Travel

Holiday ideas

Tasting the finer side of life in The Grampians

Not too long ago a farm stay holiday meant bunking down in disused shearer’s quarters with an outdoor dunny, cold showers and a lean-to kitchen. Head to the Grampians region in western Victoria and you’ll find things have changed. Boroka Downs, near Halls Gap has just raised the bar – for good!

Forget fibro and weatherboard and think post modernist architecture with polished wooden floors, wall-to-ceiling windows, marble benches in the kitchen, Smeg appliances, flat screen Loewe TV, DVD and Bose CD stereo system with surround sound, full-sized circular spa bath, and my personal favourite, a La Cimbali espresso coffee machine. Not to mention to-die-for views of the Grampian Mountains, although the resident mob of kangaroos do tend to get in the way of a good photo!

These brand new residences (calling them cabins is just too much of an understatement) are the work of Julian and Barbara Carr, who wanted to incorporate all the touches of city hotel five-star luxury into a nature-based country retreat – things like robes, slippers, aromatherapy burner and toiletries. But it’s the little touches that make this place special – free access to the DVD library, freshly ground coffee for the espresso machine, the backpack filled with maps of local bushwalking trails hanging in the wardrobe, the binoculars and bird book beside the TV, the telescope you can borrow for some star gazing. But you don’t really need the telescope – you can gaze at the stars from your king-sized bed.

In the morning, as I padded around the kitchen that was better equipped than my own at home, fixing myself a wake-up cappuccino, a mob of a dozen or so kangaroos contentedly grazed outside window. The only sounds to be heard were the warbling of the currawongs and screeching of cockies calling to their mates in neighbouring trees.

Boroka Downs is seven kilometres from Halls Gap, which is 250km from Melbourne. The ‘residences’ are self-catering, although a breakfast hamper can be provided on request. If you don’t feel like messing up the immaculate kitchen, then do as we did and book yourself a table at the Kookaburra Restaurant.

This surprising restaurant in the quiet village of Halls Gap features a mouthwatering menu focusing on local produce and an extensive wine list, including most of the local wines. Forewarned about the size of the meals, we shared a duckling and five-spice risotto for entrée, followed by the house speciality of venison, grown and grain fed on the owners’ own farm – I had the venison steak, my partner the venison pie. Other choices included blackened barramundi, baked duckling, kangaroo fillet or grilled chicken breast with olive and red capsicum relish. Home made ice creams, coconut lime tart and lemon mascarpone gateau were top of the rather long list for desert, but alas, we didn’t quite have the room.

Next day, eager to work of some of last night’s dinner we headed into the Grampians National Park (Gariweed). There are more than 50 marked trails in the park, but we only had time for a short one, so chose the half-hour descent to Mackenzie Falls. 265 steps later we emerged at a beautiful waterhole at the foot of the falls. Despite the huffing and puffing and earnest promises to get fit on the way back up, the walk is sensational. There are also good views to be had from Reed and Boroka lookouts.

Tonight it was off to sample yet another property that is tossing old perceptions of farm stay accommodation out the window – Mt Sturgeon, near Dunkeld in the Southern Grampians.

The Mt Sturgeon property is steeped in history. Up to 30,000 sheep were once shorn every year by 35 pairs of shearing blades in the woolshed, built in 1870. Accommodation is in bluestone cottages, built by Chinese workers travelling through the district during the hey day of Victoria’s gold rush. The cottages have been newly rebuilt – but with an ingenious design twist. In the days when these cottages were constructed, ensuite bathrooms were unheard of – so to solve the problem, and to keep the historic integrity of the buildings, bathrooms have been cleverly built inside tank houses – from the outside they just look like galvanised water tanks.

Each cottage has a kitchen, lounge and dining area with large open fireplace and a separate bedroom. There are no telephones, TVs, or DVDs here, but who needs them when the views are as good as they are – you are right at the foot of Mt Sturgeon.

The Mount Sturgeon cottages are owned and operated by the same folk of the Royal Mail Hotel, five kilometres away in Dunkeld. A vital link to Victoria’s Western District for the Cobb & Co Royal Mail Service in the 1850s, the historic hotel has been recently renovated and now boasts a prize-winning restaurant that is drawing diners from as far away as Melbourne (three hours drive away).

Contemporary building elements are cleverly interwoven with parts of the main building dating back to the 19th century. The hotel originally had no windows facing the mountains that sit majestically just outside the back door, but now floor-to-ceiling glass creates an air of spaciousness and light. Local materials including bricks, pavers, naturally weathered timbers and Grampian sandstone features strongly in the design, which is a mix of polished redgum timber, metal and custom-designed furniture. The garden around the hotel features rare and indigenous Grampian plant species.

But as stunning as the renovations, views and garden all are, it’s the food that is the main drawcard here. The Western District is renowned for its beef and lamb, but cottage industries such as a sheep’s milk dairy producing yoghurt and cheeses are just starting to gain a reputation for quality. Teamed with the hotel’s own 12-hectare vegie garden and orchard from which to source seasonal produce, redgum honey harvested on the property and daily home-made bread, you have the basis for an innovative and exciting menu.

A bill of fare featuring mussel, chilli and garlic broth with lime and coriander; salmon crevice with beetroot sorbet and parmesan wafers; emu prosciutto salad or a local produce tasting plate, followed by either Seattle or Hopkins River beef with sweet potato, fried goats cheese and caramelized pear; roasted spatchcock or a char-grilled veal rib eye with tomato and Shaw River buffalo mozzarella and caper salad make choosing what to order no easy task.

The wine list is also extensive, ranging from Grange Hermitage (if you’ve got the cash!) to local Grampian wines such as Mt Langi Ghiran (try the 2001 Pinot Gris) and Montara. In fact, the cellar is so extensive that it is housed in a separate building across the road from the hotel.

We spent our last day of this short break following the Volcanoes Discovery Trail, with local amateur vulcanologist Michael Woodward (Woody to his mates). You can pick up a brochure detailing the trail from any of the local visitor’s centres and explore the volcanic past of the southern Grampians on your own, or join a specialised local tour.

The southern Grampians sits atop one of the largest volcanic plains in the world. Although dormant, there are plenty of traces past eruptions. As Woody says: “Every rounded hill has a meaning,” and it’s always volcanic. Highlights of the trail include trekking up to the crater of Mt Napier, going underground in the lava tubes near Byaduk and climbing tumuli, or lava blisters, in the nearby paddocks.

GETTING THERE

Halls Gap is 250km from Melbourne. Follow the Western Highway through Ballarat and Ararat to 'The Inland Way 8' a network of driving tours that connect much of the Grampians Region.

What Where When

Boroka Downs

Luxury farm stay accommodation. Seven kilometres from Halls Gap.
Phone: (03) 5356 6243 Rates start at $445 per couple per night, although discounts are available for three night stays or longer.
Kookaburra Restaurant Main Rd, Halls Gap.
Phone: (03) 5356 4222 for bookings. Open for lunch and dinner.
www.borokadowns.com.au

Royal Mail Hotel

Restaurant and accommodation Dunkeld.
Phone: (03) 5577 2241 All year
www.royalmail.com.au

Mt Sturgeon Cottages

Near Dunkeld. Book though the Royal Mail Hotel.
Phone: (03) 5577 2241 All year
www.royalmail.com.au

Southern Cross Tours

Specialised local tours of the Grampians and the Volcano Trail. Phone: 1800 501 234 All year
www.parkweb.vic.gov.au

Grampians National Park (Grampians Ranges)

The 167,000-hectare park is famous for its bushwalking (it has more than 160 km of tracks), rock-climbing, plantlife (including 970 native species and brilliant spring wildflowers) and wildlife (more than 200 species of birds have been recorded). Grampians National Park is accessible from Halls Gap - turn left off the Western Highway at Stawell. Southern Area of the Grampians National Park is accessible from Dunkeld north-east of Hamilton.
Phone: 13 19 63 All year
www.parkweb.vic.gov.au