Teesdale

**Teesdale, WA — the Golden Plains (minus the gold, plus the grapevines)**

Look, we know what you’re thinking. Teesdale, WA? Isn’t that in Victoria?

Honestly, the data’s a bit confused too — half the articles that mention us are about some other golden plains entirely. But hey, when you’ve got a name that sounds like a country pub and a view that could be a Wilco film clip, you take what you can get.

The real story here, according to the one decent write-up we could find, is that journey through the Golden Plains region — punctuated with gentle vistas of big open skies, old cobblestone fences and an endless expanse of those eponymous golden fields. Plus lots of shiny-coated chestnut horses.

We’re the region that’s been a "dead zone for good coffee and cafe fare" — their words, not ours. But then there’s Red Door Cafe, with its "big, wide veranda out front with ‘50s laminex tables and colourful crocheted rugs." The "slow-baked beans with Istra bacon" are apparently worth the trip.

And if you're after something fancier, Gladioli sits in "a tiny, one-horse town" behind "an unassuming white weatherboard facade," serving "some of regional Victoria’s best dining." Chef Matt Dempsey’s "five or eight course degustation menu" features Western Plains pork, Barwon lamb, and Meredith cheese.

Yes, we know — Victoria. But no one actually checks state lines when there’s wood-fired pizza at Clyde Park Vineyard & Bistro, pouring "top-notch pinot noir and chardonnay." Or a historic boozer like Batesford Hotel, "once known (rather delightfully) as the Dog Rocks Hotel."

**Who’d love it:** Anyone who thinks "road trip" means winding down the windows and running the breeze through your hair, loading up "plenty of loot for the trip home."

**Who’d hate it:** Anyone expecting a proper WA address. And anyone who can’t handle a region that took its sweet time catching up on the dining scene — "it’s been a little slower to take off," as they say.

You don't come to Teesdale for the nightlife. You come for the "OMG moment" at Moorabool Ridge Winery and the feeling that you’ve actually escaped the city. Just don't ask us which city. We're not entirely sure either.