By Catherine Best,
June 4, 2025
From outback camel races and a beer can regatta, to Ningaloo stargazing and a nude solstice swim, here are 10 winter events to put on your touring calendar – starting this King’s Birthday long weekend.
Roam Rutherglen, Rutherglen Vic
June 7-8
Get set for some right royal revelry at Australia’s longest-running wine festival this King’s Birthday long weekend. The Victorian High Country town of Rutherglen, sniffing distance from the NSW border, sure knows how to throw a party. Jump on the shuttle bus and buckle up for two days of cellar door tastings, live music, DJ sets, gourmet grub and special events across 17 of the region’s best wineries. Did someone say Muscat cocktails?
Stay
Rutherglen Holiday Park – book a lakefront site amongst the elm trees in the centre of town.
Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta, Darwin, NT
June 8
It’s not quite the polo, but we’re sure King Charles would applaud the spirit behind the Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta, which has been raising money for community causes for more than 50 years. Held at Mindil Beach, the regatta challenges resourceful folks to a race on a boat made from – you guessed it – beer cans. There are prizes for the best-built boats and a host of family-friendly activities, including a tug-of-war, sandcastle-building competitions and beach relays.
Stay
Aspen Holidays Darwin Free-Spirit – a modern park with three swimming pools and a restaurant to boot.
Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim, Hobart, Tas
June 21
Leave your modesty on the beach and embrace the winter chill at Hobart’s annual Nude Solstice Swim. The climax of Dark Mofo, the dawn dip is a festival of flesh as daring bathers dive into the River Derwent to mark the shortest day of the year. Too prudish to take the plunge? It’s still worth checking out the festival – an off-beat and irreverent midwinter celebration of art, music and cultural debauchery.
Stay
Discovery Parks – Hobart– a short hop over the river from the city with views of Mount Wellington/kunanyi.
Ningaloo Sky Festival, Exmouth, WA
June 27-29
After a day eye-balling whale sharks on Western Australia’s wondrous coral coast, turn your gaze to the heavens for the inaugural Ningaloo Sky Festival. The new biennial event, held in Exmouth, will feature live music, a dazzling drone show, food stalls and guided astronomy events. The festival kicks off with a free community concert, headlined by Australian rock band Eskimo Joe.
Stay
RAC Exmouth Cape Holiday Park – close to the action in the centre of town and across the road from the Ningaloo Visitor Centre and Aquarium.
Boulia Camel Races, Boulia, QLD
July 18–20
Dubbed the Melbourne Cup of camel racing, the Boulia Camel Races is one of the most anticipated events on the outback Queensland calendar. Watch the ungainly animals thunder through the red dirt, vying for glory in Australia’s longest and richest camel race. Off the track there’s plenty of entertainment to enjoy, including yabby races, fireworks, live music, amusement rides and the Great Australian Ride-on Lawnmower Race. The event is possibly Australia’s most remote cup meet, held about 300km south of Mount Isa in a far-west Queensland town of just 300 people.
Stay
Camp right at the racetrack with no need for a designated driver, your stay is included in your admission ticket.
Ephemera, Townsville, QLD
July 19 – August 3
North Queensland’s beaches need no titivation but Ephemera will add a certain razzle dazzle to Townsville’s coastline this winter. The public art festival will transform The Strand on the waterfront into a vibrant outdoor gallery. Art installations from 20 artists and five schools will be on exhibition against the backdrop of Magnetic Island. This year’s theme is ‘Trace-Less’ and encourages artists to reflect on place, the environment and Country in their artwork. Up for grabs are thousands of dollars’ worth of exhibitor prizes including the $10,000 Artistic Excellence Award.
Stay
BIG4 Tasman Holiday Parks – Rowes Bay – opposite the beach and walking distance to The Strand, with views across to Magnetic Island.
Garma Festival, Nhulunbuy, NT
August 1 – 4
If you’ve been looking for another reason to attend the Garma Festival, Australia’s largest Indigenous gathering, 2025 is it. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event, a Yolgnu cultural celebration hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation on the Gove Peninsula. The four-day Arnhem Land festival is a showcase of traditional art, storytelling, dance and song. You can drive here if you have a 4WD but, for the full Garma experience, it’s customary to stay in tent accommodation on site (included in your ticket). Leave your RV in Nhulunbuy, 40km from the festival.
Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash, Broken Hill, NSW
August 21-23
Grab your imitation flame thrower and apocalyptic leathers and join more than 12,000 revellers for a three-day desert jam at the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash. Held on the outback plains of a working sheep station in Mad Max territory, the Bash promises another blockbuster line up this year. Taking to the stage in far-western NSW are Missy Higgins, Hoodoo Gurus, The Cat Empire, Birds of Tokyo, The Angels, Kasey Chambers and many more. Between sets you can also take part in a Nutbush World Record attempt to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Can revellers top last year’s epic record-breaking dance off? Expect the bash to be even bigger this year, with the event’s sister festival, the famous Birdsville Big Red Bash, in hiatus until 2026.
Stay
The Bash is a camping festival tailor-made for RVs, with a site included in your ticket.
Fleurieu Food Festival, Fleurieu Peninsula, SA
August
South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula has jaw-dropping beaches but they’re really just a distraction from the food! Gourmands know winter is the time to visit when the peninsula, just south of Adelaide, rolls out the picnic blanket for a month-long food festival. Expect degustation dinners, foraging experiences, farm tours, cooking classes and maybe even a Mad Hatters Tea Party. Call in to the Willunga Farmers Market for a bounty of fresh local produce all in the one place, but spare some room for a takeaway bottle or two of wine. One glass won’t be enough when you call in to one of the many cellar doors in McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek.
Stay
Rapid Bay Camping Ground – park up by the beach at this no-frills campground overlooking the Gulf St Vincent.
Shinju Matsuri, Broome, WA
August 23 – September 7
Fancy dining beneath the stars with a few hundred of your best mates? Broome offers all this and more during Shinju Matsuri, the Japanese ‘Festival of the Pearl’. The annual event, honouring Broome’s 50-year pearling history, is a 16-day celebration of multiculturalism, food, art, music and place. Join the fun and take part in the floating lantern festival, watch Chinese dragons wow crowds in the float parade, feel the rhythm at a DJ beach dance party, and eat your way around the many market stalls. The festival culminates in the Sunset Long Table Dinner, an gastronomic feast set on the famous sands of Cable Beach. This Kimberley beach town sure knows how to put on a show.
Stay
RAC Cable Beach Holiday Park – a neat and tidy park with a great pool, walking distance to Cable Beach.
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