A guided visit to the Victorian Pride Centre reveals a thoughtfully designed space built for connection, advocacy, and support. More than a landmark, it’s a working hub that honours the past while shaping a practical, inclusive future.

Werribee Open Range Zoo offers a surprisingly immersive safari experience just outside Melbourne. With open savannahs, accessible paths, and thoughtful design, it feels far removed from the city while remaining easy to navigate.

Photography slowed our travel down. By staying longer, noticing light, and relying on simple techniques, we learnt to photograph with more intention. Sometimes the best images arrive quietly, once a place feels familiar.

Slow travel isn’t about distance or aesthetics. It’s about rhythm, familiarity, and staying long enough for places to reveal themselves. A reflective look at what slowing down actually feels like, from life on the road.

The Holden Museum in Echuca has since closed, but we’re glad we visited when it was still open. A quiet retrospective on everyday Australian cars, regional passion projects, and noticing things before they disappear.

Exploring the mouth of the Hopkins River near Warrnambool, from calm water and dog beaches to coastal walks, fishing spots, historic graves, and wide ocean views. A lived-in stretch of coast best discovered slowly.

Just offshore from Warrnambool, guardian dogs quietly protect a colony of little penguins. The Middle Island Maremma Project is a thoughtful conservation success, best understood from the mainland, where learning matters more than access.

Those concrete domes near Warrnambool’s breakwater aren’t public art. They’re the remains of an underground aquarium built in 1971 and closed in 1997, a small coastal curiosity with an unexpected past.

2025 wasn’t about ticking boxes. It was about slowing down, paying attention, and letting the road lead. A reflective look back at the places and moments that shaped our year, in the order they unfolded.

With just one day in Adelaide, we crammed in all our favourites! Art, museums, botanic gardens and a market dash. North Terrace delivered its usual magic, reminding us why this city always feels good to return to.

Hahndorf gave us a relaxed day of wandering, snacks and a few too many condiments from Beerenberg. Between gin tastings, strudel and leafy streets, this Adelaide Hills favourite is an easy, enjoyable stop with plenty to explore.

McLaren Vale became a favourite during our Port Willunga stay. Art at the Cube, pizza at Chalk Hill and a few essential Fruchocs for the road. A relaxed mix of wineries, food and rolling vineyard views.

The Barossa Sculpture Park and Whispering Wall made for a simple, memorable stop between the valley and Adelaide — big views, strange acoustics and a few fun moments we’ll save for our next Top Secret Dispatch.

A relaxed Barossa morning at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop gave us scones, lake views and a visit to the kitchen from The Cook and the Chef. Peaceful, friendly and a must-stop for Maggie fans.

Waikerie gave us ferry rides, silo art, bakery stops and an easy riverfront stay. A bright Riverland town with good food, calm paths and a few rituals we return to every time we pass through.

A relaxed day trip to Renmark gave us river cliffs, quiet tracks, a friendly pet café and a stop for chocolate almonds. A simple wander along the Murray with plenty to pause for.

From buffalo chicken pizza to desert sculptures and Silverton’s donkeys, Broken Hill gave us art, weather, and classic outback humour in equal measure. It’s a place that surprises every time — dust storms included.

From Nyngan’s riverside calm to Cobar’s quiet bush camp and the long road to Broken Hill, this stretch of outback NSW is a reminder that sometimes, the in-between days are the best ones.

Armidale gave us cool mornings, friendly markets, and the joy of finding real bookshops again. With gardens, heritage, and country calm, it’s the kind of inland town that makes you want to stay a little longer.

The NSW coast is busy, but not everywhere. From laid-back Woolgoolga to Bellingen’s Butter Factory and the mountain roads to Dorrigo, we found the quiet corners still holding their charm.

After braving Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Mullumbimby was an exhale. A leafy hinterland town of markets, vintage shops, and slow mornings at the showgrounds. Proof that the best stops aren’t always planned.

We came to Toowoomba for two nights and stayed four. Drawn in by gardens, markets, thunderstorms, and easy charm. A big city with a small-town heart, full of stories and surprises on the range.

From the old Rex Cinema in Monto to a four-kilo peanut haul in Kingaroy, this stretch of Queensland had everything—local tips, bush learning, and the stories you only find on the road.

Charters Towers caught us off guard — a planned two-night stop turned into four days of gold-rush history, quirky landmarks, tyre trouble and small surprises!

We spent three days in Cloncurry, exploring its history, murals, aviation heritage, and dam. From the first Qantas hangar to the birthplace of the RFDS, this outback town surprised us with stories and charm.

Croydon, Normanton, and Karumba gave us history, character, and Gulf Coast charm. From welcoming the Gulflander to cold drinks at the Purple Pub and sunsets in Karumba, this stretch of the Savannah Way was unforgettable.