We passed each other like strangers on a city street, the shark heading back out to sea, me finning through a gap in the coral reef towards the beach.

Driving holidays are one of the best ways to experience the wide-open spaces and unique landscapes of Western Australia.

I'm excited about visiting the Agrarian Kitchen, a farmed-based cooking school about 45 minutes from Hobart in Tasmania's Derwent Valley. I have heard so much about it.

Mike Van de Elzen visits the Agrarian Kitchen, a farmed-based cooking school about 45 minutes from Hobart in Tasmania's Derwent Valley.

Tasmania is brimming with delicious foods, heritage beers and one of the smoothest whiskies I've come across.

With a population of 1.2 million, Adelaide is known as "the 20-minute city" as everything is close and it's easy to navigate. And, being as flat as a pancake, the city is bicycle-friendly.

Colin Mathura-Jeffree shops til he drops in Brisbane.

Outback site draws scientists on hunt for prehistoric gold, writes Leah McLennan.

Judy Bailey takes a soul stirring cruise down the Murray River.

Experience some of the best Greek food outside of Athens at these establishments...

Tasmania casts its food and beer spell over Mike Van de Elzen.

Mike Van de Elzen samples the boutique breweries of South Australia.

Australia's festival state throws a giant bash in praise of verbal variety, as Jon Bridges discovers.

The Australian Garden Show Sydney was designed to challenge the supremacy of the Chelsea Garden Show as the world’s leading event for horticulturists. They do think big in Australia.

Meeting great apes is a dream realised, writes Colin Mathura-Jeffree.

Colin Mathura-Jeffree shops his way around Melbourne and has a close encounter with King Kong.

For a holiday far from the madding crowd, with nary a shop nor restaurant in sight, you’ll love cruising along South Australia’s Murray River. Here are five tips to know before you go.

Mike Van de Elzen on the food and wine trail in South Australia.

Donna McIntyre introduces the Herald's new focus on our transtasman neighbours.

There's no better place to start your Australian wine-tasting journey than the McLaren Vale area, where Michael Van de Elzen finds long-established wineries and some wonderful olives and cheeses.

Biking is my thing. When I need to clear my head, to get out of the kitchen, I jump on my bike and head for the hills.

Intense heat and bushfires didn't stop Wynne Gray from finding some great food.

Centrally located just 2km north east of Melbourne's CBD, Fitzroy was Melbourne's first suburb. A vibrant culture of bars, cafes, galleries, quirky bookstores and fashionable hair salons now abound, crammed into every nook and cranny of its old bones.

We have come to stay in the Blue Mountains in midwinter and for the first time since my move to the Southern Hemisphere four years ago, I'm getting that midwinter Christmas feeling.