POSTED: 21 SEPTEMBER 2010

Destination: NSW Southern Highlands

Mike Smith heads south from Sydney to a colourful festival with a golden lining

The giant oaks and poplars look bare without their covers of leaves, yet the gardens of flower beds in the NSW Southern Highlands paint a very different picture.

It’s early spring in this picturesque rural area, an hour-and-a-half’s drive south-west of Sydney, and the chilly wind is a reminder that it is not quite time for the locals to pack away the winter woollies and bedroom doonas.

Step inside a quaint white picket fence which borders Bowral’s Corbett Gardens, and beneath leafless branches which create an eerie pattern, we are greeted by more than 100,000 flowering tulips and 25,000 equally colourful annuals.

The setting is fairytale-like, a kaleidoscope of bright reds, yellows, mauves and many other colours of the rainbow.

“This year’s Tulip Time [which began today and runs till 4October] is extra special in that it has a golden lining,” says local tourism manager Steve Rosa. “Believe it or not, it’s the festival’s 50th anniversary, which makes this year’s event extra colourful.”

By forking out $8 an adult, $5 a student or senior (students are 12 years free) — proceeds are forwarded to Tulip Time and Father Chris Riley’s work with getting “Youth Off the Streets” — flower lovers queue to photograph or be photographed in front of the colourful arrangements.

Two permanent rotundas of different sizes, the larger baring the name of Tulip Time’s 1950s creator, entrepreneurial businessman Ted Springett, also come in for special attention behind the carpets of tulips and annuals.

Tulips Time — 2010 style — has all the ingredients of a fun-filled family event, from a rock ’n’ roll concert starring Normie Rowe, Glen Shorrock, Brian Cadd and Little Patti at the Mittagong RSL, to the traditional Saturday street parade, one of Australia’s oldest, that winds its way to the gardens and its specially erected and small market stalls.

For the first time there’s a lantern parade along the town’s Bong Bong Street. And well known local, former yellow Wiggle Greg Page is there with his band to perform to “grown-ups” as well as the adoring fans of children.

On the following weekend, attention centres on Bowral’s Bradman Oval where summer finally shows its rightful sporting colours, courtesy of a friendly game of cricket. Sir Donald Bradman began his cricketing career in Bowral, thus the naming of the oval which is neighboured by an interesting museum of memorabilia and other items also carrying the great batsman’s name.

Accommodation is limited on the busy weekends, midweek being preferred by many Tulip Time fans making the pilgrimage for an overnight stay.

The NSW Southern Highlands is blessed with varying kinds and standards of stay, from the budget style at Poplars Motel at Braemar, about five kilometres from Mittagong, where a midweek rate from $110 can be snared, to the more stately propositions such as historic Milton Park and Peppers Craigieburn, Peppers Manor House and Grand Mercure Heritage Park, where prices are of higher level.

Finding a hot spot to dine isn’t difficult, ideally beginning with a breakfast of porridge and pancakes ($12.90), bacon and eggs or eggs benedict ($14.90) at Bowral’s popular Elephant Boy Café in the main street.

The quaint library-like café, with its piping-hot lattes, tantalising menu selections and walls of old books, is particularly busy on weekends, not only with visiting city slickers but with locals fond of the warm friendly atmosphere and the chance to read one of the books from the shelves.

The name Elephant Boy has been adopted from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book — appropriate considering the jungle of books which decorate the café.

A particularly popular eatery by night is Vin Santo Pizzeria and Ristorante, on the Old Hume Highway, close to Mittagong’s landmark clock tower.

This family-friendly Italian restaurant is a virtual institution in the Southern Highlands, the creation of well-known chef/owner Andrew McCrone, and it only recently celebrated its tenth birthday in Mittagong after operating for eight years from the Bowral Hotel.

Now in new ownership, with manager Moira Mevissen and head chef Peter Oakley taking over the reins, Vin Santo has been a popular spot for locals to celebrate special occasions, including wedding proposals as well as birthday parties.

On the regular menu, which is accompanied by a blackboard of enticing specials and an extra page of monthly-altered themed recipes devoted to cuisine from different regions of Italy, are such entrées and main courses as seafood risotto, whitebait, various pastas and fish and veal creations and, of course, the family favourite pizzas (entrees around $15, mains between $25 and $35).

“Always make sure you have room for the desserts,” insists Moira, “The Balsamic Strawberries (with hint of mint) is our signature dish and goes well with whipped cream and smashed meringue. We only use the best balsamic vinegar.”

With Tulip Time in full bloom, it is appropriate Vin Santo prepares special hampers for the picnic baskets for a chance to luncheon outdoors among the floral arrangements, not only in Corbett Gardens but other reserves that are a part of the celebrations.

For $100, couples can dine on delicious antipasto, frittata, risotto and pizza bread, and one of the restaurant’s famous desserts, washed down with a bottle of sparkling water, small bottles of sparkling wine and a local pinot noir — yes, the NSW Southern Highlands is a dedicated winegrowing region.

The basket, cloth napkins, table cloth, crockery, cutlery, wine glasses — prepared by Hannah Hofman, a Czech-born local affectionately referred to as the “Contess” — is for guests to take home as a keepsake ... and as a reminder to return for another short break in the NSW Southern Highlands.

Now that’s food for thought.

Hannah Hofman, a Czech-born local affectionately referred to as the “Contess”. Picture: Mike Smith.

IF YOU GO

§ Getting there: NSW Southern Highlands, 1hr 30min drive along the M5/Hume Highway, south-west of Sydney.

§ Stay: Poplars Motel, Old Hume Highway, Braemar (near Mittagong), rooms from $110-$175, breakfast $10 per guest. Phone (02) 4889 4239, www.poplarsmotel.com.au.

§ Dine: Vin Santo Pizzeria and Ristorante, Old Hume Highway, Mittagong, phone (02) 4872 4300; Elephant Boy Café, Bong Bong St, Bowral, phone (02) 48611393.

§ Details: Tourism Southern Highlands, phone (02) 4871 2888, www.southern-highlands.com.au.

Above: The quaint library-likeElephant Boy Café. Below: Milton Park offers elegant accommodation amid one of Australia's finest gardens. Pictures: Sandra Burn White.