Community spirit

Heather Ewart returns for series four of Back Roads on ABC TV. She tells BELINDA TASKER about her latest adventures and reveals some of her favourite back roads.

What can viewers expect from the new series?

It’s our usual mix of states and different kinds of countryside, so people get a variety of characters and landscapes. Sometimes we stay put and focus on a town itself and the characters.

The first two episodes though were journeys, down the Waterfall Way and down the Murray River, which was a great way to capture a few different places and take people on the journey.

What was behind the decision to add some guest presenters – ABC News anchor Joe O’Brien, chef and TV presenter Paul West, and Triple J’s Brooke Boney?

It’s the first time we are doing a winter series and that’s because the series has been so popular, so the ABC felt we should try to do some more. But it’s physically impossible for me to do a summer and winter series, so we are using occasional guest presenters.

They all have to have a country background. I grew up in the country and my family has been in the same place since 1850. I think you need to know what makes country communities tick.

How do you and your team work out which back roads to go down?

It’s often word of mouth. People will say, “Have you thought about this town or that place?” Also, the ABC regional offices are fantastic and they’ll tell us where there’s some really great things going on.

Sometimes I’ll hear from politicians, particularly from National Party people in country areas. Usually all the tips are good ones.

How do locals react when you turn up to film?

The first year nobody knew what we were about. Now I think they’re a bit more aware.

The beauty of Back Roads is that people know we are out to showcase the best of their communities. They are very hospitable. We’re often invited to dinners and beer at the pub. We really try to fit in with the community.

Episode three of this series is set in Natimuk, a country town in Victoria which has been thriving. How common is it to find places like that?

I think it’s really dawning on them that to save their towns they need to come up with new ways of doing things. It might be a festival, or say their service station or bakery is going to close so they’re forming co-ops to buy them.

I think the other reason they welcome us, and this is a completely unexpected side effect of the show, is it really does boost the economies of these little towns. Yackandandah in Victoria, for example, their tourism went up by 30 per cent.

What’s your advice to people wanting to discover some back roads?

Don’t just drive through a place. To really enjoy the back roads you need to stop and take the time and meet some locals and eat at the local pub and see what’s going on. That’s when you get the surprises.

What’s your favourite back road in Australia, and overseas?

I loved the Oodnadatta Track, which we did last series, just because it was so different. I love where I grew up around Murchison and the Grampians in Victoria. The Waterfall Way in this series was a surprise to me. I had no idea such a road had so much beauty.

In terms of overseas, I think one of my favourite trips in America is you start in Las Vegas and go down through the Grand Canyon, through Monument Valley … through Colorado and into New Mexico and Nevada.

And I do love Italy. I could never get sick of Italy.

Back Roads Monday, 8pm on ABC