Afternoon tea review: Gooromon Park, Hall

Surprisingly nearby to Canberra there are many delightful rural areas full of rolling hill vistas, boutique wineries, and gourmet food providores and cafes. Each time I venture into the countryside, which is not very often, I vow to see more of the local region, to try all of the local wines, to eat all of the wonderful seasonal produce. Did you know that the Canberra region is one of the main truffle producing areas in Australia? That it is famous for its cold climate ones, notably Riesling and pinot noir? It's so easy not to appreciate how much there is so close to where one lives. But, then again, there are only so many hours in a weekend (48), and it can be hard to find the time to enjoy the local countryside by the time one tends to one's own gardening and household chores, reading of the weekend newspapers, grocery shopping and cooking up the forthcoming week's supply of soups and casseroles, occasional socialising and family duties (this weekend was my father's 60th birthday party; my sister and her husband, who live in Goulburn, hosted a really lovely surprise birthday for him).

Also this weekend, however, Tom and I found time in our hectic schedules to take the 20 minute drive out to Hall, which is a very pretty area of rolling hills so close to Canberra you can (unfortunately) see the western suburbs from some spots. I had wanted to take afternoon tea at the Homestead Cafe at Gooromon Park for some time now, and fixed that now was the time for us to wile away an afternoon on the veranda of a country cottage and enjoy some homemade delights.

Well, we did not book early enough for the veranda, and the popular parlour was booked for a (what else?) hen's night afternoon tea, so we just had a seat in the regular cafe. The house is an old weatherboard, relocated from Canberra. The whole place has a quite nice rustic, but not twee, feel about it.

The food was really good, especially the sandwiches which were delicious (so often overlooked) and the savoury snacks. The sweets were all very nice too of course, as was the complimentary glass of champagne. The tea selection could have, in my opinion, been a little better, but I'm not really complaining about it - it's just that they could offer a little more choice of nicer teas for not really much more money; say, a selection from T2 or The Tea Centre in Canberra. In many settings, I would not have found the floral china to be charming, but in this setting it was. It was a very relaxing afternoon in the country, with good food. I therefore happily recommend high tea at the Homestead Cafe.

On the Scott Scale, it gets a solid 7.5 out of 10, which would be an 8 with better tea. That puts them on equal footing with the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore.

Redwoods in Canberra?

I was pretty fascinated to read in a recent Tim the Yowie Man article in the Canberra Times that there was an experimental grove of redwood trees planted in Canberra, just near the airport (which is actually where I work). I have driven past these trees many times and never really noticed them, thinking they were an abandoned pine forest. Apaprently, they are the remnants of a failed attempt to create a redwood forrest that was planted on the instructions of none other than Walter Burley Griffin.

When we were in San Francisco a few years back we did a day trip to the Muir Woods and I found these trees so powerful - the way the light tentatively dappled through their high branches, and their towering, silent presence. Instinct suggests that the Canberra climate would be far too dry for these beautiful, ancient giants. Canberra may be cool in summer but it is nothing like the wet Pacific north west of the US and Canada where these trees are from.

Turns out, instinct is correct. The trees have made a valiant effort but they are slowly dying from lack of water and heat stress. Apparently much of the original forest has been destroyed for airport expansion.

Still, walking through what remains is a peaceful experience. Although they are adjacent to the airport and a busy road, something about these trees wraps you up in a cocoon of quiet reflection. The light does dabble through the branches. It is such a shame they could not be saved, but one does get the feeling their days are probably numbered.

This picture comes from the Redwood Grove Park. I highly recommend a visit if you're driving past some time - it is a very peaceful place.