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Getaway - Season 2026 Episode 11 - Season 2026, Episode 11
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00:10Hello there and welcome to Getaway.
00:13This week we are checking into one of the Barossa's most beautiful places to stay.
00:18Sometimes when you're traveling you visit a place that just stops you in your tracks from the moment you arrive.
00:24Kingsford the Barossa is one of those places.
00:26Learning the art of rice farming in Thailand.
00:30And I'm about to find out first hand just how tough it can be.
00:34But first up, a little town well worth a visit next time you're driving between two of our biggest cities.
00:54The well-worn path between Sydney and Brisbane has been a family favorite road trip for us for years.
01:00The iconic route is filled with charming coastal towns and breathtaking scenery.
01:05So if you're looking for a place to break up the journey between the two capitals, you'll find a town
01:10about halfway called Bellingham.
01:13And trust me, this place is really special.
01:19Bellingham is set on the beautiful Bellingham River, a 30-minute drive south of Coffs Harbour on the New South
01:25Wales mid-north coast.
01:28The Bellingham Valley was settled in the mid-1800s for its timber resources and rich dairy farmland.
01:38But it was a different kind of traveller who began arriving in the 1970s, which has shaped the town's relaxed
01:46boho vibe.
01:48The main street is full of eclectic boutiques to discover, including retro bellow.
01:55Liz, this is such a fun store. Tell me about the concept here.
02:00Well, it's actually all pre-loved. You've got really eclectic things here.
02:05There's some Louis Vuitton sneakers to a safari jacket.
02:10Now, I love the fact, does this work really well in Bellingham? Because it feels like it's a community, so
02:14this would work.
02:15It's definitely the right place for this store. This is a community that cares about its environmental footprint.
02:20So there's a lot of support for buying pre-loved.
02:25And I love your kids' range because kids grow out of clothes so quickly.
02:29Yes, the kids' stuff turns over very quickly.
02:33Do you have a favourite item in the store?
02:36I love a spell dress.
02:38I saw that. I can't believe it's still here.
02:41I'm going to nab that up, actually.
02:47Bellingham is known for its vibrant, creative community.
02:51And local fashion designer Megs Ferrier has drawn inspiration from the area's botanical beauty for her latest collection.
03:00Megs, I'm so excited to meet you because obviously I'm a fan.
03:03I've bought your clothes online before and now I'm here in Bellingham.
03:07This beautiful store. Tell me all about it.
03:11Inspiration came from the local botanicals.
03:14We're wearing our little peonies at the moment.
03:16Oh, from Bellingham. This inspired you just by living here?
03:18We have so many botanicals here.
03:20Wow, I love that.
03:21And I wanted to do a flower and at the moment the peonies is our favourite.
03:26Meg's State of Embrace clothing range is made from sustainable fabrics and caters for sizes 4 to 20.
03:33I love that there's so much inspiration from the people, the gorgeous surrounds, but mostly it's all about the community.
03:41It's a great community and it just feels like one big warm hug.
03:45Oh, that's a great way to describe it. A big warm hug from Bellingham.
03:58If you're lucky enough to visit the town midweek, make sure you pay a visit to the Bellingham Farmers and
04:04Producers Markets.
04:05This locals only growers market opened five years ago to support the community and help reduce food miles.
04:13Without local growers supplying our local communities, we're reliant on multinationals, lots of transportation.
04:21And we don't understand seasonal food, the medicine in our food from local food being nutritious and harvested within 24
04:28hours of being sold at market.
04:29That's all gone.
04:30Absolutely. It's so important.
04:32Our children need to understand.
04:34And there's families here, there's kids after school, they're all down here to enjoy the produce.
04:38Absolutely.
04:41This is so much more than a farmers market.
04:43You get the feeling this weekly event is tightly woven into the fabric of the community.
04:50Tom, I saw the line before the bell rang.
04:52It's still going. Your produce sells out.
04:55Why is that? Why is your reputation so good here at the market?
04:57We're a pretty long established business now in the Bellingham Shire.
05:01We grow a small scale organic market garden in the Nambucca Valley.
05:04And obviously it's what the locals want.
05:06And tourists alike, they want that organic, they want that local produce.
05:10Yes, they do.
05:11They want the connection to the farmer too, which is really important for the farmers market.
05:15Being able to meet the grower in the flesh and build that relationship week to week.
05:24What a great asset these markets are to the local community.
05:28And I really love the mid-week after school timing.
05:32You know what really stood out to me though, is the sense of community.
05:35And how passionate the locals are about protecting their beautiful backyard.
05:46After the break, we are twitching in New Zealand.
05:50They canoodle and wrap their necks around one another.
05:54They're very affectionate. Yes it is.
06:04There needs to be a very good reason to drag me from the sack at 4am.
06:08And granted there's promise when the destination is called Cape Kidnappers.
06:12Sounds mysterious and sinister.
06:14Mashings of intrigue and daring do.
06:17There are stories of fish hooks made from jaw bones.
06:20Captain Cook, Maori warriors, cannon fire, muskets and murder.
06:25However, it may not surprise you to learn that it's such an ungodly hour,
06:29I'm actually here to twitch.
06:32Good morning Joe.
06:37We're taking in the sunrise over the southern tip of the Hawke's Bay region
06:41on New Zealand's North Island, about an hour's flight from Auckland.
06:47And thankfully a crack of dawn call time doesn't disappoint.
06:51As we witness a brand new day in the world's most accessible Gannet Colony.
06:57This is amazing.
06:59How many, how many are in this colony here?
07:03Possibly up to 5,000, 6,000.
07:06It's a very neat colony.
07:08Isn't it wonderful?
07:09It's only when they're adults like this and it's like this.
07:11They all sit within a beak's peck of one another.
07:14And if one of those neighbours comes too close, you'll see a fight.
07:18Whether they fight to the death or not, I'm not sure.
07:21But anyway, there they are.
07:23They're probably, I think, one of the most elegant of birds.
07:29This area is home to around 20,000 Australasian Gannets,
07:33who split their time between New Zealand and Australia.
07:40Gannets can live up to 33 years.
07:42They arrive here each year in winter to begin their mating ritual.
07:46They don't breed until they're five years old.
07:48But when they do, they mate for life.
07:51You see the birds flapping here with their wings.
07:55The babies, as they grow bigger, they flap their wings and it's exercise.
08:01And gradually they'll do that.
08:03And as they near maturity, they'll lift up from the ground a little,
08:07and then go down and come up and go down.
08:09And then suddenly the wind catches them and then they're all to Australia.
08:13They're off to Australia?
08:14Yes.
08:15And then they spend the obligatory three or four years mature
08:19and then realise what they're missing and come back home.
08:30This peninsula is not only overwhelmingly beautiful,
08:33it's also deeply connected to New Zealand's creation story.
08:38The Maori name for Hawke's Bay is Te Mataua Mowi,
08:42which means the fish hook of Mowi.
08:45Legend has it, the god Mowi used his magical fish hook
08:48to pull up the North Island from the sea.
08:50His brothers wouldn't allow him a fishing hook because he was the youngest.
08:54But he just happened to have with him his grandmother's jaw bone
08:58with three teeth on.
08:59As one does?
09:00As one does, yes.
09:02And he broke his nose to make it bleed, covered the teeth with blood,
09:06popped them over the side of the canoe
09:08and fished up the North Island of New Zealand.
09:11Voila!
09:11That's the tooth that did it.
09:17New Zealanders being New Zealanders.
09:20Yeah.
09:20Has anyone ever scaled it?
09:22I don't know.
09:24How wonderful.
09:26How wonderful.
09:27Wouldn't it be the most terrifying thing?
09:32There are four organic colonies spread across
09:35the vast 2,500 hectare Cape Kidnappers farmland,
09:40which is also New Zealand's largest privately owned wildlife sanctuary.
09:48So there's another colony here.
09:50Yes.
09:51It's not the biggest Gannett colony in the world,
09:53but it's certainly the most accessible.
10:01It's marvellous to be able to see they'll be above the flight.
10:05Well, this is what's such a joy being in this bank
10:09while looking at them, because we can really see how they fly.
10:11And you'll notice that when one lands and meets its friend or its mate
10:17or husband or wife, they canoodle.
10:20They wrap their necks around one another.
10:23How lovely.
10:24They're very affectionate.
10:27Look, there's two down there having a little bit of a communal now.
10:37This spectacular farmland property is also the home to Rosewood Cape Kidnappers,
10:43an uber luxury lodge resort.
10:45Like the landscape itself, the accommodation here just hoakes your jaw to the floor.
10:53This particular lodge runs the risk of being simply overwhelming.
10:58Huge picture windows frame every view.
11:01It's so vast.
11:04Bring your friends.
11:05Bring all your friends.
11:08This four bedroom villa and 24 resort suites
11:12have all been designed to seamlessly blend into the surrounding landscape.
11:17The estate also hosts golf enthusiasts from around the globe,
11:22with the 18-hole championship course currently ranked 15
11:25among the world's greatest golf courses.
11:29Visiting Cape Kidnappers only reinforces my overriding issue
11:34with coming to New Zealand.
11:35I mean, look, everywhere is too impossibly beautiful.
11:40Every vista nails you to the spot.
11:44And anything post-New Zealand is, unfortunately, a bit of a disappointment.
11:53After the break, we're visiting one of the Barossa's most beautiful properties.
11:58It's just you and the Aussie bush, but you still have all the luxuries.
12:16There's so much going on in this town.
12:19Sometimes when you're travelling, you visit a place that just stops you
12:23in your tracks from the moment you arrive.
12:26Kingsford the Barossa is one of those places.
12:28This historic and gobsmackingly beautiful property
12:32has all the best elements of the Barossa Valley
12:34in one epic location.
12:36As soon as I get out here on the outskirts
12:39I wish I was...
12:40Less than an hour's drive from Adelaide,
12:42Kingsford the Barossa is a luxurious accommodation
12:45set on 90 hectares of native Australian landscapes
12:48on the edge of the wine region.
12:50The valley back grows
12:52Way back in the holler where the grass grows
12:55Originally built in 1856 for a wealthy pastoralist,
12:59it's now home to a 16-suite retreat.
13:02Down here on the outskirts
13:07This was chosen as essentially the first farmland in South Australia,
13:12this whole region.
13:13It's like Australia in a bowl, right here, you know?
13:16So, we'll drive around, we'll see some kangaroos jumping around,
13:19we'll see all these rainbirds, songbirds,
13:21you've got corellas, cockatoos, kookaburras,
13:23that's the sound you wake up to here in the morning.
13:26New truck, big lift, old roads...
13:29A guided ATV tour will help you get your bearings
13:31and the lowdown on this once famous property.
13:34We're talking about a lot of history to do with this place.
13:38Now, there's a bit of extra history going on with the homestead here.
13:42It's got a bit of a famous history to it.
13:44A bit of a television history, if I'm not wrong.
13:47Yeah, yeah, a little show called MacLeod's Daughters.
13:50I think I've heard of it, ladies and gentlemen.
13:56So, MacLeod's Daughters was filmed around here?
13:59Yeah, so from 99 to 2009, this is Drobans Run.
14:03Come on.
14:10We're going to go a little bit off-road here, but I promise...
14:13All terrain?
14:13I'm going to keep you dry, all right?
14:15All right, I'm trusting you on this.
14:19Oh, shit!
14:21Nice!
14:22You're going to be taking me here.
14:27Hey, this is...
14:29This is romantic!
14:29I know, it's a little bit...
14:31A little bit romantic, isn't it?
14:33I'll tell you what!
14:3416 rooms here.
14:36And so you're guaranteed to have a little private romantic pocket all to yourself.
14:41You've said...
14:42You've said private romantic.
14:44Can I ask you a bit of a favour, though?
14:45What's that, mate?
14:46I haven't got a date.
14:47Can you push me on the swing?
14:48Absolutely.
14:49Romantically, of course.
14:50This is our first date.
14:53I'll tell you what...
14:54I think I'm falling.
14:54LAUGHTER
14:58Where's our glass of wine?
15:01You're intoxicating enough, Link.
15:03LAUGHTER
15:05And you look like you love me.
15:10There's endless pockets of the property to explore, but kicking back in the rooms is not a bad option either.
15:21The newer section of the lodge has these epic valley view suites.
15:25Some even come with private plunge pools.
15:38Or there's the masterfully restored 1856 homestead with its eight charming suites.
15:47The rich history of the property is honoured at every turn, with their cellar offering six separate wine vaults to
15:54explore, celebrating the country's best drops.
15:56Vault two that we're in now has quite a nice little range of the big Barossa barons, you know, the
16:04heroes.
16:05So we have Henschke on one side, Penfolds behind me, and then Kaisler as well, which is very impressive.
16:12I thought we'd start off with the little Riesling the Freak from Eden Valley, and move on to a nice
16:17little Grenache by Sharky's.
16:20Penfolds, Tempranillo, and finishing off with a classic Barossa for us from Kaisler.
16:26Oh, I love that. Good choice, good serve. Yes. That is really nice.
16:32Upstairs is Orleana Restaurant, with a focus on fresh, local and seasonal ingredients.
16:40When it comes to a Nabo dip, there's a very inviting saltwater pool.
16:45Driving faster in my car.
16:49Or, if you're feeling a little more adventurous, you can settle in for a soak in the Alfresco bush bath.
16:55From just what we are.
16:59This really is the best of both worlds.
17:02You're in complete seclusion, it's just you and the Aussie bush, but you still have all the luxuries.
17:07Time to take your home from easy years, come to me sleep.
17:15Time to wait too long, to wait too long, to wait too long.
17:25After the break, learning the ins and outs of rice farming in Thailand.
17:29Am I spacing them far apart enough?
17:32Enough? I'm hired.
17:44As one of the world's largest exporters of rice, the country of Thailand revolves around the precious grain.
17:52For centuries, rice farming has been one of the main industries.
17:56And I'm about to find out, first hand, just how tough it can be.
18:02Just two and a half hours drive south of the Thai capital of Bangkok is Pechaburi.
18:07The location of my full day, immersive plow to plate experience.
18:13A food lovers tour where we learn the traditional way of growing and producing rice.
18:17So Crane, can you tell me the role the buffalo plays in traditional rice farming?
18:23The buffalo is a very strong animal that really love this much.
18:28They love the wet, they love the hot season, so this is why we choose the buffalo.
18:33To make the soil more texture, more air, before we plant the rice.
18:38So it's a very valuable possession to them having a buffalo.
18:42Uh-huh. This kind of family.
18:49With the field now ploughed, it's my turn to get a little muddy.
18:54I certainly looked the part.
18:56Let's see how I go at being a rice farmer.
18:59Hi, guys. Hello.
19:03Oh, wow, I'm sinking.
19:05I'm going deep.
19:07Oh, wow.
19:09Being fully involved gives tourists a very real experience
19:13and a unique snapshot of rural life on the land.
19:17Hold like this, and you put it in the ground.
19:21Right down to like fist.
19:23Alright, so twist it down.
19:25Yes.
19:25Ooh, yeah, feel that mud.
19:28Is that far enough?
19:29Yes, it is.
19:30And you do this whole area?
19:32Yes.
19:35And are there many traditional rice farms around in Thailand anymore?
19:39Not anymore, actually.
19:41They use a machine.
19:42So this is all organic in a traditional way?
19:46Yes.
19:47And when will we actually get results from planting it
19:50to actually getting the rice?
19:53Usually it takes three months.
19:54Three months.
19:55Is this far enough?
19:56It is.
19:58After planting the rice,
20:00we follow the process all the way through
20:02from grinding to de-husking.
20:04Pour it in.
20:06Kim, gonna spin it around to crack it to mill it.
20:10Okay.
20:13And so you just wait till it's all fallen to the bottom.
20:16Yeah, for all falling.
20:17Does it look easy?
20:18Oh, he's making it look very easy.
20:20It's your turn.
20:21My turn?
20:23This one might be easy.
20:24Okay.
20:25Oh, really?
20:25Don't say that, because what if I can't do it?
20:27You've said now it's easy.
20:30Pour.
20:31Oh, okay.
20:33Oh, thanks, Cam.
20:34You're helping me out.
20:35Okay, you actually did make this look really easy.
20:38A bit stronger?
20:39It's not...
20:40Oh, I'm trying, Green!
20:43I'm trying!
20:43Do you wanna help?
20:44Like this?
20:46Oh, look.
20:47How many people does it take to do this?
20:50Three!
20:50Three!
20:53So this one, we're gonna pound the rice to make sure that all the husk is out from the rice.
20:59So, we're gonna do it.
21:00One, two, three.
21:02And when we do one, two, three like this, it's make more rhythm when you pound the rice.
21:06Like...
21:08Okay, go!
21:08One, two, three, four.
21:14Are we off beat already?
21:22I'm getting a sweat.
21:25So, Cream, how long do we have to do this for?
21:28We can check.
21:29We need to check!
21:31Yeah, we can check.
21:33You really gotta work for this rice.
21:35Yeah, a lot of work.
21:35So, this is the last step that we prepare the rice before we're cooking.
21:41We call it husking the rice.
21:43From start to finish, this tour is 100% hands-on.
21:47And that is exactly the way tour owner and Aussie expat Lee Higgins intended.
21:52What do you think is so unique about this tour compared to a lot of other tours around Thailand?
21:57Well, this is a true experience.
22:00Right?
22:00This is about really remembering traditional ways of doing things around food and food production.
22:07And it's where you can get your hands dirty.
22:09And I think that's what people are looking for now.
22:12You know, just that experience when they go back to their home country,
22:15that they can go, you know what?
22:16I planted rice.
22:17And you know what?
22:18It was really hard.
22:19I have a new appreciation, that is for sure.
22:22Rice is fundamental to Thai culture.
22:25And what rice means to the Thai population is you just cannot put into words.
22:30Because yes, every meal is rice.
22:32You know, whatever we can make out of rice.
22:34And it's treated with respect.
22:35From the tea that's served, to the snacks along the way, everything is made from rice.
22:45And of course, freshly cooked rice is the hero of the lunch.
22:49But it's complemented by an absolute feast of local delicacies.
22:55This is about as fresh as you can get, from the field straight to the plate.
23:00Or lotus leaf.
23:01And now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour.
23:08And all that hard work makes this taste even better.
23:16Well, thank you so much for getting away with us once again.
23:20Next week, I cannot wait to take you on a creative journey in Sri Lanka.
23:25I always knew this was a country that was so proud of its culture.
23:30And now that I'm here, it really is like an assault on the senses.
23:33Plus, the ultimate kid's guide to Canberra.
23:37Today, I've got my boys Wilder and Ari to show them around Parliament House.
23:41Are you ready boys?
23:42Yay!
23:43Alrighty!
23:44Until then, stay safe.
23:46Bon voyage!
23:47quantify
23:48How cool
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