Melbourne, Victoria
A pilot site for the Suntunnel will open in Melbourne later this year.

Catering to all ages and ability levels, Snowtunnel Park is set to become the ultimate winter destination – and you won’t have to wait for the seasons to change to visit. The world-class facility will operate year-round, pumping out more than 900 cubic metres of fresh white snow every day just beyond the city limits of Melbourne’s CBD.

There’s nothing artificial about it, either. Using a cutting-edge system created in partnership with leading tech firms, including TechnoAlpin and WSP, this winter wonderland is made from only water and air.

“Growing up in Australia, we all know how inconsistent each snow season can be. Our mission is to unlock the magic of snow and ignite a passion for alpine experiences for everyone all year round," says Scott Kessler, CEO and co-founder of Snowtunnel Parks.

Snowtunnel Park in Melbourne, Victoria
The first official Snowtunnel Park is scheduled to launch in 2027.

The park will feature a range of graded downhill slopes, an alpine play zone for family-friendly activities and modern lounge area complete with fireplace, plus a variety of food and beverage offerings. There will also be a dedicated progression program for everyone from beginners to experts, all guided by professional ski and snowboard instructors.

But its biggest drawcard? The all-new patented Snowtunnel – a colossal rotating tunnel spanning over 600 square metres – roughly the length of an average outdoor ski run. Designed to provide a constantly rideable surface, the 12.5-metre-tall structure features variable speed controls to suit all abilities.

The Snowtunnel
The Snowtunnel has been described as an “endless mountain" by its creators.

The brainchild of Scott Kessler (CEO), Daniel Portelli (COO) and inventor Darren Visser, the Snowtunnel was founded and designed right here in Australia. Aiming to bring the “magic of the mountains" into everyday life, Visser engineered their first prototype during the 2000s.

The team later secured patents to safeguard the design, giving them time to refine and perfect their creation. By 2022, Snowtunnel Parks was officially established and its first commercial concepts were underway. Now in 2026, this once-radical concept is coming to life.

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

AI Prompt

Is this the future of snow sports?

The Snowtunnel
The rotating Snowtunnel mirrors the length of an average outdoor ski run.

Since its inception, the Snowtunnel has attracted global interest, with a range of international brands expressing both excitement and support. Early investment rounds proved successful, resulting in further proof-of-concept prototypes.

In another major milestone, the team has now secured a location for its global headquarters and pilot showcase site, just 10 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD. Future locations in Sydney and Brisbane are also under discussion, alongside possible expansions into the UK, Europe and beyond.

Snowtunnel Parks map
Plans for international expansion are already gathering momentum.

“The interest we’ve seen from around the world since our reveal has been overwhelming," says COO and co-founder, Daniel Portelli. “By establishing our Global HQ and first showcase here, we are providing a permanent stage to bring this Australian innovation to the world."

Scheduled to open later this year, the pilot site will finally bridge the gap between innovation and implementation. In the coming months, it will serve as a showcase hub to demonstrate the technology’s commercial and operational power to potential partners, investors and even the public. By 2027, it will officially open as the world’s first complete Snowtunnel Park attraction.

But that’s not all. Tapping into the growing demand for passion-driven travel experiences, the company is also recruiting an exclusive Test Rider Crew. This lucky group of skiers and snowboarders will be among the first in the world to experience the Snowtunnel – before it becomes a global sensation.

The timeline at a glance

  • 2000s: First Snowtunnel prototype built and patents secured
  • 2022: Snowtunnel Parks launches as a business
  • 2023: Second Snowtunnel prototype designed and built
  • 2025: Construction of the first official Snowtunnel commences
  • 2026: Melbourne chosen as Snowtunnel headquarters, pilot site and launch location
  • 2027: First Snowtunnel Park attraction scheduled to open in Melbourne
  • 2028 and beyond: Sydney and Brisbane parks underway, potential international expansion begins

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Taylah Darnell
Taylah Darnell is Australian Traveller's Writer & Producer. She has been passionate about writing since she learnt to read, spending many hours either lost in the pages of books or attempting to write her own. This life-long love of words inspired her to study a Bachelor of Communication majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Technology Sydney, where she completed two editorial internships. She began her full-time career in publishing at Ocean Media before scoring her dream job with Australian Traveller. Now as Writer & Producer, Taylah passionately works across both digital platforms and print titles. When she's not wielding a red pen over magazine proofs, you can find Taylah among the aisles of a second-hand bookshop, following a good nature trail or cheering on her EPL team at 3am. While she's keen to check out places like Scotland and North America, her favourite place to explore will always be her homeland.
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Discovering Bendigo’s unique heritage through incredible foodie experiences

    Kate Bettes Kate Bettes
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    Tuck your napkin firmly in place and get ready to dive into Bendigo’s history.

    It’s an internationally recognised fact that Bendigo food experiences prove this region knows how to wine and dine. After all, its shiraz-laden landscape was named Australia’s first UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy. But what visitors lured in by this shiny label might not know is how deeply its culinary scene sits within the gold-rush town’s colourful past.

    Whether you’re eating in a grand colonial bank or nibbling through a gold miner’s garden, grab a big plate. In Bendigo, every meal is served with a huge helping of heritage.

    Take a food tour

    foodie walking tour in bendigo at Ms Batterhams restaurant Bendigo foodie experiences
    Join a Foodie Walking Tour to local highlights like Ms Batterhams.

    Start in the capable hands of Bendigo Guided Tours. Named as the 2025 Victorian Best New Tourism Business, they run two 12-person options. A Taste of Bendigo – Foodie Walking Tour will see you tasting seasonal dishes and sipping wine, craft beer and cocktails made with regional spirits over two-and-a-half hours, with stops at Ms Batterhams, Wine Bank on View, The Dispensary and Bendigo Brewing.

    You can up the ante a notch or two with the Four Hats of Bendigo – a night of fine-dine hopping with the experts across Terrae, Le Foyer, Alium Dining and The Woodhouse.

    Book a table

    Terrae restaurant in bendigo victoria
    Dine at Terrae.

    Alternatively, see Bendigo’s stars under your own steam. There’s Terrae, where produce from the owners’ own farm kitchen garden and orchard is plated up inside what was once a bank, while cocktails are poured in the underground bar below. For something special, book a private table in old bank vault. Rather less wholesome? The bullet hole in the window – a throwback to Victoria’s wild gold rush era.

    Another former bank-turned-eatery, Alium Dining, goes full art nouveau inside a 1908 building overlooking the Alexandra Fountain in the heart of Bendigo. Here, Alium’s Asian-meets-European flavours run all the way from duck leg croquettes with mandarin marmalade to raw trevally with coconut and nước chấm, to pork milanese with anchovy and stout mustard.

    Beneath an old school hall at Mackenzie Quarters, Ms Batterhams serves southern European-inspired dishes inside a 19th-century basement bar and restaurant. Beyond its sourdough crumpets (smeared with taramasalata, paprika and parsley oil, if you must know) is the origin of the restaurant’s name: Winifred Batterham, the owners’ mother’s former kindergarten teacher. Honour her properly with a ‘Winifred’ cocktail.

    Alium Dining in bendigo victoria
    Alium Dining offers a unique setting inside a 1908 building.

    Carnivores, get ready to bang your sharpest knives on the table. Bendigo’s only dedicated steakhouse, The Woodhouse, specialises in Wagyu sourced from surrounding farms. They’ve got beef every which way – from tartare topped with Giaveri Oscietra caviar and wagyu toast to porterhouse dry-aged and grilled over redgum.

    Your next bank stop on the food circuit is Bunja Thai. Housed inside the former Colonial Bank, it’s all Victorian-era Australian grandeur, from the enormous arched ceilings to the detailing overhead. Thai Singha and local craft beer jostle for attention – but both are perfect quenchers when you’re sharing barramundi baked in banana leaf beneath all that old-world opulence.

    If your trip through Australia isn’t complete without a country pub stop, make it The Bridgewater Hotel on the Loddon River. Renovated since its 1942 beginnings, but the establishment still retains its Art Deco charm. It’s the kind of place where steak burgers come stacked with bacon, egg, cheese and dripping beetroot relish, and are best handled in the riverside beer garden.

    Pour a glass

    Heathcote Wine Hub bendigo food experiences
    Find over 180 local wines at Heathcote Wine Hub.

    Your plate’s been stacked. Now it’s the glass’s turn – ideally with the famously bold shiraz and cab sav grown here. Early settlers in Bendigo and Heathcote were onto something when they first planted vines in the area’s mineral-rich soil, and their legacy still pours strong across more than 60 cellar doors today. Start big at the Heathcote Wine Hub, where more than 180 wines from nearby vineyards sit beneath the rafters of a restored former wooden church, with 16 available to taste by the glass.

    Heathcote Winery might have become one of the area’s first commercial wineries in the seventies, but its story started way before its courtyard tastings. Back in 1854, it operated as a miners’ produce store during the gold-rush years. Other cellar doors aren’t immune to reinvention under the wine wave either. At Munari Wines in Heathcote, charcuterie boards are presented in their newly renovated cellar, originally the stables of the former sheep station.

    Discover local events

    the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk in bendigo
    Time your trip for the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk

    Time your trip right and watch the parks, gardens and buildings fill with food and drink. Fans of the malt: mark 29 August  2026 for Bendigo On The Hop, when craft breweries take over venues throughout the CBD. Brews make way for history at the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk (17 October 2026), where bottles are opened inside some of the city’s most interesting buildings – including rarely opened spaces. In November, the Regional Gin Gala raises spirits in Mackenzie Quarters with a boozy celebration of its homegrown distilleries, including Noble Bootleggers, Envy Distilling and In Good Spirits. Explore wine, food and live music at Heathcote on Show (6 – 8 June 2026).

    Take it all in

    bendigo tram cafe Bendigo foodie experiences
    Tram meets tasty at Bendigo Tram Cafe.

    Takeaway means something different in Bendigo. At Australia’s oldest operating Tram Depot, the Tram Cafe sits aboard an out-of-service 1916 N-Class Tram that serves tea and scones. Once you’ve polished off the last crumb, you can even pop into the driver’s cab and try the controls yourself.

    Peppergreen Farm continues Bendigo’s long connection to Chinese market gardens, first established here by immigrants in the 1850s. Today, the not-for-profit farm invites visitors to pick up organic produce, alongside jars of honey harvested from its own hives.

    Indulge in retail therapy

    Bendigo Pottery
    Elevate your at-home dining experience after a trip to Bendigo Pottery.

    If there’s still room in your bag among the clanking jars and bottles, stop by Uniquely Bendigo inside the Old Post Office. Sharing space with the Bendigo Visitor Centre, it’s a one-stop shop for favourites like Bendigo Brittle, Bridgeward Grove and Tea Associates.

    If you’d rather leave your fingerprints on your Bendigo souvenir, there’s a place for that too. At Bendigo Pottery, visitors can try their hand at shaping clay while taking part in another tradition of evolving old spaces – creating works of art within Australia’s oldest working pottery.

    Start planning your Bendigo adventure at bendigotourism.com.