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Traveller Awards: Adventure
Whether you’re after an adrenaline-pumping quad-bike dash in the bush or a soul-searching hike in prehistoric-like surrounds, we’ve hand-picked experiences to ignite your sense of wonder and maybe even leave you with a lasting sense of accomplishment. Read on for our Traveller Awards 2025 winners in the Adventure category.
European Alps
The Tour du Mont Blanc is one of Europe’s most spectacular long-distance hikes, a 170-kilometre circumnavigation of the soaring Mont Blanc massif that winds its way through France, Italy and Switzerland. But it’s also one of the toughest, traversing seven valleys and numerous mountain passes with almost 10 kilometres of gruelling climbs and descents. Explore’s eight-day Highlights of Mont Blanc hiking trip showcases the route’s best bits without the thigh-burning ups and downs. Guests stay in a stylish Alpine chalet hotel in the Chamonix Valley (complete with restaurant, pool and sauna), using it as a base for daily eight to 13-kilometre guided excursions into the epic mountainous surrounds. See exploreworldwide.com.au
Kumano Kodo, Japan
Everyone’s heard of Spain’s Camino de Santiago, but few people realise that there’s another UNESCO World Heritage-listed pilgrimage in the Kii Peninsula on the Japanese island of Honshu. Ever since former Japanese Emperor Uda sought enlightenment by hiking through this remote, mountainous region in 906, everyone from peasants to samurai have followed in his footsteps, using a network of trails called the Kumano Kodo that connects three sacred Shinto Grand Shrines. Specialist operator Walk Japan offers a nine-day trip on the Nakahechi, the most popular Kumano Kodo route, staying in traditional ryokans with fabulous multi-course Japanese fare and restorative onsens. Already hiked the Camino? Complete the Kumano and you’ll join a distinguished group of dual pilgrims. See walkjapan.com
North Island Mountain Biking, New Zealand
The South Island gets all of New Zealand’s cycling glory but this five-day Adventure South trip from Rotorua to Taupo showcases the best bits of four of the North Island’s most scenic Great Rides. After a 33-kilometre loop through the Whakarewarewa Forest’s soaring California redwoods, the trip samples the exhilarating single track that skirts the mighty Waikato River and the cobalt-hued Lake Taupo. The highlight is the Timber Trail, an 85-kilometre purpose-built cycle track through the remote Pureora Forest Park that crosses eight thrilling suspension bridges. Saved from logging in the late 1970s, the protected area contains one of the world’s last remaining podocarp forests with towering stands of rimu and totara. See adventuresouth.co.nz
Glenworth Valley Wilderness Adventures, NSW
Ready … Steady … Vroom! Take a ride on the wild side with a quad-biking adventure in the bush, an hour north of Sydney in picturesque Glenworth Valley. With safety front of mind, you’re steered through a lesson, first in how to drive, how to tackle corners and when to slow down and speed up. Then you drive through the forest, along a pretty trail with some spectacular views, before testing your mettle at a purpose-built circuit. It’s an adrenaline-pumping few hours that caters to all levels of ability and bravado, and the staff can’t do enough for you, supplying all the safety gear and even overalls to avoid the dust and dirt. But a warning: it’s addictive. glenworth.com.au/quad-biking
Alpine Nature Experience, Victoria
In a hidden meadow near Mount Hotham, a collection of rustic tepees and a trio of bubbled hyperdomes huddle amid the snow gums. This is Alpine Nature Experience’s off-grid eco-village, which runs winter snowshoe and fondue evenings in Victoria’s High Country. But the star offering is its two-day supported summer hike, the Falls to Hotham Crossing. French-born owner JF Rupp suspends the tents in the trees, builds the campfire and has hot dinners and the G&Ts waiting at the end of each day’s hike. The carbon-neutral company composts its organic waste, harvests rainwater and runs on solar. Almost all the delicious food, including the world’s best hikers’ lunchboxes, is sourced from within 120 kilometres of Mount Hotham. Book the eco-village’s hot tub for the ultimate wind down. See alpinenatureexperience.com.au
Awasi Iguazu, Argentina
To bear witness to the power and beauty of Iguazu Falls is incredible; to do it with almost no one else around is truly phenomenal. That’s the offer at Awasi Iguazu, a luxury lodge in the heart of the jungle in northern Argentina. The staff can get you to Devil’s Throat, perhaps the most spectacular Iguazu viewing point, in the early morning before anyone else. You have it all to yourself for a good 15 to 20 minutes. That, however, is not all that sets this property apart. Awasi offers myriad ways to enjoy outdoor adventure in this region, from stand-up paddleboarding on a quiet lake to boat trips on the Parana River to mountain-biking through the jungle. awasi.com
Transcaucasian Trail, Georgia
When fully completed, the Transcaucasian Trail will squirm for 3000 kilometres through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia – a dramatic, mountainous region wedged between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. World Expeditions offers hiking trips in both Georgia and Armenia but the Georgian section is particularly impressive given it visits Ushguli, one of Europe’s highest permanently inhabited villages, and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the claimed final resting place of Jesus’ robe. Starting in the vibrant capital of Tbilisi, the 10-day trip plunges into the spectacular Caucasus Mountains, a buckling landscape of forested ravines and raging glacial rivers. Staying in remote mountain villages, it offers an intriguing insight into Georgia’s Soviet past and its increasingly Western future. See worldexpeditions.com
Te Ara Hura Trail, New Zealand
For the vast majority of visitors to Auckland, Waiheke Island is a popular day trip – a place to go wine tasting and gallery hopping before jumping on the 40-minute ferry back to the city. What’s less well-known is that the island is also home to the stunning Te Ara Hura trail, a 100-kilometre track that snakes around the island’s perimeter, showcasing its scenic coastal headlands, secluded beaches and densely forested interior. The challenge, of course, is organising all the logistical shenanigans to tackle the whole thing. Cue Great Walks of New Zealand’s six-day Te Ara Hura trip, a fabulous self-guided tour which includes transfers, accommodation, most meals and a GPS phone app. See greatwalksofnewzealand.co.nz
Hike Kilimanjaro, Africa
“Na penda fimbo yangu! (I love my walking stick),” announces a fellow trekker in new-found Swahili, causing hilarity. An eight-day Kilimanjaro hike, where bonds are forged in literal – and mental – highs and lows, is like no other. It’s also the only one of the world’s Seven Summits (the highest mountain on each continent) accessible to mere mortals with zero climbing skills, its altitude of 5985 metres usually being reserved for mountaineers. Africa’s highest mountain halts the hasty – ascending slowly is key to avoiding altitude sickness. The rewards? Surreal scenery, from tropical plantations to otherworldly Jurassic-like jungle and a lunarscape that, combined with a sense of achievement, are transformative. This isn’t just a trek but a reset for the soul. See worldexpeditions.com
Great Ocean Road long weekend, Victoria
Time-poor but outdoors-hungry? Tasmanian Walking Company’s three-day journey meanders along sections of the spectacular Great Ocean Walk on Victoria’s south-west coast, sometimes through scrubby coastal forest, sometimes beneath tall timbers; over beaches with rusty remnants of shipwrecks and along the coastal clifftops, wild surf breaking and maybe a whale breaching in the distance. And the kilometres walked all justify the indulgence back at the private eco-lodge where you might find yourself with feet soaking in a warm foot spa, refreshment in hand – beer or wine sourced nearby, and for dinner, some lobster from the local fishing co-op, cheese from the dairies, even a venison ragu with local origin. See taswalkingco.com.au
Traveller Awards contributors: Kate Allman, Kate Armstrong, Flip Byrnes, Justine Costigan, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Jenny Hewett, Belinda Jackson, Kerry van der Jagt, Julietta Jameson, Trudi Jenkins, Brian Johnston, Ute Junker, Katrina Lobley, Catherine Marshall, Chrissie McClatchie, Rob McFarland, Justin Meneguzzi, Julie Miller, Jane Reddy, Jane Richards, Katherine Scott, Craig Tansley, Lee Tulloch, Sue Williams, Riley Wilson.
