Calming Firepits, Unmissable Festivals and Forest Hammocks: Five Winter Getaways To Pack Your Bags For

Winter is the best time to fill your days and nights with equal amounts of adventure and comfort. It’s a good thing that all of that is readily available wherever you go. As Australia settles in for the cooler months, it feels great to organise your travel bag (like the ones in Strand’s Travel range) and explore the seasonal events and natural wonders nearest to you. Here’s five of our favourite picks so you can hit the road - or take a short walk - when you feel the pull of winter in your soul.

Dark Mofo – Hobart
Escaping to Hobart is an ideal way to lean into winter. To see the Tasmania transform, Maria Island wildlife sanctuary to the east is teeming with Tasmanian devils and pademelons, and the the Huon Valley, which plays host to the Mid-Winter Festival, is just a half-hour drive from the city.

The cool season centrepiece is Dark Mofo, Hobart’s always-eclectic and often-chaotic gathering of art, music, food and performance. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the festival and creative director Leigh Carmichael is bringing musical artists like Thundercat, Black Flag and Sleaford Mods among an endless program of experimental performances, visual art and the centrepiece food event, Winter Feast.

Unyoked – Australia-wide
Unyoked isn’t a destination but an idea. You’re busy, work is stressful – wouldn’t it be nice to pack it in and head away for a while? Unyoked plonks tiny cabins in the bush, mountains, streams – pretty much anywhere isolated enough to let you forget about meetings and schedules.

Unyoked has options for doggo companions, a selection of 100 per cent off-grid cabins and all accommodation is solar-powered. There are spots all over the country (with new additions happening regularly) so you could head north to escape the southern cold or lean into a true winter experience with books, music, yoga mats and outdoor firepits included.

Vivid – Sydney
As the winter days grow short, we yearn for a little extra light in our lives. With its iconic light displays, Vivid bills itself as Australia’s brightest festival and it makes for a great excuse for a winter visit to the harbour city. As night descends, head to events like Lightscape, which bathes the Royal Botanic Garden in the light of thousands of LEDs, or descend into a disused railway tunnel under Wynyard Station for a sensory overload of light and music.

This year, Vivid has expanded to include a food focus with international chefs taking over some iconic restaurants, while there’ll also be music (including a tribute concert to Archie Roach) and a series of talks headlined by White Lotus series creator Mike White and star Jennifer Coolidge.

Rising – Melbourne

We know Melbourne is cold at the best of times. The city, though, hardly shuts down as the mercury drops, with the buzzing energy of an Aussie rules season in full swing and the smell of mulled wine drifting from every bar. If you’re planning a jaunt to Melbourne this winter, you’ll need enough space to pack your winter coat, like inside Strand’s Wonda Suitcase. it’s worth lining it up with Rising Festival, which brings together some of the best musicians from around the globe like Weyes Blood, Paul Kelly and Ethel Cain.

You’ll also find spectacular performance art pieces like the hair-raising gross-out ballet Tanz and food events like Night Trade with its woodfired grills and giant Negroni tank.

Tent in the Forest – Noosa
In the wooded hills of Kin Kin in Queensland’s Noosa Hinterland there’s a campground with just one tent. Tent in the Forest is both the destination and a base of operations, an isolated luxury camping experience in a picturesque forest that’s well within striking distance of everything that the hinterland has to offer.

Stay put and explore the Woondum National Park that surrounds you, head to the beaches of Noosa or pop into the town of Kin Kin for some local hospitality at the pub or Black Ant Gourmet, a cafe and restaurant located in its general store. The best part of Tent in the Forest is that you’ll never have anyone pull up beside you and pop their own tent, leaving you free to swing from the provided hammock in complete peace.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Strand. Strand’s range of travel luggage includes everything you’ll need to travel anywhere this winter.