The Brisbane duo spills the beans on some of the country’s most beautiful destinations.
Renowned for their passion for travel and observing the world and garnering a huge following for their captivating acoustic melodies and vocal harmonies, Brisbane indie folk duo Hollow Coves are on the cusp of their magnum opus.
Set for release on June 11, their forthcoming EP ‘Blessings’ captures Hollow Coves (AKA Ryan Henderson and Matt Carins) at their most endearing and captivating, as we’ve heard in recent single ‘Hello’, lifted from the record.
Enchanting from the first note and heavy on the evocation, the tender and sentimental single shines with its rich depth and warmth, speaking to their experiences of being isolated from their normal day to day.
“We ended up recording it and self-producing it at our little home studio…It’s about the mundane day-to-day life of being stuck inside alone and going a bit stir crazy,” they explain.
“We think a lot of people will be able to relate to this one after the past year.”
A small taste of the stunning collection of music to come, we sit down with Hollow Coves to dive into their memories from their travels across all corners of Australia and share their favourite destinations.
“We live in such a beautiful part of the world here in Australia. We have both seen a fair bit of the country (although there’s still so much to see) and wanted to share some of our favourite places so far. With travelling to the rest of the world off-limits at the moment, what better time to explore more of Australia. Hopefully, this list will give you some inspiration.”
Matt’s top spots:
Tasmania
I feel like Tasmania is so underrated and has some of the best options for beautiful landscapes and amazing food and wine. My parents grew up in a place called Burnie on the north coast of Tasmania and my grandparents still live there, so I’ve been able to spend a bit of time down there visiting them. I went there last Christmas Eve with my partner, brother, and sister in law and while we were there we went to an amazing little whisky and wine bar in Stanley called Tasmanian Food and Wine. You wouldn’t think it’s much but it was definitely stand out. We got chatting with the owner when we were there and he told us the reason why he opened the bar. He told that that everywhere he had travelled he always came across these low-key bars that not many people knew about and they were always the best places to go. So he wanted to make a bar like that in his little home town in Stanley. Definitely recommend it if you’re ever nearby.
North Stradbroke Island
You have to catch a ferry over from a suburb called Cleveland (near Brisbane). I grew up near there and all through school my mates and I would head over to Straddie on the weekends to surf. It’s seriously the most beautiful place and has the most insane wildlife and crystal clear blue water. Everything is pretty laid back and there’s not a lot of shops but it’s always the most relaxing time. There’s also pumping waves if you surf but if you don’t it’s definitely still worth visiting.
Ocean Grove
I’ve only just recently visited Ocean Grove down in Victoria but I fell in love with it instantly. It’s the nicest little beach town with beautiful beaches and the people all seemed to be so lovely. There are some really cool cafes and little restaurants also. The Great Ocean Road isn’t too far away either and that is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. (If you haven’t done it I would also highly recommend)
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Ryan’s top spots:
Tasmania
I know it’s a double-up but Tassie is definitely on my list as well. I actually went there for the first time a few weeks ago with a group of friends for my 30th and loved it. The landscape is beautiful. I feel like I only really scratched the surface as well. We stayed mostly on the east coast. Mt Wellington is definitely worth checking out. The view from the top is spectacular. We also stayed in a quaint little town called Bicheno which was lovely. We got to see penguins there which was a pretty unique experience for Australia. It was not far from Wineglass Bay which is also definitely worth checking out. I’d love to spend more time exploring Tasmania.
Bahana Gorge
We visited Bahana Gorge around the end of last year on a big road trip that we did from the top of the Northern Territory out to Cairns and then down the coast to the Gold Coast. The gorge is about half an hour south of Cairns. It actually features in the music video we made for our song ‘The Open Road’. It’s a decent walk to get there but when you arrive you realize it is worth it. The place is filled with what seem like endless cascading waterfalls. It’s quite magical.
Nelson Bay
We stumbled upon Nelson Bay a few years back while on tour. We were driving back up the east coast on our way back from Sydney to the Gold Coast and we were just looking on maps to see random spots that we could check out. When we pulled into Nelson Bay it actually felt like we had arrived in paradise. The water is so crystal clear. There’s also a nice little hike you can do up Mount Tomaree that gives a great lookout back over the bay.
Gold Coast Hinterland
We are really lucky to have some of the most beautiful rainforests near where we live on the Gold Coast. Springbrook National Park and Lamington National Park are both definitely worth visiting. They have so many beautiful trails through lush rainforest with massive ancient trees and beautiful waterfalls. The air out there is different. Every time I go out there it’s always so refreshing. It’s good for the soul.
Check out their latest single ‘Hello’ below and catch Hollow Coves in Melbourne on June 26 at Corner Hotel.
