Spicers Retreats has developed smallgroup, all-inclusive walking adventures here that last five or seven days, with an average pace of 10 or 15 kilometres daily. You’ll need to be reasonably fit, but you won’t be shouldering any gear. Luggage is transferred and, as you pause at panoramic viewpoints, a reviving afternoon tea is served.

Your energy isn’t consumed with rolling out the swag at day’s end, either. Instead, awesome accommodation awaits in glamorous eco-cabins, a farmhouse or a luxury retreat, depending on the night. The only demand you face is deciding whether to have a shower or cocktail first before your chef-prepared dinner, which showcases fresh local produce such ascrayfish and artisan cheeses.

Experienced guides show the way on your daily hikes and provide insight into the surrounding environment. Take time not just to admire the big views but the towering ferns, mossy tree bark and abundant wildlife. The birds are especially rewarding, with abundant species ranging from glossy black cockatoos, king parrots and lyrebirds to wedge-tailed eagles.

This is a hike to soothe your soul, and if you really want to unwind you can add on nights at nearby Spicers Retreats afterwards. Nor is this our only world-class walk that combines iconic landscapes with indulgent accommodation. Here are four more great adventures around Australia.

Starry nights: Bay of Fires walk

This world-class walk easily demonstrates that Australia is second to none for great wilderness hikes that don’t require sacrifi cing life’s finer things. The northeast corner of Tasmania has fresh air to blow away urban cobwebs, national park, pristine beaches, marsupial-nibbled heathland and sweeping ocean views. After a hike, kayak or (for those who dare) take an ocean plunge to invigorate the soul.

Campsites are located in the southern and middle sections of the conservation area, eco-lodges and a range of accommodation around Binalong Bay and St Helens.

Back to Nature: Twelve Apostles walk

Mere sightseers hurtle along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road in a day, but a fourday hike provides a stress-busting, more intimate way to explore the shipwreck-studded coastline and its intimate inland folds. The variety is superb: forests, wetlands, fern-filled gullies, ragged headlands and battered beaches.

Starry nights: Arkaba walk

It took a half-billion years to create the Flinders Ranges’ cracked mountains and fossil-studded gorges, but a three-day hike will soak you in its splendours. This walk takes you across awe-inspiring Wilpena Pound and Arkaba’s private wildlife conservancy.

Valleys sprinkled with pine and casuarina trees are cut through by seasonal rivers lined with towering eucalyptus. There’s a range of accommodation options, but spending nights in a swag and being dazzled by outback stars is unforgettable.

Self-guided: Cape to Cape walk

You’d expect Western Australia’s Margaret River region to feature spa retreats, attractive cellar doors and great produce on the plate, but this sophisticated region also offers breathtaking coastal scenery in a collision of cliffs, limestone caves, white beaches and towering karri forests – not to mention the tallest lighthouse in the nation. There’s a range of guided, group and self-guided tour options and fi tness
levels. To really immerse yourself in Mother Nature’s fi nest work, a selfguided tour gives you the fl exibility and freedom to discover, explore and absorb at your own pace.

Bonus hike:

It’s not in Australia and it’s not overnight, but it is a full day and our kiwi neighbours deserve a mention in anticipation of a travel bubble. Away from the popular Milford Sound and Franz Joseph (which are incredibly beautiful, but busy) is the Ben Lomond Track, on New Zealand’s South Island. There’s a range of trails and tracks, including to the Ben Lomond Saddle (3-4 hours) and to the more demanding but rewarding Ben Lomond Summit (6-8 hours), for advanced and high level hikers.

Explore Spicers 5-or-7- day Scenic Rim Trail, a luxury walk taking in mountains, plains, woodlands and rainforests, millions of years in the making. Book now for 2021 at spicersretreats.com/scenic-rim-trail/