Overshadowed by others, this NSW region is ready for the spotlight

“Sheep are curious beasts. Also, they don’t see very well.” Hamish Keith’s words – more an observation than a warning – come back to me as I immerse myself into the sunken hot tub under pinky skies.

In front of me are rolling hills dotted with boulders, ghostly gums, and, yes, a sprinkling of sheepish stickybeaks who seem to inch closer each time I turn my head. But even the prospect of being joined by a sodden woolly jumper cannot mar this moment.

While it’s winter in the chilly NSW central west, the water is hot, there’s a blazing fire pit beside the candlelit tub, and champagne is popped as the last rays of sunshine make way for the inky, star-spangled night show.

It’s no wonder the sheep here seem particularly curious – there’s been plenty to check out at Wilga Station, a 105-hectare property 10 minutes outside of Bathurst, since farmer Hamish was let loose with his entrepreneurial talent for thinking outside the paddock.

While he’s the third generation to run sheep at Wilga Station, he’s the first to tap into its potential as a luxury farm-stay getaway, starting in 2020 with the opening of the two-person Farmer’s Hut, where we are happily ensconced.

It’s quiet, private, and has become known for its mesmerising three-sided picture window that embeds guests in the landscape, whatever the weather.

He also transformed historic shearers’ quarters into the five-bedroom Shearers Hall, housing up to 10 guests. It’s now a favourite with family and friendship groups, and book clubs keen for a getaway.

Hamish and his wife, Mez, also used their trademark flair at revitalising historic buildings and previous corporate experience in New York to bring new life to the Wool Store in central Bathurst, now home to studio apartments and an industrial-style penthouse.

It’s a lot. But Hamish and Mez are not ones to stay still.

Their most recent projects at Wilga Station include the hot tub, a paddock-to-plate vegetable garden for guests to raid (“a Lebanese family had a massive family banquet with the caulis”); a natural pond with a pontoon and fountain (loved by cold-water swimmers and keen fishers out to snare an Australian bass for dinner); and Indigenous tours with local Wiradjuri elders along Evans Plain Creek, which winds through the property.

These Indigenous tours are particularly close to Hamish’s heart, he reveals, as he throws brie, red grapes and thyme in a pan over a flame by the gushing creek to serve with a waterhole-chilled bubbly.

The elders have pointed out significant points around the creek’s tumbling boulders and rockpools that are linked to ancient culture and habits, and while these discoveries excite and move Hamish, visitors will only hear about them from the elders themselves: “They’re not my stories to tell.”

But one story he is keen to get out is a new push to lift Bathurst into the foodie tourism realm, alongside its more established country cousins, Mudgee and Orange.

BX After Dark, which kicked off in August, is a year-long program inviting locals and visitors to see Bathurst in a new light. As evening falls, the city’s many heritage buildings, laneways, restaurants, pubs and creative spaces will become the stage for encounters shaped by food, music and culture.

Events will include The Wandering Table, on November 13 and 14, a roaming dining experience through Bathurst’s historic heart; Where the World Comes to Celebrate, February 11 to 14 next year, coinciding with the Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race, where visitors can enjoy the races by day, live music and themed experiences at night; and Harvest After Dark, on May 15, where local producers and creatives will join in an immersive after-dark feast curated by chef Matt Moran.

This new push is a no-brainer, says Hamish. For too long, he says, Bathurst, with its heritage architecture, proximity to Sydney, Indigenous significance and colourful gold rush and brutal bushranger history – the largely forgotten public hanging of 10 bushrangers in Ribbon Gang Lane is one stark example – has been under the radar.

Then, there’s its growing wealth of food options.

“There’s of course Matt Moran at the nearby Rockley Pub, but there are also innovative restaurants like Norma Joan (don’t miss the kangaroo tartare); the Firewater Hotel, an elegant bistro in an 1860s building, and Pique-Nique, offering local produce in a garden setting with all dishes – including breads and cakes – made onsite.”

All up, says Hamish, BX After Dark is shaping up to be a “bit Dark Mofo” with a Bathurstian twist.

Curiouser and curiouser.

THE DETAILS

STAY
Farmers Hut: $475 a night, includes hot breakfast hamper of local produce and a premium sparkling wine; Shearers Hall $1100 a night for five bedrooms – less $150 for each room not used, includes a hot breakfast hamper and premium sparkling wine; the Wool Store, from $250 a night for a studio to $1100 a night for four-bedroom penthouse. Wilga Station, 1611 Mid-Western Highway, Evans Plains; 0427 688 542. See wilgastation.com.au

DRIVE
Bathurst is a 3½-hour drive west of Sydney or an 8½-hour drive north of Melbourne.

MORE
visitnsw.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Wilga Station.