Natasha Bazika

Of course, Australia has been named one of the best places to survive an apocalypse. We’ve spent generations preparing for things that want to kill us: sharks, snakes, bushfires, cyclones and the metal buckle of a seatbelt in summer. Now there’s research to back us up. A new study has named Australia as “likely the most resilient place on Earth” when it comes to surviving global catastrophes – from nuclear war and pandemics to volcanic eruptions and large-scale infrastructure collapse. Published in the journal Global Challenges, the study reviewed 152 academic papers looking at what makes some places better equipped to ride out a catastrophe. Australia scored well for some fairly obvious reasons: it’s geographically isolated, produces a lot of food, has energy reserves, has a range of climate zones and has a long growing season. It was the only country the researchers identified as resilient across all three major categories of global catastrophic risk they examined, including sudden loss of sunlight, large-scale infrastructure failure and catastrophic biological threats such as pandemics. Tasmania gets an extra tick for being, well, Tasmania. It’s an island, has plenty of farmland and a temperate climate. The researchers call it a “refuge in a refuge”. Photograph: Re Walsh via UnsplashTable Cape, Tasmania It’s not exactly apocalypse-proof. Australia still relies on international trade for fuel, medicine and fertiliser, and we have our own regular disasters to contend with,

There are plenty of places in Melbourne where you can hear electronic music – but under a freeway, with 5,000 other people, is a new one. The Underpass is Melbourne’s newest live music venue, built beneath an elevated freeway in the city’s inner-west. It hasn’t even opened, but already has Bicep and Fatboy Slim booked to play. The Underpass comes from Novel, the promoter behind some of Melbourne’s better-known bridge parties, including Intercell, Smalltown and A3. The site hasn’t previously been used for electronic music events, and there’s no attempt to hide what it is: a big, raw space with a freeway running overhead. Photograph: SuppliedThe Underpass new site, Footscray Rd The venue will hold more than 5,000 punters, putting it among Melbourne’s bigger outdoor music spaces. So, yes, you’ll be dancing under a freeway – which is a fairly Melbourne way to spend a Saturday night. Photograph: SuppliedFatboy Slim Bicep will open The Underpass on November 1 and 2, with final tickets remaining for the second night, which falls before a public holiday (score!). Then, on March 12 and 13, 2027, Fatboy Slim will play under the same enormous stretch of freeway as part of his grand Australian tour. Keep an eye on their Instagram for updates and to watch it all come together. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: The best live music venues and pubs in Melbourne A chic, Euro-coded eatery ha

Turns out all those years of complaining about experiencing four seasons in one day were actually just training. A new global analysis has ranked Melbourne the third most climate-resilient major city in the world, behind Chicago in the US and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The ranking comes from AlphaGeo, a Singapore-based geospatial AI company that analysed 72 of the world’s largest cities to see how well they can cope with climate-related disasters. And it’s not just about which cities are least likely to get rained on.  AlphaGeo looked at six major climate risks: inland and coastal flooding, heat stress, drought, wildfires and hurricane winds, then assessed how well cities are set up to deal with them. That includes early-warning systems, governance, infrastructure and flood protection. The podium finish puts Melbourne ahead of cities including Barcelona, Ankara, Buenos Aires, Paris, Istanbul and Bogotá. Chicago took the top spot, helped by its temperate climate, access to freshwater and relatively low hurricane risk, as well as decades of investment in infrastructure designed to manage flooding. Melbourne, of course, isn’t immune to climate disasters. The city already deals with heatwaves, floods and severe storms, and climate projections point to more hot days, lower rainfall and more very high fire-danger days in the coming decades. Still, third place is pretty decent going for a city where the weather can serve up four seasons before lunch. The 10 most climate-resilient cit

There’s good steak, there’s very good steak, and then there’s steak that gets flown to Amsterdam to be judged against 470 others for the title of the world’s best. The winner of the 2026 World Steak Challenge is an Australian Wagyu fillet, bred and raised at Torrens Creek in Central Queensland by fourth-generation cattle producers Adam and Hayley Rea. Photograph: Supplied | Paradigm FoodsCattle farmers Adam and Hayley Rea The Senku Pure Wagyu fillet, produced by Brisbane-based Paradigm Foods, took the top prize at the international ceremony on September 10, after more than 60 judges from across the globe assessed the entries blind. If you don’t spend much time thinking about Wagyu, the basic idea is that it’s prized for its marbling: those fine flecks and veins of fat running through the meat. That fat is a big part of what gives Wagyu its rich texture, but getting it there takes some very particular breeding and feeding.This particular animal started life on the Reas’ property before heading to Sapphire Feedlot, where it was finished on a bespoke grain program. Photograph: Supplied | Paradigm FoodsSenku Pure Wagyu fillet “This is the first time we have ever entered the World Steak Challenge, and we've come away with the top title, judged blind against the best in the world,” says Paradigm Foods general manager Nick Thompson. For the Reas, who’ve spent most of their working lives breeding Wagyu, the win is a little hard to believe. “To have an animal we raised on our own

  Spirit of Tasmania, the ferry that shuttles passengers, cars and caravans between mainland Australia and Tasmania, is adding two new vessels to its fleet. And if you’re travelling with a dog, there’s some good news: unlike the old ships, these shiny new vessels have cabins where pets can sleep with you. The new Spirit of Tasmania IV and Spirit of Tasmania V pet-friendly cabins can accommodate up to two pets, giving animal owners the option to keep their four-legged passengers with them for the Bass Strait crossing rather than using the ship’s kennel facilities. Photograph: Supplied | Spirit of TasmaniaPet-Friendly Cabins “We’ve seen ongoing demand from passengers for more choice when travelling with pets, and that being able to bring their pets with them is an important consideration when planning their trip,” says Tom Wootton, general manager of retail and hospitality at the Spirit of Tasmania. Photograph: Supplied | Deluxe CabinsDeluxe Cabins It’s not just the pet accommodation that’s new, either. The ships will carry 470 more passengers per sailing and have 301 cabins, including family rooms sleeping up to six, deluxe berths and premium business recliners. Photograph: Supplied | Spirit of TasmaniaRecliners Spirit of Tasmania's CEO Chris Carbone says the new ships will offer “greater capacity, more accommodation choice and a contemporary onboard experience that is distinctly Tasmanian.” They’re leaning pretty heavily into that last bit. The Huon Lounge will showcase

Australia is a long way from everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you always need to spend 14 hours on a plane to get overseas. Depending on where you live, you can swap the long-haul flight to Europe for an international escape in under four hours, and in one case, just 80 minutes! Here are some of the quickest international getaways from Australia. Dili, Timor-Leste – from the Top End Flight time: 1 hour 20 minutes from Darwin If you’re flying out of Darwin, you can be in Timor-Leste in just 80 minutes. Dili is still relatively under the radar, with good diving straight off the coast, mountain trails, Portuguese history and a cool coffee scene. It’s also closer to Darwin than Alice Springs, which gives you some idea of just how near it is. Intrepid Travel recently named Timor-Leste one of the least visited destinations in Southeast Asia on its 2027 Not Hot List, making it a good time to go and discover something different. Photograph: Supplied | Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Tourism and EnvironmentDili, Timor-Leste Denpasar, Bali – from the West Coast Flight time: 3 hours 40 minutes from Perth For Perth, Bali is practically the overseas neighbour. The flight takes under four hours, which is less time than you might spend driving south on a busy long weekend. Once you land, you’ve got the beaches and beach clubs of Uluwatu, the markets and restaurants of Ubud, or the easy option of finding a good nasi goreng and calling it a day. Photograph: Mahmud Ahsan via UnsplashTemple i

If you’ve ever looked at a map of Western Australia and thought, “I could drive that,” Karijini National Park is one of the places you were probably thinking about. The journey from Perth takes around 15 hours (with no stops) and covers roughly 1,500 kilometres, taking you into the breathtaking Pilbara region. Though if you’re short on time and a playlist, you can fly from Perth to Paraburdoo in about two hours, then hire a car and explore the region on four wheels.  Among its many attractions is Knox Gorge. The dramatic red chasm meets Wittenoom Gorge and is simply a spectacular landscape to see. Until a recent $2.1 million upgrade, getting to its lookout meant tackling some pretty rough terrain. Now travellers can get to the good bits without needing to scale a mountain. But if you want to, by all means. Photograph: Supplied | DBCANew accessible path and raised boardwalk leading to the Knox Gorge Lookout The upgrade, carried out with local Aboriginal business MIB Projects, includes a new accessible path and raised steel boardwalk leading to Knox Gorge Lookout. Wheelchair users can roll right up to the edge of the billion-year-old chasm. The car park has also had a serious upgrade. During the dry season, from April to October, finding a spot could be a bit of a battle. There are now 73 car bays and 12 long-vehicle bays for caravans, with the expanded car park also set to service the upcoming Red Gorge hike-and-cycle trail, due to start construction in 2027. There are new t

“See this?” Carleeta says, clutching a handful of coastal wattle. “Watch.” She rubs it between her palms, adds a splash of water, and it starts to foam. Actual foam. Like, the kind you’d pay $50 for at Aēsop. It’s frothy and soft, clinging to her hands while the five of us just stare, slightly baffled that we now know how to wash our hands on a beach without sanitiser. “There’s a lot we learn from Country,” she says. I’m on day two of the four-day wukalina Walk along Tasmania’s north-east coast, guided by Carleeta Rose Helen Thomas, a proud pakana woman of North East lutruwita/Tasmania. In less than 48 hours, she’s already shown us how to pack a wound with ‘old man’s beard,’ a fluffy, stringy climbing plant, and brewed tea from one of her favourite native shrubs, kunzea. It’s anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and a natural insect repellent.  Photograph: Natasha Bazika The walk begins with a three-hour drive from Launceston to Mt William National Park and a climb up wukalina Summit. It’s not Everest, thankfully, but enough uphill to make me regret eating the chocolate brownie in my packed lunch. Wukalina means ‘woman’s breast’. “It’s considered a place of nurturing,” Carleeta tells us when we reach the top. At the summit, we sip kunzea tea while the wind tries to steal our hats. She mentions that this spot was a smoke signalling site. “Our old fellas would light fires to communicate or warn the women when sealers were coming.” The women she’s talking about could hold their b