Hunger for country life

In good taste ... Phil Tutt of Bottega Caffe and Deli.Credit: Simon Scott

As friends leave the city and morph into mid-career tree-changers, I'm suddenly beset with invitations to visit. The couple who ate out seven nights a week have moved to far north Queensland; the design guru has decamped to dig a vegie patch in the mountains; and the publicist, her banker husband and children have auditioned three country towns in as many years. I'm invited for a glimpse of their new life - "this one is worth visiting", enthuses my pal.

The road into town is as expected: green paddocks stretch before us, private-school girls take riding lessons on chestnut mares and lambs skip behind their mothers in the sun. It could be Bowral or Scone, until we hit the high street.

We pass a posse of dreadlocked twentysomethings; an indigenous family carrying home groceries; a dapper gent who looks like he's just stepped out of an R.M. Williams catalogue and on his arm a matron in crisp head-to-toe linen wears a string of pearls the size of marbles; a Sudanese family strolls, the kids skipping ahead of their parents. This is the heart of New England.

Lying roughly halfway between Brisbane and Sydney, a two-hour drive south-west of Coffs Harbour, the town of Armidale was settled in 1839 and experienced its first population surge in the 1850s when gold was discovered nearby. Renowned for its churches, Armidale soon became known as the "cathedral city" and has been the seat of Catholic and Anglican bishops since 1869.

The city was made famous by its output of superfine merino wool and its strong focus on education; it's the site of the University of New England and three prestigious boarding schools, all established in the 19th century. In recent times education and primary industries are rivalled by the emergence of a new gourmet industry, initiated by farmers keen to diversify and the influx of tree-changers with demanding palates.

Gerard "Moose" Stephen is a veteran tree-changer. He relocated from Sydney in 1972, became a sheep farmer and sells superfine merino wool to Italian suit makers, including Paul Keating's beloved Zegna. He has seen the community of Armidale grow and change dramatically. "When I arrived there was a real divide. You were either town, gown or rural," he says. "Today the community has merged, everyone interacts and there is an acceptance and appreciation of difference. Tree-changers bring new ideas, skills and enterprise to the area, which benefits everyone."

Phil and Donella Tutt arrived 2 years ago with plenty of ideas. Fresh from the Blue Mountains, where they ran the Elephant Bean cafe in Katoomba and worked with John Cross at Solitary Kiosk in Leura, they discovered a niche for a casual eatery showcasing local produce and opened Bottega Caffe and Deli in Moore Street.

Phil is in the kitchen and Donella, a former high-school maths teacher, runs the floor. The clientele are a combination of city-born students eager for their coffee fix and professionals longing for the lunch special.

The Tutts make good use of produce from the region. Honey comes from Tenterfield, organic Pasture Perfect Pork from Ashford and lamb and beef from just outside town.

The rainbow trout is from Arc-en-Ciel at Hanging Rock, a 90-minute drive south-west. Here, Russell and Meg Sydenham have a dam brimming with trout to catch. They also sell gravlax, pate, roe and whole fish from the farm gate.

Rainbow and brown trout run in the Wollomombi and Chandler rivers closer to town. Jon Galletly, of Fish 'N' Trips 'N' Tips, runs day expeditions to fishing spots east of town along Waterfall Way and overnight camping and canoeing excursions in search of Murray cod and Australian bass along the Macleay River in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. Bush tracks snake through spectacular gorges and past Wollomombi Falls, the second-highest waterfall in the southern hemisphere.

The road back to town is dotted with small vineyards and is the centre of Australia's newest official wine region, named New England Australia. Blessed with good elevation and seasons that mirror the European cold-climate wine regions, nearby Black Mountain, at 1300 metres, is the highest winegrape-growing area in the state and is perfect for pinot noir, gewurztraminer and pinot grigio varietals.

A real estate agent and part-time vintner, Andrew Close, and his Armidale-born wife, Belinda, became interested in wine when they lived in Mudgee. In 2001 the property on which Belinda was raised came on the market - her parents had sold it 35 years earlier.

The Closes bought it and in 2003 planted a range of grape varieties. So far Mihi Creek's sauvignon blanc is the best performer and while output is small, it is growing.

"This year we should reach 350 to 400 cases," Andrew says. "The goal has always been low quantity, high quality. Our desire is to establish a nice niche boutique market for the region."

With the aim of establishing Armidale as a food and wine destination, local winemakers have banded together to create New England Graze, an annual showcase held in May on the banks of Dumaresq Creek. Ten vineyards are coupled with 10 local restaurants, to create a 10-course dinner using local produce.

Twenty-two wineries in the region have cellar doors open for tastings, including Petersons Winery on Dangarsleigh Road, a five-minute drive from town. The long, tree-lined driveway leads to the cellar door, and the nearby homestead, Palmerston, has accommodation. The sitting room, with its high vaulted ceilings, chandeliers, fireplaces and deep sofas, is lined with heavy cedar sideboards balancing silver trays of Petersons' finest fortifieds. The old-world charm of the 1912 homestead extends to the guest rooms, with iron claw-foot baths and windows overlooking the gardens and vineyard.

The property is a world away from Liz Moffitt's home nearby. A former physiotherapist, Moffitt owns the Grassroots Eco Store inArmidale's Beardy Street Mall. Her family lives in a solar-powered straw-bale house they built themselves. Attracted to Armidale by the "lifestyle, community and range of education", her four children attend three different schools and her husband, David, teaches at a fourth. "The community is an unusual mix for a country town," she says. "The kids have Iraqi children in their classes because their father is an academic at the uni and Sudanese children who arrived as political refugees, then there's a local grazier's kids."

Easy access to organic local produce is important to Moffitt. "We pick our berries and buy food direct from the farmer who grew it, so we understand how our food is produced," she says.

On the way to the airport we stop for an espresso from the Goldfish Bowl on Beardy Street. Multitaskers, these baristas bake as well as brew exceptional coffee. My pal scores the last woodfired fruit loaf of the day - it's 8am on Wednesday and the bread and pastry rack is bare. I understand why she moved here.

FAST FACTS

Armidale is about six hours' drive from Sydney. Qantas flies non-stop from Sydney from $137 one way. The nearest major airport is Coffs Harbour, which is about a 2-hour drive from Armidale.

Food adventures

New England Graze is a weekend of wine by the river featuring meals by local restaurants using local produce matched with local wines. On May 7-9, 2010. See armidaletourism.com.au.

Fishing expeditions are arranged by Fish 'N' Trips 'N' Tips, 44 Marsh Street, Armidale. Ranging from a one-day excursion for $120 to a two-day camping excursion for $275. Phone [phone] or see fishntripsntips.com.au.

There are 22 regional wineries offering tastings at their cellar doors. See newenglandwines.org.au.

Fish and picnic at Arc-en-Ciel Trout Farm, Malonga, Morrison's Gap Road, Hanging Rock. Phone [phone] or see rainbowtrout.com.au.

Pick chemical-free berries that the kids can gobble as they go. 70 Goodes Road, Rocky River, 15 minutes from town. Phone [phone].

At Puddle Dock Orchards, pile the car with peaches and apricots in summer and pears, quinces and apples in cooler months from the packing shed on Puddledock Road. Phone [phone].

Eating there

Goldfish Bowl Espresso produces exceptional sourdough bread, pastries and custard tarts from a wood oven and brews the best coffee within a 500-kilometre radius. At two locations: 3/160 Rusden Street and 10/206 Beardy Street. Phone [phone].

Bottega Caffe and Deli, open for breakfast and lunch. Shop 2, 14 Moore Street, Armidale. Phone [phone].

Bistro on Cinders, open for breakfast and lunch, dinner from November, fully licensed. At 14 Cinders Lane, Armidale (behind the post office), phone [phone]. Bistro on Cinders and Bottega are listed in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010.

Staying there

Petersons Guesthouse, 345 Dangarsleigh Road, Armidale. Rooms from $198. Phone [phone] or see petersonsguesthouse.com.au.

Yaraandoo Eco Lodge, Point Lookout Road, off Waterfall Way, 68 kilometres east of Armidale. Rooms from $99. Accommodation ranges from bunks to self-contained cottages with mountain and waterfall views. Phone [phone] or see yaraandoo.com.au.