Australia is packed with opportunities for adventure. Whether you’re sitting around an open fire in beautiful countryside, curling up in an alpine cabin or hosting a simple barbecue with friends, time in the outdoors brings a clarity and renewal that nothing else can match.
Setting the right mood is part of the fun: in the cooler months, we might want to warm our spirits with an upbeat vibe or lean into hibernation with down-tempo escapism. Everything from the food to the tunes plays a factor when you’re putting together an experience. We asked a few adventurous celebs to share their tips for making the most of your time in the fresh air.
Keep the cooking simple
Cook and writer
Alice Zaslavsky
loves to work with food. It’s so much more than sustenance to her; it’s something that nourishes every part of her life and brings together the people she loves.
The multi-sensory nature of cooking makes it perfect for taking outdoors, Zaslavsky says. Cooking has its own soundtrack. “It’s a dance, from cooktop to fridge to sink or outdoor grill, and then the sizzle and the burp and the squelch, the whizz and the zip and all those sounds,” she says.
Food personality Alice Zaslavsky is most at home in the kitchen - but loves the chance to get outdoors. Photograph: Supplied.
If you want to take your cooking on the open road, Zaslavsky recommends keeping it simple.
“Have dishes like salads and sandwiches in separate containers to assemble when it’s time to serve. Stick to hand food if you can, or at least cut stuff into fork-sized chunks so people don’t need to try and slice on their laps.”
Keep the cooking to a minimum, Zavlavsky says. Invest in a good esky and make cold food unless you can nab a spot an outdoor barbecue or you have a portable cooker, such as a hibachi grill.
Plan ahead for maximum relaxation
Gorgi Coghlan believes the best adventures are carefully planned. She and her husband own Ballarat’s iconic
Provincial Hotel
, boutique accommodation that welcomes guests from all over Australia. She says booking everything ahead can make or break the perfect getaway.
“There’s no way I would go somewhere without researching the food,” she says. “You can have everything else sorted out – your accommodation can be crackerjack, you have top music, you’re all together, and then you get to the restaurant and they’re completely booked out.”
When she’s not in Melbourne, journalist and presenter Gorgi Coghlan escapes to Ballarat and the coast with good food and great music. Photograph: Supplied.
Having activities sorted in advance means more time for enjoying time outdoors. “I’m always researching whether you can hire bikes, whether you can go for walks, what the weather’s going to be, and what tracks to add to your playlist before you go.”
Let go of the busy-ness of the everyday
Coghlan’s planning-ahead mantra helps her to disconnect and relax. “I’m always thinking about a connection to nature,” she says. “And if I’m about to go on a three-day coastal trip, I want the music to nourish me and fill me up.”
Taking it one step further is Cam Grant, co-founder of
Unyoked
. For him, heading outdoors is non-negotiable: taking time to step back from society’s conventions and draw on the many benefits that nature has to offer is at the core of his life philosophy. His approach to the most valuable outdoors experience? Embracing disconnection.
“Switching off is a key part of being switched on,” he says. “That’s something that we miss these days with that whole ‘always on’ philosophy. It’s something that we used to know but somehow have forgotten along the way. It’s actually a creative superpower, switching off – when you have unstructured time and downtime, that’s what you need to come up with ideas.”
Unyoked’s Cam Grant sees time outdoors as non-negotiable - and has even created his own soundscapes to experience it anywhere he goes.
Grant says Unyoked’s cabins facilitate a certain experience and way of life. Guests have access to sound recordings that help them unwind instead of spending their time endlessly scrolling. “We’re trying to let more people leave the nine-to-five conventions behind and live happier, better lives,” he says. “We’re advocating for a more flexible lifestyle, tapping in and out and using nature for that.”
Connect to the experience through music
While nature offers its own soundscape, there’s something special about bringing your favourite tunes along for the ride. Portable speakers with high-quality sound, such as the
Sonos Roam
, make it possible to take quality sound wherever you go.
In the wilderness provided by the Unyoked experience, nature has become part of the music, through Unyoked’s
Field Recordings
. Grant and his crew wanted to highlight the role nature has in creativity, so they sent seven recording artists to their cabins. “We sent them with a sound recording device to go through their creative process,” Grant says. “They recorded nature sounds: the river running through, the wind in the trees, the cicadas. Then they all went away and wrote an original track based on that experience.
“Nature can help you access this creativity. We’re like, come and use it more regularly.”
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Zaslavsky also leans into music for a nostalgic vibe. “When [husband] Nick and I were first dating, we would cook together and listen to this one album by the Impressions,” she says. “I love listening to that when I cook because it takes me back to that place of new love and doing what I love with someone that I’ve got a massive crush on. It’s the best feeling, and that album just encapsulates a time when it felt like there was a different filter on my life.”
For Coghlan, music can enhance an experience in ways nothing else can. “It’s almost like it opens up doors in your mind and your heart and your cells that you then associate with that bonfire and those people,” she says.
“I feel like when you introduce music, something quite magical happens.”
Take incredible sound everywhere with the
Sonos Roam
. Enjoy music, voice control, and multi-room listening at home on wifi, plus Bluetooth® streaming, all-day battery life, and waterproof durability on the go.
