Eat your way through Central NSW on a tasty food tour that goes behind-the-scenes to magical pine-forests, wineries, farms and historic homes.
They include a trike tour with bush tucker tastings in Orange, foraging for mushrooms in Lithgow and Oberon, and taking to the skies in a hot air balloon with a champagne breakfast in Canowindra. Cheers to that! There are some great events to tie in with a visit this Autumn too.
Four of the region’s best tours have been revealed by Central NSW Join Organisation to help visitors get immersed in local culture.
1.‘Mushroom Foraging Tour’ – Oberon and Lithgow
A world class mushroom foraging region, the pine forests around Oberon and Lithgow are prime hunting ground for tasty Saffron milkcaps and Slippery varieties. A series of workshops, tours and masterclasses will be hosted by experts Diego Bonetto and Alison Pouliot from March to May 2025.
The annual Field to Forest Festival is on from 1-31 March 2025 with a series of paddock to plate experiences, truffle and mushroom hunts, produce markets and signature events the Trufflefest at Redground Truffles and an Autumn Seasonal Dinner with Simmone Logue and Renzaglia Wines at Essington Estate. www.visitoberon.com
2.‘A Taste of Indigenous Culture, Wildlife & Brews’ – Orange
Orange Trike Tours offers a variety of tasty and scenic tours but this one with an Aboriginal elder certainly adds the revs. Zooming around on a Mustang Trike the tour visits an Indigenous edible garden, burial site, kangaroos, and includes a bush-tucker morning tea and drinks at a microbrewery. Min two people and costs $495. wwworangetriketours.com.au
Orange FOOD Week is on 28 March to 6 April 2025 with over 100 festival events celebrating the Autumn harvest, local food, wine and produce. www.orangefoodweek.com.au
3.‘Wine and Spirits Tour’ – Bathurst
Sit back and let local experts Bathurst Tours drive you to the best wineries and distilleries in this emerging food and wine region. Enjoy Italian varieties at Vale Creek Wines, scenic views at Winburndale Wines and award-winning gins and whiskeys at Bathurst Grange Distillery. The six-hour tour starts from $160pp. www.bathursttours.com.au
Learn more about local history, producers and makers at the Bathurst Heritage Trades Trail from 12-13 April 2025 with over 100 artisans and exhibitors. www.bathurstregion.com.au
4.‘Hot Air Ballon Flight Tour’ – Canowindra
Experience the magic of a sunrise hot air balloon flight tour over the fields of Canowindra with local experts Balloon Joy Flights, followed by a champagne breakfast at a historic home, with hosts Jan and Graham Kerr. Flights cost $340pp. www.balloonjoyflights.com.au
From 26 April to 4 May 2025 the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge, the largest in Australia, is a must-see, culminating in the Cabonne Community Glow on 3 May with 15 hot air balloons lighting up the night sky to music. www.canowindrachallenge.org.au
Go to www.visitcentralnsw.com.au. Central NSW includes Oberon, Bathurst, Orange, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Forbes, Parkes, Grenfell, Lithgow and Lachlan.
