These are people who are searching for their dream home, but the cherry on top is that we also get to promote the country towns as well at a time when regional businesses are crying out for attention.
- Catriona Rowntree
A NEW television lifestyle property show hosted by high-profile presenter Catriona Rowntree is set to put Warrnambool's claim to the title of the nation's most liveable city in the international spotlight.
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Rowntree has been in Warrnambool and the south-west this week filming two episodes of the upcoming series, Country House Hunters.
Five high-end Warrnambool lifestyle properties and one in Port Fairy will feature in the episodes, the first of which is scheduled to air on the Nine Network at the end of November or early December.
Gary Takle, executive producer of the Australian company behind the program, Abode Entertainment, said Country House Hunters had already been picked up by New Zealand and South Korea, with strong interest from the UK.
Best recognised for her long-standing role on the popular travel show, Getaway, Rowntree said she had embraced the chance to host the new program at a time when COVID-19 had decimated travel and business generally.
It was an opportunity, she said, to promote regional and rural Australia when it was needed most.
"These are people who are searching for their dream home, but the cherry on top is that we also get to promote the country towns as well at a time when regional businesses are crying out for attention," she said.
"I feel compelled to promote regional Australia.
"This isn't a real estate show. We are selling dreams. It's about lifestyle and location."
Of the 20 episodes of the program being made, 11 will feature country Victoria, including Mt Macedon and the Surf Coast. The remainder are interstate locations.
Warrnambool owes its inclusion in Country House Hunters to Charles Stewart Real Estate agent Penny Adamson, who approached Rowntree after reading about the new program.
"I said, I live in Australia's most liveable city. How about including Warrnambool in the show?" said Ms Adamson who runs the company with her husband Nick Adamson.
A passionate advocate for the city, Ms Adamson described Warrnambool as "a goldmine", with a strong economy, liveability and affordable property market for potential buyers looking to make a sea change.
She said the program would provide a valuable marketing tool, highlighting "what makes this town unique".
The region's beaches, Tower Hill, restaurants and golf course will all feature.
For Rowntree, who made the tree change from Sydney to regional Victoria when she married grazier James Pettit in 2008, the concept of Country House Hunters is one she strongly identifies with.
"I just knew it was meant to be because I am living and breathing the concept," she said.
"It was straight out of central casting, so to speak."
Set to mark her 25th season with Getaway next year, the bubbly presenter with the title of "Australia's Most Travelled Woman" was in the middle of packing for Antarctica when COVID-19 hit early this year.
"It was horrendous. I was packing to go to Antarctica for Getaway, on the edge of the world, when I got the phone call to stop packing," she recalled.
"Like a lot of people, I wondered when will I ever work again? Then in the middle of it all, I got a phone call looking for someone to host this show."
She couldn't believe her luck.
"I live and breathe the topic."
Rowntree lives on the family sheep and grain property outside Geelong with her husband and two young sons, revelling in the rural lifestyle and pitching in where she can.
While life in lockdown has forced some adjustments in her working life, it has had its upside.
"My family is happy, my garden has never looked so good and I'm baking like Nigella," she laughed.
While her work with Getaway under COVID restrictions has been reduced to filming intros and voiceovers from her front garden, Rowntree's "new normal" work has evolved to include virtual event hosting.
Just this week from Warrnambool, in front of a world-wide audience, she hosted the online launch of the Australian Ballet artistic director and former principal dancer David McAllister's memoir "Soar".
"I realise I have stepped through a portal into a world I have forced myself to embrace," she said of her new direction.
While Rowntree hankers to travel again, she is optimistic the industry will regenerate in time.
"Travel will never be the same, but it will bounce back; it's a part of human nature. Travel will definitely recover, and more so domestically. I look forward to the day when border restrictions ease."
As for cruising, of which she is particularly fond, Rowntree predicts a mid-year recovery in 2021 with smaller ships in most demand.
- The Warrnambool properties featuring in Country House Hunters are located at 23 Logans Beach Road, 62 Ardlie Street's Merton Manor, 333 Timor Street, 277 Wollaston Road, 54 Nicholson Street and 7 Armstrong Court in Port Fairy. The Warrnambool properties are listed with Charles Stewart Warrnambool and the Port Fairy property with Stockdale & Leggo.
