Indulge the Basalt Plains

Neil Churches

The Changing Seasons: chill winds, long nights, short days, hot food, warm hearths, a time to gather with others at a hearty meal. A time to listen to wild tales, gentle stories, and share quiet memories. These moments around a table can be adventures in conversation. They are special at home, they are also special at rare places in the landscape. The Basalt Plains of Victoria have some unique places to share the warmth of tabletalk; sheltered gardens, grand dining rooms, and shearers’ huts.

For thousands of years the Western District of Victoria has been the richest landscape in Australia. Its basalt based soil creating a fertile plain of abundance. If you can reward yourself with two or more days travel from Melbourne, there are remarkable hidden gems of landscape that emerge above the horizon as you travel. From the small wildernesses of remnant dry rainforests to woolsheds, native grass fields to stunning crater lakes. Climb a green cinder cone to count how many other dormant volcanoes can be seen in any direction.

Koroitj (Tower Hill) merges with the Southern Ocean and has its own microclimate within and surrounding its crater. The Sisters are an extraordinary landscape of interlocking craters of vast size, there is a remarkable sense of enfolding and enclosure as you pass through them on the way to the pale blue waters of to Lake Kurrumbeit. The Cloven Hills, Derrinallum (Mount Elephant), and Camperdown are all landmarks that change their mood depending on the time of day and angle of approach.

If you are eagle eyed you can see the grand family houses nestled at the feet of other volcanic hills. You will also see the wealth of the district proudly displayed in the grandeur of the local towns. A quality of architecture that rivals that of the goldfields, but paid for by agriculture not mining.

Remarkably there are pictures of most of these places from the 1850s. Painted by the first curator of the National Gallery of Victoria; Eugen von Guerard, who travelled through the district as an illustrator for scientific expeditions. Placing yourself at the viewpoint of these paintings and sketches allows you to see how the bones of the landscape remain constant, while the skin has been shifted. They are a remarkable images, the first accurate European visual record and a view of ancient husbandry and cultivation.

The new food and wine culture emerging from The Basalt Plains is beginning to attract attention. Engaging these new approaches with the older cultures of the region makes for some remarkable possibilities. The longest continuous culture, the plains’ traditional custodians, have won UNESCO recognition for their aquaculture landscape at Budj Bim. The colonial culture of graziers remains intact with some families resident in their bluestone palaces since the 1830s. The conversations opening between these old and new residents is creating some interesting gourmet experiences.

This is matched by exploration of story emerging in the small towns and communities around these magical hills. From bizarre talent night fundraisers that gather amazing performances, to the celebration of local literary heroes, like Alan Marshall in his home landscape of Noorat and Terang. Stories told about landscape and journeying, departure and arrival, belonging and dislocation. Family stories thousands of years old that intertwine with those almost “fresh off the boat.”

Indulge The Basalt is a new adventure touring business bringing this landscape and cuisine to the sophisticated traveller. The experiences available over the seasons are curated into a series of small group tours. This local knowledge is shared over meals at surprising locations, a garden here, a hilltop there, as well as in warmth and comfort of a snug near the fire.

Local variations of traditional recipes both indigenous, Asian and European are explored in the meals that follows the walks around and across the sleeping giants of the plain. There are discussions with winemakers throughout the journey about adapting European and New World viticulture methods to the Basalt Plains. This may be comprehensively tested in tasting and food matching by any hungry adventurers.

Each day begins with a deluxe breakfast at a new hearth. There will be approximately three hours of driving time through the landscape per day and three hours walking per day, up and down volcanic slopes and around volcanic lakes. Two, three or four day journeys are on offer, all departing Melbourne. Small groups of six guests are driven in luxury vans and stay in deluxe rooms. All luggage is ported and a fully guided service is provided throughout the journey.

Join us Indulging The Basalt www.indulgethebasalt.com

Old Spaces, Dark Soil, Fresh Tastes