HOME FROM HOME IN ARMIDALE
Two days earlier, it takes me and my friend just over six hours
to reach Australia’s highest city from Sydney; you can fly into
Armidale Airport, but a road trip is half the fun. We follow
the scenic Thunderbolts Way (a drive named after ‘gentleman
bushranger’ Captain Thunderbolt who once roamed the
region), which twists and turns through the landscape taking
in views of the striking Barrington Tops and cute towns like
Walcha with its quirky open-air sculptures.
The streetscape of Armidale reflects the lofty ambitions
of those early settlers in the prosperous, post-gold rush
days of the late 19th century. It boasts cathedrals and grand
public buildings including the heritage-listed post office and
courthouse, as well as those associated with the University of
New England (UNE) including Arts and Crafts-style country
mansion Booloominbah (formerly the summer residence of the
White family – but more on them later) and the Old Teachers’
College, built on the site of the 1863 Armidale Gaol. Its tree-
lined streets are home to many heritage houses, and we’re lucky
to be staying in one of the finest. Loloma was built in 1882,
three years before Armidale was proclaimed a city, and has
been transformed into a luxury bed and breakfast. Beautifully
renovated with all mod-cons, it retains late Victorian features
including iron lacework, cedar joinery and marble mantles.
Our Ruby Suite – one of just two guest rooms – features antique
furniture and silk drapes, but also has a smart TV with Netflix;
our beautiful Federation-style en suite is complemented with
L’Occitane amenities and underfloor heating.
In the morning we eat in the sunny glass conservatory that
connects the Ruby to the Sapphire suite. Our host Rhonda
Morris, who has poured so much love and attention to detail
into this boutique property, serves a sumptuous affair of a fresh
fruit platter, yoghurt and French toast prepared to perfection.
A TASTING TOUR OF THE TABLELANDS
Set up for the day, we embark on the ideal way to get the lay
of the land. A tasting tour through the New England High
Country, Wayward Trails is the brainchild of Deb O’Brien: the
happy outcome of a midlife crisis, as she tells us en route to our
first stop. “Instead of going out and getting a fast car, I made a
conscious decision to be happy,” she says. “I decided to leave my
career of 10 years and invent a job for myself.”
She’s in her element today connecting visitors to the best
food and beverage producers in the region and helping to
share their stories. It’s behind-the-scenes, paddock-to-plate
stuff that provides more insight than your average cellar-door
experience and takes out the trials – the missed turn-offs and
conflicting signposts and all – of navigating your own way
through the countryside.
Our tour kicks off in Uralla, a historic town 25 kilometres
south-west of Armidale that’s known locally as a foodie hub.
Later in the day we’ll return here for a wholefood lunch in an
old church and sample a tasting paddle at the New England
Brewing Company in a converted woolstore, but for now we’re
at the Alternate Root, a cafe and shop based in the 1908 general
store where the architecture – exposed brickwork and vaulted
pressed-metal ceilings – threatens to steal the show from the
excellent coffee, delicious food and cool local wares also on offer.
We drive out of town and into the bronze-green countryside;
despite signs of spring, Deb notes, the region is very much still
in drought and has been for most of the decade. She stresses the
imperative on farmers to evolve and diversify their businesses
in order to find alternative income streams and help safeguard
themselves during hard times. Sunhill Dairy Goats, not far
from Uralla, is one such local success story. We meet its happy
residents and leave with a stash of farmhouse goat’s cheese
and handmade goat’s milk skincare products.MOULIN ROUGE AND SUMAC GIN
Next up is an incongruous encounter with a maverick
Hollywood cinematographer turned award-winning distiller
based in the sleepy village of Kentucky. Stepping into the
speakeasy at Dobson’s Distillery (part of Eastview Estate, which
also houses a restaurant and brewery) feels like entering the set
of Moulin Rouge!, and this isn’t a coincidence. Stephen Dobson- who runs the joint with his wife Lyn – worked on the 2001
Baz Luhrmann movie and his predilection towards bohemian,
Belle Époque aesthetics filters through to the artful labels he
designs himself for his bottles.
We pull up a bar stool to a smoky jazz soundtrack for a
tasting and immersion in Stephen’s world of mash-ups and
surprises. A showman of a man whose language is as lyrical as
it is colourful, he describes the various merits of his award-
winning gins, whiskies and vodkas.
There’s the New England Dry Gin that, when we meet, has
just taken out double gold at the San Francisco Spirits World
Cup – the Olympics of spirits. “We’ve never entered a major
world-class competition and not been first, second or third,”
Stephen points out. That he only uses fresh seasonal botanicals
and that Kentucky is blessed with some of the purest recorded
rainfall in Australia surely has something to do with it.
He introduces us to his world-first sumac gin, extolling the
virtues of berries that bear close chemical resemblance to
juniper, yet are largely poisonous (the variety he uses, it’s worth
noting, is not) and add a unique tangy finish to a classic dry gin.
And from the radical to the unashamedly flowery, Stephen’s
blush gin is his “paean to 4711 grandmas” – a nostalgic nod to
the classic cologne – made with hibiscus, rose, strawberry and 1