From the Editor

So here’s a question for you.

You haven’t been overseas for almost a year. There’s all of Australia to discover. What have you done so far?

Maybe you hired a house by the coast over Christmas. Perhaps you took an intrastate road trip when restrictions first eased. Hopefully you’ve supported our food and wine industry, which is still reeling.

But how much of Australia have you really explored? And what experts have you turned to for help in seeing our land in entirely new ways?

A little while ago, Qantas magazine’s senior editor, Faith Campbell, returned from an overnight hike in Mount Kosciuszko. She was accompanied by a guide, Josh Shukor from Australian Summit Tours, who has worked in the mountains for five years. People generally take the shortest path up Kosciuszko but Faith and her partner did a 25-kilometre walk of the Main Range track. They saw the famed Blue Lake, filled their water bottles from the Snowy River and camped at Wilkinsons Creek, which was “the most beautiful place I’ve ever camped”, says Faith. Josh not only had the knowledge, experience and stories to make the expedition memorable but he also helped them knock up a mean Penang curry in the wilderness.

I’ve been to Mount Kosciuszko before, too, but never with a guide. Why not? If I was going overseas, I’d hire experts to help me navigate the unfamiliar. I’d want to hear all the stories, learn about what I’m seeing and gain real perspective on a new land.

This year, I’m determined to do that here, to dig a little deeper in my own country. We have an opportunity right now to connect with Australia in a very rich way. This is our chance to treat our country as an international destination and to see it anew.

This special issue focuses on the best of Australia. So where will you go next and what will you do?