In case you missed it, Zoë Foster Blake and Hamish Blake are Tourism Australia’s newest ambassadors.
What this means — aside from filling our feeds with endless travel inspiration, enviable scenes of glittering skylines, and turtles frolicking in crystal clear water — is that Australia’s favourite couple has embarked on a mission to explore our country’s most beautiful, memorable, and iconic destinations.
In other words, and according to Tourism Australia’s catchphrase, Zoë and Hamish are encouraging us to Holiday Here This Year following a trying year for Australian tourism. And they’re doing just that in an epic new advertisement.
The dreamy new campaign urges Australians to travel further, and for longer. In other words, bigger. A valuable experience for us, a longer holiday deeper into Australia provides crucial support to our tourism operators who typically rely on international tourists.
While no doubt many of us have made the most of quick weekenders and mid-week workations, this new push encourages travel of five days or more — which we recently learned can be beneficial to your mood, relationships, social and work life too.
After watching the ad above, we’d understand if you felt a sudden urge to log your annual leave, pack the car, and hit the road. Hell, we feel the same.
“This latest phase of our Holiday Here This Year campaign is focused on reminding Australians of some of the big adventures that can be had when exploring the many destinations, landscapes, and natural wonders that make Australia truly awe-inspiring,” said Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison.
“With a backyard as vast as ours, Australians are spoilt for choice when it comes to epic destinations and holiday experiences. We have a reef so big you can see it from space, the world’s greatest rock formation, and mountain ranges that dominate over three states and more.”
Of the campaign, Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster-Blake said: “We feel intensely awed by this hugely varied and vast country we live in, and how lucky we are to have so many epic experiences in our backyard. So many of the reasons we travel for – wildlife adventures, forests and hiking, wining and dining, and epic family experiences – are right on our doorstep, and the best way to do them justice is on a big holiday. Go bigger! Stay longer! Eat more! Adventure more! Need we say more?”
To those looking to retrace Zoë and Hamish’s steps, then it’s your lucky day because we’ve rounded up all the unique, remote, and jaw-dropping destinations that star in the new ‘Epic Holidays’ campaign.
Australia’s fave couple went everywhere from Ballina (NSW); Bondi Beach (NSW); Great Barrier Reef (QLD); Litchfield National Park (NT); Purnululu National Park (WA); Kangaroo Island (SA); Otway National Park (VIC); Freycinet (TAS); and Namadgi National Park (ACT).
They also stopped by the National Library of Australia (ACT); National Arboretum (ACT); Cradle Mountain (TAS); Port Lincoln (SA); Tallebudgera Creek (QLD); Kilsby Sinkhole (SA); Ningaloo Reef (WA); Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (NT); Bermagui (NSW); Pambula River, Sapphire Coast (NSW); Wilsons Promontory (VIC); and Wineglass Bay (TAS).
In a little more detail, here are those destinations that saw the most airtime.
Great Barrier Reef, QLD
Litchfield National Park, NT
Purnululu National Park, WA
Cathedral Gorge, WA
Kangaroo Island, SA
Otway National Park, VIC
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