Western Australia’s Shark Bay, 800 kilometres north of Perth and perched on the westernmost point of the Australian continent, has just celebrated 25 years on the UNESCO World Heritage List and next month will mark its tenth year on Australia’s National Heritage honour roll.
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Shark Bay’s best-known visitors are the friendly pod of bottlenose dolphins that come in to meet you at Monkey Mia — thought to be the only place in Australia that dolphins choose to approach and interact with humans every day.
But its dramatic red cliffs, white sands and turquoise waters hold other treasures as well, including a massive stretch of sea grass that provides a smorgasbord for around 10,000 resident dugongs.
You can also see world’s biggest and most diverse collection of stromatolites — the oldest living fossils on Earth — from boardwalks at Hamelin Pool, or relax on pure white shores at Shell Beach, one of the world’s only beaches formed by billions of tiny shells.
Visit www.sharkbayvisit.com.au
Barnbougle golf resort in north-eastern Tasmania has added a two-bedroom luxury ocean villa to its accommodation portfolio, which also includes 22 two-bedroom cottages and the 50-room Lost Farm Lodge.
The villa is perched atop the coastal sand dune at The Dunes golf course, which, like the Lost Farm, is rated by US Golf Digest as one of the world’s 50 great courses.
If offers two bedrooms and two bathrooms, open-plan living and dining, plus a large deck overlooking Bass Strait and Barnbougle Beach.
The villa is priced from $500 per night.
Phone 03 6356 0094 or visit www.barnbougle.com.au
Looking for a new camera? Destination NSW is offering the opportunity to win one of eight Canon EOS M3 Single-Lens kits worth $999 plus the choice of photography tutorial during the Vivid Festival or a two-hour Skype session offering tips and tricks on better snapping.
All that is required is to upload videos or photos of a memorable NSW travel experience to www.visitnsw.com/ilovensw by May 18.
Entries will be judged in the following categories: nature and outdoor, beaches and surf, food and wine, arts and culture, Aboriginal culture, history and heritage, and NSW events and festivals.
Top entries will be short-listed for a Destination NSW video promoting the state.
The majestic Mayfield Garden at Oberon is using its flamboyant autumnal colours to launch a dynamic annual entertainment program that will see its gates open to the public every day of the year for the first time.
The program in the 64-hectare European-inspired garden includes luxe food events, yoga retreats, public gatherings, foraging, corporate retreats, weddings, major outdoor performances, and food-and-garden workshops.
Visitors can row across lakes and marvel at an 80-metre cascade, stroll through the stunning six-acre water garden and grotto, and take in a dedicated English rose garden, palatial chook houses, a walled kitchen garden and a garden centre.
Mayfield also presents a great food experience, with its café and store sourcing 80 per cent of its produce from the grounds, and the remaining 20 per cent from the Oberon region.
Reconnect with your inner-self on a healthy getaway in Port Macquarie, which is emerging as a NSW hot-spot for yoga festivals, farm-gates, glamping tents and nourishing bush-walks.
Experiences include the Ekam Yoga Festival from September 2-3, the Tucker Table cooking school, a new farming-chef program at Near River Produce, and Studio 6’s fermentation workshops.
Port Macquarie’s stunning nine-kilometre coastal walk is regarded as one of the best in Australia, and as well there are three-kilometre boardwalk at Sea Acres Rainforest Centre, and the option of heading inland to Boorgana Nature Reserve’s Rawson Falls Walk.