Amanda Shoebridge, the Manager of the Australian Regional Tourism Network, and Nadine White, a researcher from the Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre recently took advantage of one of Kyogle’s ‘A Country Affair’ Farmgate Tours to learn more about the tourism potential of regional food production, particularly within the Kyogle district.

Mark Warburton of Iron Pot Foods gives Nadine White and Amanda Shoebridge a fascinating insight into the art of beekeeping and honey production.

The tour took Amanda and Nadine to two local enterprises; the Iron Pot Food Company where Lea and Mark Wharburton displayed a wide range of products that included honey production. The next stop was at and the Fairymont Passionfruit Farm where Kim and Dean Clark manage 4000 passionfruit vines, 1200 guava trees and around 250 cows.

The farmgate tours are just one element of the ‘Country Affair’ event, that runs during October and coincides with the Kyogle Show. The brainchild of the Kyogle Community Economic Development Committee, the Tours have potential for further development as a local tourism product that could be integrated with existing regional initiatives such as the Rainforest Way.

Malcolm Wallace, Tourism Officer at Kyogle Visitor Information Centre, Amanda Shoebridge, and Nadine White, discuss regional tourism issues at the new Kyogle Visitor Information Centre.

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