Warragul

In those heady days before the dairy industry was subjected to a controversial deregulation legislation, the locals reckoned you could count at least 100,000 milking cows grazing within a 16km radius of the large Gippsland town of Warragul.

Despite rationalisation, this remains true blue dairy country and is the gateway to the Gourmet Deli Trail which leads visitors to prime locations where they can sample the local cheeses, fresh fruit and berries and a wide-range of mouth-watering meats including beef, venison, emu and kangaroo.

The original township was called Brandy Creek and, on account of the fact that Warragul is the local Aboriginal word for 'wild', one suspects that some powerful moonshine was brewed in the hills in days of old.

Today Warragul is a law-abiding town where you can tap into the local culture in the West Gippsland Arts Centre and the Vintage Craft Park. You'll find displays of antique and contemporary instruments at the Darum Musical Village 8km out of town.