The best thing you can do to get a feel for a country’s culture is to get outside its metropolitan areas. I read great things about a small town called Daylesford. It’s just a ninety-minute drive north of Melbourne. Daylesford online was described as the Provincetown of Australia, and I was immediately hooked on the idea of a visit. Provincetown, Massachusetts, is one of my favorite vacation destinations in America. I call it gay summer camp for its playful atmosphere and the massive gay turnout in the summertime. Going there is like an annual reunion of friends; you’re bound to run into every ex, friends who moved away, or maybe just people you’ve lost touch with. You’re guaranteed to see them in Ptown. I was eager to get to Daylesford to see what similarities exist. Lucky for me, the Thailand and Cambodia tour leader, Oliver, was also traveling in Australia, so I invited him to join me for a road trip to Daylesford and down to the Great Ocean Road. Being the adventurous type, he agreed without hesitation! And since he’s a UK native, he’s a pro at left-side driving, relieving me a lot of road trip pressure.

Our accommodation, The Lake House, is a fantastic resort boasting top rankings on travel sites and restaurant guides. It’s situated on the bank of Daylesford Lake, a small body of water created by a retention dam not too far away. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, with all types of waterfowl fishing in the lake or napping. A ten-minute walk uphill, and you’re in the village of Daylesford. It’s an old mining town turned boutique shops, wine stores, and breweries. Its rustic storefronts give strong western cowboy vibes, with several church steeples towering in the background in every direction. A constant flow of trucks and SUVs with top-mounted exhaust pipes further confirmed that I was surrounded by good boys and girls.

Since Daylesford is also in the middle of the Macedon Ranges wine region, it also hosts several wine shops featuring local wines, meats, and cheeses made nearby. Although I didn’t get the same “gay summer camp” feeling of Ptown, I did see that behind the scenes, many of the shops and restaurants were gay-owned. There were several retired gay couples spotted at the various breweries and wine bars. The big turnout and probably how it earned its Ptown description is the annual festival called Chillout, which attracts tens of thousands of LGBTQ people and their allies each year. Unfortunately, due to poor planning, I booked the Daylesford weekend outing in conflict with Melbourne’s kick-off to gay pride month. So, this is not the weekend for gays in Daylesford; everyone except for Ollie and me is in Melbourne. But, I have no regrets; I needed this slower pace, and don’t tell anyone I said this, but when you’ve been to as many gay pride festivals as me, you can stand to miss one or two without risking a revoked gay card.

Ollie and I made a 10-minute trek up the hill to the village to get a lay of the land. We walked down each side of the two intersecting routes that housed the village businesses. Many elegant home decor shops and antique stores filled the rim with trash and treasure. A quick browse through the most significant antique store revealed that we have the same junk even in a town on the other side of the planet! I was disappointed to find little inventory considered “uniquely Australian.”

The Lake House Resort was well known for its fine dining, so it was common to see outside guests in the restaurant. Each meal was thankfully included with the substantially overpriced room cost. Dinner was a 4 course fixed menu with three or four choices per course. It was a difficult decision each evening – do I repeat the fantastic meal from the prior night or switch it up? Each course was a piece of art; the flavors were rich with juices and sauces, and when paired with wine, you left the table so overfed that it was unpleasant. I swore to only eat half the courses going forward. Unfortunately, all the rich food and wine really added up for me, and I nursed gastro issues for the remainder of my stay. I tried to dial back the following day’s order but left feeling the same with the same symptoms the next day. Then we gave up our dinner reservation for the final night; it was just too rich and too much food to eat each night. The fact the menu stayed the same throughout our stay was a disappointment- I had already picked my favorite of each course, so making other choices to create new meals seemed like a second choice dinner. The last night, we ate at a cute local pub, chowing down on familiar favorites like fish and chips.

Before leaving, we toured the countryside, checking out local wineries and hiking to a nearby waterfall; we even found a herd of kangaroos napping at the top of a hill. I was shocked by how big they are. Now, if we could only see a koala, I’d be closer to completing my “American in Australia Bingo Card.”

The countryside is a natural attraction here. I’ve never seen such perfectly rounded rolling hills. Layers and layers are dotted with white sheep, cattle, and horses. It was too picturesque to be accurate. The locals were up to the mark, fulfilling the expectation that Australians are the nicest and most friendly people on the planet.

Although I wasn’t in “the hotspot place for the weekend, I was in the right place for this journey of learning and exploring. No regrets or doubts about it.