28 FEATURE
australia: cities and winelands
PERTH
CANBERRA BRISBANE
HOBART
premium
wines.The Perth Hills and the Swan Valley (WA’s oldest wine region, marking 180 years of wine-making in 2014) are all within a 25-45 minute drive of the city, with the Peel Wine region also accessible. Further out, the Margaret River
region has more than 150 wine producers (80 cellar doors) and produces more than 20% of Australia’s premium wine. Other wine areas are The Great Southern Wine region and east of Perth, the Blackwood Valley. THE PACKAGE: Jetset Holidays offers hotel accommodation in Perth from £25 pppn which can be combined with the Karri Valley Resort at £55pppn, ideally positioned for exploring the Margaret River area. (
jetsetholidays.co.uk)
�CANBERRA AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY The City: Australia’s administrative capital, Canberra has seen massive investment in its airport which is now ready to welcome direct international fl ights. New hotels include Hotel Hotel,
Q2 Canberra and Hotel in the Zoo, at the National Zoo and Aquarium. Must do’s here include the National
Above: Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, WA. Below: Tamar Valley, Tasmania
Gallery of Australia which features the biggest collection of indigenous artworks in the world. Canberra is famous for its truffl es which are celebrated in the city's Truffl e
Festival every July. The Winelands: Canberra District wineries are situated at the foot of the Brindabella Mountains, in tranquil rural countryside. The area is home to 140 vineyards and over 30 boutique cellar doors. Wineries are small and intimate and provide an interactive visitor experience including meeting the winemaker. THE PACKAGE: Austravel (
austravel.com) offers a 10-day Sydney, Wines and Canberra package from £1,795 pp.
�HOBART TASMANIA The City: Hobart, set on the Derwent River, is an attractive and historic city with a relaxed feel. It has a huge reputation and for its gourmet food and wines and its green credentials, and will host 80 international food and wine journalists in November as part of the TA’s Restaurant Australia promotion. Visitors should head to Salamanca Place for great shops and a vibrant Saturday market with 300 stallholders selling fresh and gourmet produce, arts and handicrafts. Chief among the city’s
visitor attractions is the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) which has a
subterranean art gallery. The Wine: Tasmania is known for Riesling, Pinot Noirs and increasingly for sparkling wines. The Southern Wine Route follows the Derwent, Coal River and Huon Valley, an easy drive from Hobart. However, more wineries are grouped around the Tamar Valley just out of Tasmania’s second largest city of Launceston. Offering informal tastings, many are boutique style and have cafes serving outstanding quality food. A number have interesting stories to tell, such as Velo Wines run by one of Australia’s leading competitive cyclists. THE PACKAGES: Tasmanian Odyssey (
tasmanianodysey.com), set up to support UK agents' Tassie sales, includes wine and food tours to suit all budgets. Small group food and wine tours, for example, are offered through Premier Travel Tasmania (premiertraveltasmania. com), while tours incorporating a gourmet Tasmanian picnic are offered though Unique Tassie Tours (
uniquetassietours.com.au
�BRISBANE QUEENSLAND The City: Brisbane is built on the river and has a relaxed, Queensland vibe. While most visitors head to its
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centre, it's the more quirky alleyways and urban villages that feature hand- crafted breweries, boutique shopping and crafts. The latest tourism slogan: ‘Give me Brisbane any time' aims to stress its year-round appeal. The city will hit the headlines in
November when it hosts the G20, and will add 1000 new rooms in the next year including the Four Points Sheraton, which has just opened. The latest new attraction is Segway
tours and there is also a new travel app launched to direct visitors to the closest information centres while
they’re travelling around Queensland. The Wine: Wine regions nearest to the city are Hinterland and Scenic Rim, the latter of which offers spas, galleries, hot air ballooning, horse- riding and a wide range of other activities among the vineyards. Sirromet Winery, 45 minutes from the city, has been dubbed the most sustainable winery in Australia. With 100 hectares of vines, it opened in 2000 and has won more than 700 prestigious national and international awards (
sirromet.com). THE PACKAGE: Pterodactyl Helicopter Wine Tours tours to boutique wineries by helicopter. Tours depart Ipswich (30 minutes from central Brisbane), with stop offs at three wineries for $695pp (
pterodactylhelicopters.com.au). Austravel (
www.austravel.com) offers
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