Layne Beachley's celebrity escape - News.com.au

The rich country around Cowra is home to vineyards and dairy farms. Picture: Hamilton Lund.

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DURING her 20-year career as a professional surfer, Layne Beachley was lucky enough to travel all over the world, getting to know the waves everywhere from Tahiti to Tokushima.

But the jetsetting lifestyle did have its drawbacks, leaving the world champion with little time to explore her own back yard.

Now retired from professional surfing, she recently ventured away from the coast to the Central NSW Tablelands with her partner, INXS band member Kirk Pengilly.

"There's not much surf up there but I did find incredible wineries, amazing food and really friendly people," she says. "I ate more in a week than I'd normally eat in a month and I definitely drank a lot more too."

The couple started their journey in Bathurst, staying in a Victorian-era building at Bishop's Court Estate, where they dined in a restaurant in the former chapel.

"It's just beautiful," Pengilly says. "Each room is decorated in a different theme. It's very opulent, with beautiful gardens, and the food was fantastic."

The pair also took part in a cooking course at Neila Farm in Cowra and a cheese-making course at Leaning Oak Winery and Dairy in Mudgee.

"I'd never done anything like that, it was amazing," Beachley says.

Pengilly agrees, saying he found the process intriguing.

"I didn't realise that, in essence, it's that simple to make," he says.

"It was really good fun. You go back the next day and pick up the cheese to take home."

In Mudgee, they also did a food-with-wine challenge at Di Lusso Estate Winery. It involved an 11-course degustation dinner with 22 wines two choices for each course.

"We had to match the wine with the food and there were three judges who would get up and deliver their judgment," Beachley says.

"I got them all right, which I was proud of. I think that might have to be my new job.

"I also loved Logan Wines especially the champagne and pinot noir, and David Lowe Wines because it's organic."

They also went to the farmers markets on a Saturday morning and stocked up on local products.

"Mudgee's got great restaurants too - we went to lunch at Elton's and had a fabulous meal there and they gave us a 12-year-old bottle of balsamic vinegar that had been bottled that morning," Beachley says.

While they didn't have time to do it themselves, Pengilly says a lot of visitors hire bikes in Mudgee to ride to the wineries.

The most indulgent part of their trip, which was part of Tourism NSW's Remarkable Journeys marketing campaign, involved a Helicruz helicopter wine tour to three wineries.

"It was awesome," Beachley says. "It was a full morning and then we made it back to town for a late lunch at Union Bank Wine Bar, in an old bank building.

"There's this classic little store, A Slice of Orange, where they sell everything that's made and bottled locally."

Pengilly says the helicopter experience was very special.

"It was great flying around and seeing everything from the air, and you don't have to drive," he says. "You feel very spoilt."

Overall, Pengilly says, he was surprised at the quality of the restaurants and wine in the region.

"There's so much to do and so much to see," he says. "Each town had something different to offer."