Return to Oz
In the second of our summer recaps, we look back on the highlights from our trips across the Tasman in 2012 – a year of gourmet food, luxury hotels and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
We arrive at Portarlington Bakehouse in time for breakfast, which means it’s time for owner and baker Terry Christofi to be heading home to bed. He’s owned this historic bakery – it dates back to 1896 – for 11 years and turns out more than 100 loaves of bread a day – three times that many at the weekend – plus a range of classic baked goods, pastries and pies. But it’s the bread Terry’s most passionate about, and in particular the bakery’s wood-fired oven, made from 27,000 bricks with about a metre of sand over the top as insulation.
They make Italian-style split Viennas – apparently a great match with the famous Portarlington mussels; sourdoughs with white and rye flours.
There’s casual seating available indoors and outside, and everything you need for the makings of a great picnic or lunch on the go. ‘‘We do the classics properly, even if it’s just vanilla slice,’’ Terry says. ‘‘Everything we make is for satisfying our customers.’’ Side trips: About 20 years ago, pharmacists Corinne and Peter Blacket moved from Melbourne for a quieter life on the Bellarine. ‘‘We got a few cashmere goats to keep the grass down, then one day we thought ‘someone needs to do cheese on the Bellarine’.’’ There’s been no looking back. Since 2005 the couple have been producing a boutique range of handcrafted cheeses and yoghurts under the name Drysdale Cheeses from their milking herd of 20 Saanen goats.
They frequently collaborate with local chefs – the pine needleinfused yoghurt made with chef Aaron Turner of the acclaimed local restaurant Loam is an example. There’s also a creamy and thick chai tea yoghurt, fullflavoured fetas and a fresh and tangy haloumi. ‘‘It’s not salty like traditional haloumi,’’ Corinne explains. ‘‘If you want salty, just add it when cooking.’’ Over the next day or two in the Bellarine, Drysdale Cheeses pop up in several dishes put before me; notably an entree of heirloom carrots with Drysdale goat cheese and a savoury carrot cake in the majestic surrounds of the Vue Grand dining room at Queenscliff. With three carrots – one purple, one white, one orange – a savoury bite of cake and a dollop of Corinne’s cheese, this is a dish to do Peter Rabbit proud. And maybe Billy Goat Gruff too.
Angela Walker If you really want to push the boat out on a trip across the Tasman, there’s no better place than Hamilton Island resort Qualia. One of the top luxury lodges in Australia and described as ‘‘utopia’’ by Conde Nast Traveller magazine, its Latin name means ‘‘a collection of deeper sensory experiences’’. The resort is situated on the northernmost tip of the Whitsundays’ Hamilton Island, and feels like another world away from the slightly Truman Show- feel of the main tourist areas around the marina. Qualia has its own beach for the exclusive use of guests but, as the name suggests, Pebble Beach doesn’t have the soft white sand of the other bays on the island. But you don’t go to Qualia for the beach – you go for the seclusion. Accommodation is made up of 60 separate ‘‘pavilions’’. All are nestled among bush and feel completely private from the neighbours’, even though you’re only a few metres away.
Qualia has a choice of two infinity pools, one by Pebble Beach and one at the main resort building, which also houses the Long Pavilion restaurant, bar and library.
On check-in, you’ll be assigned your own dedicated golf buggy which you can use to get around the resort, or to head back out of Qualia’s imposing entrance gates.