Winter holiday escapes

Mudgee

You may have already had a taste of Mudgee when it was uncorked here at the Pyrmont Food and Wine Festival but don’t think you have already slurped up all the region has to offer. It may be famous for wine but the Mudgee region also has a banquet of jaw dropping landscapes including NSW’s biggest wilderness in the Wollemi National Park. Other sights served at the tablelands are the waterfall laden Coolah Tops and the sandstone edged Goulburn river, which are of course best savoured with the region’s award-winning food and wine.

Orange

Like Mudgee, Orange is acclaimed for its services to the palette but Australia’s colour city also hosts an annual ten-day Winter Frost Festival in late July and early August. This year’s event will welcome not just Dionysian desires for the mouth but also for the ears and eyes. Two giants of the Australian arts, the Bell Shakespeare Company and the Australian Ballet make up the peak of a snowy heap of indulgent events. In between the various perks of the festival you better toddle on down and complete your hedonist tour with a taste of the region’s leading restaurant Lolli Rendini.

Perisher

Perisher is an obvious choice for any winter holiday in NSW but it’s all the more obvious this year because of the incredible snow fall. Earlier this week the snow depth at Perisher, Charlotte’s Pass and Thredbo reached a milestone of 159 centimetres, the deepest it has been since 1990. Whether you’re an Olympic aspirant or you don’t even know what skiing is, this is the best time to visit. The conditions are perfect, any downward movement on the slope and you feel like you’re covered in lubricant and zipping across clouds.

Central Coast

The Central Coast is kind of like a greatest hits album of a little talked about band. Families have been going to the Central Coast for years now but the travel spruikers haven’t started shouting loudly yet. It’s got all the goods a travel magazine urges: natural landscape, warm weather all year round, beaches and outdoor activities. It’s also developing a reputation for romance. You just have to go there before it becomes the next Byron Bay, over-used and out-hyped by bandwagoning travellers. If you get there soon you can even enjoy Christmas in July.

Fraser Coast

If you want to feel like a tiny insignificant spec on the planet visit Fraser Island in winter and watch the great whale migration. The largest animals on Earth come to Fraser Island’s protected Hervey Bay in late July and continue until early November. You can organise a tour to go out and see how tiny you actually are or you can carelessly watch them drift past from the stern of the wrecked S.S Maheno. Later, with a little more energy you can adventure through one of the world’s only rainforests that grows on sand.

Lord Howe Island

This island is so beautiful the United Nations made it one of only four heritage listed island groups. This is the place Swedes and Brits dream about when their homes are being inundated with rain. And you don’t even need to go in summer. The climate on this island barely changes year round; the advantage in winter is you’ll have the beach, reef and mountain to yourself.

How to get there:

Unless you have your own yacht, in which case you should definitely sail there, you have to get a plane. Flights from Sydney leave most days.