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ustthreecentimetres- that’showfarbelowthe
surfaceofVictoria’sdirttheworld’slargestgold
nuggetwasdiscovered- atthebaseofa treebeside
a trackin thetinytownofMoliagul.It mightnot
seemlikethemostobviousplacetostumbleuponan
unimaginablefortune,indeed,oneofthehundredsof
nearbydeepmineshaftsthatlitterBulldogGullytothis
daywouldseemlikea morelikelyspotfortheWelcome
Strangertobehiding,butthereit was,allbutglintingin
broaddaylight.
InVictoria,thebountyisn’talwayswheretherainbow
endsandneveris thatmoretruethanthestate’s
incredibleproducenetwork.ThinkVictorianfoodand
drink,andyourmindmightimmediatelytakeyoutothe
YarraValley,MorningtonPeninsulaorGreatOceanRoad
regions.A tripalonganyofthesebeatenfoodtrails
willnotleaveyoudisappointedorpeckish,butwhat
aboutthepathlesstravelledandGippsland’sstunning
smorgasbord?
Ofcourse,you’llneedsomethingtotakeyouthere
anda Germansportscarmight,onceagain,notseem
likeanobviouschoice,butwhatif thathigh-performance
vehiclehappenedtobethePorscheCayenneE-Hybrid?
Underitshandsomeexteriorit has210mmofground
clearanceandfour-wheeldrivefortacklingfarmtracks
ormoreseriousterrain,there’supto 1610 litresofboot
spacesoyoudon’thavetoleavebehinda singlecaseof
redand,mostimportantly,thisversionis a plug-inhybrid,
whichmeansenvironmentallyyou’lltreadlightlywherever
yougo.
Until Porsche offers an autonomous Cayenne we’ll
need a guide and Gippsland food and drink ambassador
AlejandroSaraviais,atleast,oneobviouschoiceyou
wouldbeforgivenforrequesting.Wehittheroadearly.
Notcontentsimplyrunninga pairofbustling
restaurants– Pastusoin MelbourneandUmain Perth- Alejandro,orAletothosewhoknowthePeruvian-
bornchef,is nearlyreadytolaunchhislatestventure - Farmer’sDaughters– a foodanddrinkinstitutionin
Melbournewitha focusonbringingGippsland’sfinest
from‘farmtotable’.Andheknowsthispartoftheworld
likethebackofhisheavyTasmanianleatherapron.
Thefirststopcouldn’tbemorequintessentiallyrural.
A windinglanecutsthroughthefirstmistylightofday
andimpossiblyprettyhills,beforeleavingtheasphaltand
climbingtoa ‘microdairy’operatedbyRob.
Surprisinglywelltravelled– hehasanothertripto
Canadaplannedsoon– Rob’sinitialgruffreception
defroststofriendly,humorousbanter.Thenwearemet
byRachel,whosourcesthedairy’smilktoprovidethe
keyingredientinButterflyFactoryunhomogenised
milk,culturedbutter,creamandyoghurt.Decanting
200 litresofmilkinto20-litredrumstwicea week
seemsunnecessarilyinvolved,butsheexplainswith
a chuckle“everythingI dois labourintensive”.The
businesswasbornwhen,oneday,hermilkseparator
brokeandtheresulting‘whole’milkwasirresistibly
good.A sampleofthefinishedproductsconfirmsit.
Absolutelydelicious.
After cruising the relatively short trip (100km) east out
of Melbourne, the Cayenne still has half of its lithium ion
battery ready to send pure electric power to all four wheels
and it seems prudent at this hour of the day to creep out of
the dairy under silent, emissions-free propulsion.
Clockwise from left:
Krowera and Loch
provide the oil and social
lubricant. Chef and food
network runs deep out
here. Ale doesn’t spare
the horses. Anthony with
ripening olives