KICK -STARTERS AND STORY THEMES

Kitchen Gardens

Foodies are all over the growing trend of restaurant kitchen gardens. Explore this garden-to-gourmet culinary movement with these places and faces.

At Port Fairy’s Merrijig Inn chef Tanya Connellan and team love to grow veggies and herbs (among roaming chickens) in the garden surrounding the historic inn. The menu’s written daily based on the garden harvest and what local farmers have on offer.

Under culinary director Alla WolfTasker AM the team at the Lake House Daylesford take the trend seriously with their own 38-acre farm 10 minutes down the road. That’s five acres of veggie gardens, a barn for classes and workshops, 300-tree orchard, olive grove, vineyard and much more.

At Birregurra’s Brae restaurant, oft-awarded chef Dan Hunter a team of hospitality pros and gardeners growing organic fruit and veggies. The result is a unique diner experience immersed in seasonality, nature and eating from the land.

The Royal Mail Hotel at Dunkeld under chef Robin Wickens claim to Australia’s largest working restaurant kitchen garden. Travellers love to tour the garden, learn about organic practices, and taste for themselves the link between daily harvest and restaurant menu.

A true expression of soil and seasons

‘Our approach is a true expression of Dunkeld’s soil and seasons — flavour is cultivated on the land, and finessed in the kitchen. We have to change the menu regularly, often at short notice, to utilise what is (or isn’t) coming from the garden. New dishes are immediate from the produce ready in the garden that day or week. For example, the sweetcorn is currently being harvested and appears on the menu as a fermented corn sauce, flavouring a fish mousse and charred through the sauce.’

Robin Wickens, head chef | Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld

Walk the trails of the Great Southern Touring Route

Great Ocean Walk

The 110km Great Ocean Walk is an epic 8-day hike through the Great Otway and Port Campbell national parks, including the iconic Twelve Apostles. There are stunning coastal landscapes and wildlife glimpses aplenty on a range of short, day and multi-day hike experiences.

The 2-night/3-day Milanesia to Twelve Apostles section includes overnighting at on-trail campsites for true rainforest-at-night experiences and a brilliant scenic finale of the Twelve Apostles.

Explore a top-end trail experience with luxe digs at architecturally designed Alkina Lodge, Wattle Hill. Tackle the 7km Castle Cove to Johanna trail section before recuperating with a deep bathtub soak while gazing up at the stars through sky windows.

Grampians Peaks Trail

The entire Grampians Peaks Trail is a challenging 160km 13-day/12-night hike through the rugged, nature-laden Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park. Fear not: it can be tackled as day walks, overnight hikes or a combo of multi-days, with or without Licensed Tour Operator support.

The Northern Peaks (Gar and Werdug) two-night itinerary sees hikers bed down in award-winning eco-friendly huts perched on lofty ridgelines. Must book with local tour operators.

A self-guided day hike (7.8km return) to Signal Peak includes challenging steep sections and a trail winding beneath a rocky escarpment before summiting at 780m for incredible vistas.