Warragul, Moyarra and Loch (Prom Country) - BEST DAY TRIP

It's strange how little-known Warragul or Prom Country are as road trip destinations. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun on a day trip! Our trip was packed with a bustling farmer's market, a cheese farm and a local distillery producing small batches of top-quality gins and beers. I never knew such gems could be found so close to home. They really should be more popular!

We headed off bright and early at 8am and reached Warragul in good time just over an hour later. Warragul hosts a Farmer's Market on the third Saturday of every month, and farmers and craftsmen gather from neighbouring counties to display their wares. From award-winning olive oils to fresh loaves of breads, from vegetables plucked on the same day to premium cuts of angus beef, there's a little of something for everyone.

The smell of food greets us from the first step into the market: there's the rich unmistakable scent of roasted coffee. The promising sizzle of wedges and fried chicken gives a sense of warmth to the atmosphere, and the quick deft movements of the crepe-seller adds to the hustle and bustle of the market. Near the middle, a man makes brisk business selling chai lattes, and people walk from stall to stall clutching his porcelain cups as they take in the rest of the market. Score one for his eco-friendliness, and another for his mad skills juggling counter-duty while watching over his boiling vats and prepping the orders of chai lattes. I bought a loaf of bread from Cannibal Creek Bakehouse, and was immediately rewarded with a beaming smile. A milkshake caravan advertises the use of (and sale of) the locally-produced Gippsland Jersey Milk (2L for $4.50), and reading about this farmer-owned, up-and-coming milk producer gave a deep urge to buy a bottle in solidarity of their ideals.

Even as the dark clouds in the sky occasionally threatened to send a burst of shower down onto the market grounds, the market continued to draw a crowd. A guitarist serenaded the passers-by as we weaved in and out through the market-goers, and the occasional Christmas advertisement stood in stark contrast to the Halloween decorations of nearby stalls.

The concurrent craft fair running alongside the farmer market showcases calligraphy, garden decorations and various knick-knacks - TY's visiting friend was particularly intrigued by the gemstone stall, and R and J were similarly tickled by the collection of fossils. A gathering of people tapping on drums in the corner of the fair provided a jolly tempo to the atmosphere. All in all, the gathering of hobbyists, farmers and musicians transformed the park of Warragul into a vibrant piece of real estate once a month.

Warragul Farmers' Market
Civic Park, Warragul.
Opening hours 830-1pm, 2P street parking available.

We didn't end up going to the Vintage Craft Park, but they're only a six minutes drive away over at Copelands Rd and showcases functional vintage farm equipment and recreational steam trains available for a ride. Picnic and BBQ facilities are available on-site too.

Vintage Craft Park
Copelands Rd, Warragul VIC 3820, Australia

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Moyarra is about an hour's drive away from Warragul. Gently lush peaks of hills sat in the horizon on the drive over, stretched out as far as the eye can see. Herds of cows and sheep peacefully graze by the side of the hills, blissfully unaware of the grey clouds gathering overhead.

Although the cows turned to give us a suspicious look as we rolled to a stop in front of them. In dusk, all anyone can see will be their skull-like features. Just in time for Halloween!

J's powerful BMW engine made better time on the hills than mine, but we eventually reached the cheese farm just in time for a spot of lunch at the picturesque Prom Country Cheese Farm.

Ploughman's Platter ($30)

The Local Platter ($45)

There were several tasting platters to choose from, and served alongside cuts of meat from a nearby organic pork farm. Because it's easy to get overwhelmed by the variety on the platter, each platter comes with tasting notes and a suggestion on which cheeses to start off from. The options on the platter may vary from day-to-day, depending on what is available, but the excellent quality of the cheeses we had, some from cows, others from sheep or goats, is a testament to their craft. I particularly enjoyed their Cheviot, a hard cheese made from sheep milk with a sharp, mature undertone. The Merricks Mist is a cow's cheese with a soft, creamy, melting centre, and was a favourite of J and R. Blue cheese aficionados, like TY's friend, would adore the Venus Blue, their signature, multi-award, blue mould sheep cheese that swept the 2017 Australian Grand Dairy Awards and took home the trophy in "The Best of Goat's, Sheep's and Buffalo milk cheese" category.

During the meal, local craft beers are available on request. And post-meal? Feel free to walk out to the back and entertain yourself with the puppy sheepdog-in-training and the lambs, which are quick to nuzzle an outstretched hand and chew playfully on your knuckles.

Prom Country Cheese Farm
Open weekends and holidays 10am-5pm
275 Andersons Inlet Rd, Moyarra VIC 3951
Website: Prom Country Cheese

Milk for the cheese, cold-cuts and olives are sourced from Wattlebank Park Farm, Grassvale Farms and Fish Creek Mount of Olives.

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The town of Loch is 15 minutes from Moyarra, and it may be my new favourite place in Australia. We came for the local Loch Brewery & Distillery, but ended up spending more time than anticipated exploring the idyllic town.

We were greeted by the friendly matron of the boutique distillery, who sat us in a comfortable corner. During the tasting glasses (3 types of gin, $15), she guided us expertly through her products from the distillery. She spoke at length regarding each step of the distillation process, and highlighted the botanical notes in each of her gin. She even brought out a selection of spices and encouraged us to spot the character of each spice during the tasting.

J and I were the designated drivers and were stuck with the selection from the non-alcoholic sections (the Ginger Beer was excellent!), but it's still nice to see the love and pride in her work.

It is late enough in the year that we really should be clearing our stock of liquor from the cellar, but TY and EJ couldn't resist buying a bottle of Loch Gin Liqeur ($68), where it stands now proudly between the Hendrick's and Four Pillars Gin.

TY also had the Tasting Paddle (4 glasses of beer) - hand-brewed in the style of traditional English ales. The quality of the brew impressed TY (who normally expresses a preference for hop beers over the traditional dark, malty English brews.) From behind the counter, the matron proudly demonstrated her manual handpump and how the 17th century design of the beer engine worked to dispense ale from their cask ale selection.

Whiskey is another product that they are in the middle of distilling, although the next batch is only scheduled to have completed aging in March 2018. Keep a lookout for it!

The verdict? Just a couple of hours after we left Loch, and TY is already making plans to return. Just over an hour's drive from Melbourne city, it makes a trip to Loch immensely rewarding, and it's puzzling how little known this brewery is. Remember: when this distillery explode in popularity, you heard it here first...

Loch Brewery and Distillery

Opening hours 11am-4pm, streetside parking available

44 Victoria Rd, Loch VIC 3945

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Nary a few metres from the brewery's storefront, hidden gems and whimsiness abound its neighboring stores along the street. Yakkity Yak is a handicrafts shop that TY's friend made a beeline for; I entered to find him in an engrossing conversation with the shop-owner about her lovely Tibetan Singing Bowl collection and their application on meditation. Not far down the street is The Rustic Cacao Factory, which brews a mean pot of rich, full-flavored hot chocolate. Diana, the Spanish-speaking owner, was busying around the store, but between rushing from one place to another, came by to engage us in conversation about her selection of cacao beans. She sources her beans from Peru, and proudly showed us a jar of cacao nibs and snapped open her vanilla pods for us to have a whiff.

Hot chocolate aside, the cafe also carries a selection of house-made artisan jams and peanut butter. I didn't help myself to the samples of the jams, but I did helped myself to a small scoop of their peanut butter, which was smooth and intensely-flavoured. Move over Skippy! The Croatian store-hand also recommended the chilli peanut butter, and the spiciness kicked in at the after-taste. I wasn't in the market for a spicy challenge every morning for breakfast, but the taste and texture of the chilli peanut butter was remarkable. Another big feature of the store products is their chilli section: they make a range of chilli sauces from a mild one to a potent brew comprising of the top five spiciest substance on earth. I didn't do a taste-test and I'll take their word for it. For people interested in Croatian or Spanish cuisine, they'll be starting a series of cooking classes, so watch this space.

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It's barely been a fortnight and already we returned to Loch. Them gins ain't going to drink themselves... The lady-owner of Loch Distillery remembered us (!) and we settled in at our usual table. (Surely, I get to call it our usual table by now?) The distillery encourages customers to bring local produces into the store to pair with their alcohols, and the matron personally recommended Bassine Specialty Cheeses and Prom Country Cheese Farm (as above). Howler Brewing Company in Lang Lang was also recommended. We couldn't make the opening hours for most of these places, but TY's sharp eyes caught a sign for Caldermeade Farm & Cafe on the drive to Loch, and we made a stopover for hot food. It does a pretty brisk business even to the last hour, and evidently, even the Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the farm in 2010 and gifted a set of hand-painted silk scrolls. The food wasn't much to write home about, but I loved loved loved the milk they were selling (Coach House Dairy, 2L for $3). We carted it for an hour back to Melbourne, and no regrets. Stalking their webpage, it seems that the milk recently bagged Silver at the 2017 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Show too.