I wrote few weeks ago about the immense pleasure of staying in accommodation where the proprietors had left part of themselves and their character.
Earlier this week, I stayed at Colenso (www.colensocountryretreat.com.au), near Young and Harden-Murrumburrah in the Hilltops region of southern NSW, where Annette Hume has left not just part of herself but also important memories of her late father, Peter Robertson.
Peter was the founder of Barwang, a vineyard which is now part of the McWilliams family wine empire, and he was probably the most important pioneer of the Hilltops as a major NSW grape-growing region.
Quite by chance in this context, I knew Peter and am still a good friend of his son Simon, who is these days looking after vineyards in the nearby and quite chilly Tumbarumba district, which sits cheek-by-jowl with the Snowy Mountains.
I must admit that a tear rolled down my cheek as I thumbed through wine books, and others, from Peter’s collection, and pondered a locked glass cabinet – Annette confesses that she’s lost the key — containing some of the trophies and medals he’d won on the wine-show circuit.
I was staying in the two-bedroom Walkers Cottage, the smaller of two cottages on what is very much a working farm owned by the Hume family.
Guests are welcome to stroll around and watch the daily farming activity, but please do realise that this is largely a broad-acre cropping venture rather than quaint cottage stuff of a cow being milked each day and a porker being lovingly fattened for the Christmas table.
This is the stuff that mostly feeds Australia.
Regardless, Walkers is a gorgeously comfortable and supremely well equipped place to stay, as I’m sure is the nearby four-bedroom Colenso Country Retreat.
It comes with a gourmet kitchen, but if you’re taking a break from cooking then Rosie Knight-Gregson, of Rosie Bakes for You (phone 0422 803 801), will cook up and deliver a storm for you.
Until May 18, Destination NSW, the state government’s tourism arm, is running a campaign to garner a range of videos and photos of captivating scenes, with winners getting one of eight Canon EOS M3 Single-Lens kits each worth $999, plus the choice of photography tutorial during the Vivid Festival or a two-hour Skype session offering tips and tricks on better snapping. See www.visitnsw.com/Ilovensw
Places such as Colenso wouldn’t be bad starting points for anyone who thinks they’re in something such as this with a chance.
And neither would the Cowra Japanese Gardens & Cultural Centre (www.cowragarden.com.au), where I spent a couple of hours during my drive to Colenso — and where Bob Griffiths heads a dedicated team in maintaining one of the country’s most meaningful and beautiful corners.
The creation of the gardens was carried out by the late Ken Nakajima, one of the world’s preeminent practitioners in the field, and he seems to have a permanent hold on the psyche of those in charge of their future.
“Would Ken have approved?” seems to be a question that’s carefully considered when any discussion about the gardens’ future arises.
After all, his ashes lie in one of his favourite spots there, he has placed seats only where he thinks the best views are to be enjoyed, and he does consider the Cowra creation his crowning achievement.
So, think about your favourite NSW spot, capture an image or video of it, and enter by May 18.
John Rozentals is a freelance writer whose passions are travel, food and wine. He lives at Molong in the Central West of NSW, from where he hosts Oz Baby Boomers, a lifestyle-resource for mature Australians, and Molong Online