Unconventional Outings to Round Up the Crew for Something Different
Hands-on outings across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne for the group chat that's already bored of brunch and bar-hopping.
Every one of these ideas gets the whole group actually doing something, not just sitting around drinking something. Piloting your own boat down the river for a few hours, learning to shape a bowl at the pottery wheel, mixing a proper cocktail behind the bar instead of ordering one, spotting the hidden geometry in a hundred-year-old facade on a walk through the city.
In Brisbane, BY.ARTISANS runs its own craft distillery alongside a bar, so their gin-blending workshop can slide straight into sharing plates and tasting flights without switching venues. Sydney's Rocks Ghost Tour spends an hour walking lantern-lit laneways with tales of the district's convict past, then lands back at The Doss House — once Sydney's first convict hospital — for a cocktail and canapés by candlelight. A short Uber from the CBD, Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre runs trail rides through the park for complete beginners, no experience required. And on the Mornington Peninsula, Enchanted Adventure Garden will send your group up a five-level obstacle course of rope bridges, a Tarzan swing and ziplines, ten metres above the treetops. Presented by Honda ZR-V, here are nine outings to inspire your next weekend with the crew.
Read other guides in our A to Z with Honda ZR-V series:
After-Work Drink Spots to Meet Your Friends and Wind Down the Day
Cheap Eats That Over-Deliver On Their Modest Price Tag
Road Trips Just Outside of Town to Fill an Entire Day Out
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Things to DoWalking Tour of the CBD's Art Deco Buildings
220 Collins Street, Melbourne
Run by Melbourne Tours on Sunday mornings, this CBD walk traces the 1934 building boom that turned a grim Victorian streetscape into the city’s run of eccentric art deco facades.
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Things to DoCeramiques
15 Horne Street, Elsternwick
Its two-hour introductory wheel-throwing sessions turn total beginners into first-time potters, glazing and firing two to four pieces each, inside studios built to feel unhurried rather than like a class.
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Things to DoEnchanted Adventure
55 Purves Road, Arthurs Seat
Twenty-five acres of Mornington Peninsula bushland given over to tree surfing courses, tube slides, a canopy walk and a hedge maze, built for a full day off the ground.
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Things to DoEau de Vie Cocktail Masterclass
1 Malthouse Lane, Melbourne
Held in the bar’s private Whisky Room, this 90-minute class has the team teaching you to shake, stir and build three cocktails from a bar once ranked in the World’s 50 Best.
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Things to DoHorseback Trail Ride at Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre
114-120 Lang Road, Moore Park
Nearly 200 horses are stabled at this heritage-listed complex, where guided trail rides loop through the same parklands Sydneysiders have saddled up in for well over a century.
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Things to DoThe Rocks Ghost Tours
110 George Street, The Rocks
Running since 1994, this tour uses local historians to unlock off-limits sites most tourists never see, threading pub cellars and sandstone lanes through 200 years of documented Rocks hauntings.
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BarBY.ARTISANS
99 Jane Street, West End
This slick gin distillery turns eucalyptus leaves that Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary’s koalas leave behind into a native-botanical Signature Gin, poured right beside the stills that make it.
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Things to DoGoBoat Picnic on the River
194 Breakfast Creek Road, Newstead
No licence needed to skipper these silent electric boats, built from reclaimed timber and recycled PET bottles, each seating eight around a BYO picnic table on the Brisbane River.
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Things to DoLibertine Parfumerie Masterclass
181 Robertson Street, New Farm
Held at venues like The Calile Hotel, this guided smelling session moves beginners through fragrance notes and families until they land on a signature scent, not just a favourite.
This guide was produced in partnership with Honda ZR-V. To learn more about the ultimate car for urban discovery, click here.