00:02Well, I think we're all very proud to be part of the Bichonot community, Joe.
00:06It's a wonderful accolade and it's a direct reflection of the people of Bichonot.
00:12It's their award, it's their openness and passion for the place that makes our visitors
00:18feel very welcome when they come here.
00:20Yeah, and it's a pretty attractive spot as well.
00:23Now, you're not born and bred Bichonot.
00:25When and why did you roll into town and why did you stay?
00:30I've been coming to the East Coast with my parents as a small child.
00:35So I used to spend a lot of my youth here in Bichonot and we just decided we lived in
00:41Launceston and we thought we'd make the change when the kids were small and we never left.
00:47Yeah, so it's been a wonderful, wonderful thing for our family.
00:50And so some great community organisations there?
00:53We have got some fantastic organisations.
00:56We've got a surf club, a golf club, a bowls club, we've got swim groups, and they're all
01:02run by passionate volunteers, local people.
01:05We have a food and wine festival every November.
01:09We have a beams light show in the middle of the year that attracts 12,000 people.
01:14And as I say, it's all run by volunteers and people in Bichonot just want to show Bichonot
01:20off and it's really makes a great place to live.
01:24And is the proximity to Wineglass Bay quite handy because tourists use Bichonot as a base
01:29for that?
01:30Yeah, it is a gateway to Freycinet.
01:33There's no doubt about that.
01:34It's also a gateway down to half a dozen or so vineyards, which are, you know, 15, 20 minutes
01:41outside of Bichonot, which are wonderful to visit.
01:43So, you know, on top of just Bichonot local area, we've got those places that we can go
01:50and look at and enjoy and have a good time.
01:53And the seafood comes straight out of the water right there for the local businesses?
01:58It does, yes.
01:59The crayfish comes straight out at the Lobster Shack and the Coastal Seafoods.
02:04And the local restaurants often take advantage of that as well.
02:08So we're blessed with a great cafe culture and we've got a couple of really fantastic
02:14breweries, a world-class whiskey distillery, and that's just our businesses.
02:21And then, you know, we've got that environment, that drop-dead gorgeous environment that we
02:25look at every day.
02:26And the pastry chef's not too bad either, I hear.
02:29How's your waistline going?
02:32Well, I think our pastry chef at Little Bay has single-handedly driven up everyone's
02:37cholesterol levels in Bichonot, single-handedly.
02:41So, yeah, we're just, we're spoiled for choice.
02:44We really are.
02:45Yeah.
02:46Do you reckon the environment enhances the kind of the community feel and the relationships
02:53between everyone there?
02:55Yeah, I think it does.
02:56I think that's what it does.
02:58I think we all understand what a beautiful part of the world we live in and we are somewhat
03:04protective of it.
03:05And people that do things here tend to do it very well.
03:08And that helps other people that are thinking of doing things and starting businesses.
03:14It elevates what they're doing.
03:16So, it sort of all goes in a full circle.
03:19And are you a bit concerned, Mike, this might bring too much attention?
03:24You don't want to spoil the serenity?
03:28That always could be a problem.
03:30But I think we've just grown gently over the years and we probably are getting more visitors
03:36and we can cope with more visitors.
03:38But there is a limit to that.
03:40We're certainly aware of it as a council.
03:42There's infrastructure that we need to consider to manage the amount of visitors.
03:48But, yeah, I'm not sure it'll go too mad too quickly.
03:53I just hope it grows gently over the years.
03:55Yeah.
03:56Well, I'm surprised I haven't seen a Backroads episode on Bichonot.
03:59We'll have to line one up.
04:00Oh, well, yeah, funny you mention that.
04:02There is a Backroads.
04:03Backroads haven't long been down in Bichonot.
04:05So, there is an upcoming episode of Backroads.
04:08Believe it or not, you'll be able to watch it in November, I believe.
04:12How come I didn't get a tap on the shoulder for that?
04:14I want to go down and try some of those pastries.
04:17I think Lisa might have heard about it first.
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