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Rural Tourism

Will and Michael have found a full life in country Australia. Can other millennials follow in their footsteps?

After swapping life in the city for sheep and a vegetable garden, the couple is running a thriving gin distillery. Demographers believe more people in their age bracket could make the move to country areas as lower property prices offer more opportunities.
Updated
Two men stand behind a bar

Parks and Wildlife staff clean King Solomons Cave during Tasmanian off-season.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service staff clean King Solomons Cave in the state's north during the winter off-season when it is closed to tourists.
ABC News Current
Duration: 50 seconds

Vehicles copping a 'hell of a hit' on pothole-ridden Barkly highways

The NT cattle industry and tourists are calling for urgent repairs on the Stuart, Barkly and Tablelands highways after a heavy wet season caused significant damage.  
A pothole more than a meter long sits in a sealed road. A red warning sign is in the edge of the road.

'Digital detox' and a life in the saddle is a dream come true for these backpackers-turned-cowgirls

Working on a cattle station in one of the most remote parts of Australia, these backpackers say outback life is an opportunity that more young Australians should be taking up.
A blonde woman wearing a cowboy hat stares into the sunset

'Perfect weather, fishing's great' but where are the tourists?

It is supposed to be peak tourism season, but locals in small outback tourist towns have never seen it so quiet and are worried businesses won't survive.
Updated
A caravan beside a rock pool in outback Queensland.

The Queenslanders beating America at their own game

It's one of Australia's most iconic brands, yet on every RM Williams product is something very American.
Updated
Texas Longhorn 'Jake' with twisting horns

Chestnut growers look to adapt after changing climate causes harvest slump

John and Linda Stanley have just come out the other side of what they are calling "the worst year for any chestnut grower" which produced only 1.7 tonnes of their normal 12-tonne crop.
Chestnuts on a bench.

Rock legends say government should step in to save major WA cultural festival

The Ord Valley Muster showcases the East Kimberley's Indigenous culture, pastoral heritage and spectacular landscape, but a ticket sale dive at last month's event has put the festival on shaky financial ground.
the lead singer of a rock band on stage sings

With no more middlemen, these family farms have saved themselves with agritourism

Facing closure, Kay Tommerup saved her family's dairy farm by cutting ties with processors and embracing agritourism. Now she wants to change the future for other small farmers.
A family posed with a dog on the bonnet of an old rusty truck.

As late fungi season blooms in mushroom 'paradise', foragers are urged to be wary

Fungi enthusiasts in SA's South East say there's a lot of interest in this year's season, despite recent cases of suspected mushroom poisonings.
White, yellow and red fungi

Burning hundreds of litres of diesel just to stay open: Welcome to the rainforest without electricity

Queensland's Daintree Rainforest does not have mains electricity — so many residents are burning hundreds of litres of "dirty" diesel fuel a week just to keep their businesses running.
A family photo featuring mum, dad, and five kids, posing in front of a scenic rainforest and body of water.

In this outback town, a plague of flies has a silver lining

An "absolutely shocking" number of bush flies has caught both locals and visitors to the Gascoyne off guard, with a hot summer followed by a mild autumn blamed for the outbreak. 
A woman in sunglasses wears a broadbrimmed hat crawling with hundreds of flies.

Third time's the charm for council bridge repeatedly washed away in floods

The same week a mountain-biking trail bridge across the Mersey River was installed, it washed away. A second, more sturdier version also washed away in another flood. Now it is hoped a third bridge will be the last.
Updated
A bicycle rider rides away from the camera across a suspension bridge over a river.

Fewer grey nomads in outback Queensland as holiday-makers head overseas

Travellers are choosing planes and cruise ships over road trips, Queensland tourism operators say, as the industry faces a slow start to the season.
A caravan beside a rock pool in outback Queensland.

Red Centre Adventure ride a "dead duck" after NT government negotiations fail

A multi-million dollar mountain bike ride, joining the Alice Springs Desert Park to the picturesque Glen Helen gorge in the Tjorita/West MacDonnell National Park, has been labelled by the Alice Springs industry peak body as a "dead duck" after six years of land negotiations with traditional owners have failed.
ABC News Current
Duration: 38 seconds

Crickets and cabernet, anyone? Winery launches edible insect wine tasting

A South Australian winery is turning the tables on wine tastings by pairing gourmet crunchy critters with cabernet to celebrate its focus on sustainability.
roasted crickets on a spoon with wine in the background.

How a booming mining region became Australia's beef capital

Gold, sheep, now beef cattle — Rockhampton has a varied history. But it's an event held every three years that has secured Rockhampton its spot as the beef capital of Australia.
A young woman smiling and wearing a winning ribbon as she holds onto stud cattle.

Channel Country blooms as floodwaters transform outback desert, stunning tourists

In Queensland’s far west, recent flooding has brought the channel country alive, with a wave of wildflowers carpeting the desert.
Updated
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 35 seconds

Four years after COVID shuttered borders, millions of international tourists are nowhere to be seen

The return of international tourists to Australia appears to be stalling, with numbers almost 30 per cent down on 2019. So how do we get them back?
Two young women of Latin American background standing in front of a boat on a sunny day

Beloved Victor Harbor horse dies after falling ill with Ross River virus, operator says

One of the beloved Clydesdale horses of South Australia's tram to Granite Island – the last horse-drawn tram in Australia – has died after being infected with Ross River virus, the operator says.
Updated
A horse on a jetty pulling a tram with an island and sea in the background

WA Premier called to intervene and help reopen Pilbara ghost town

A traditional owner group has criticised the WA government over the closure of a burgeoning tourist spot in the Pilbara.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 3 seconds

Darwin locals ‘treat’ tourist to rare Territory sight

Twenty years after it happened the first time. Visitors on the Ghan Train from Adelaide to Darwin have been treated to a "full moon” but not the kind you'd expect. A warning this story contains some minor nudity.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 32 seconds

El Questro tourism precinct flags crackdown on fee dodging as locals call for cheap passes

The remote resort is famous globally for showcasing the Kimberley's gems, but those who have been relaxing in springs and gorges for free may soon have to pay up. 
a homestead and accommodation along a cliff lining a river through an outback setting

Eccentric country performer's tree stump sailing tale lives on

In 1984, rural entertainer Frank 'The Chookman' Turton was near his home in South Australia's Riverland when he stumbled upon a magnificent river red gum root system. Determined to share the natural wonder with the world, he sailed it down the River Murray.
The grains and details on a tree stump. There are divots and lines in the wood.
Duration: 5 minutes 3 seconds

New home for legendary river red gum stump and its almost unbelievable history

Frank Turton was on a bush adventure near his home in South Australia's Riverland when he stumbled upon a magnificent river red gum root system. He attached a motor and sailed it down the River Murray. But now it's time for the stump's next big move.
Man examines gnarled tree stump in rural setting
Duration: 2 minutes 2 seconds