Arabic version: مسار كانولا كورنيلا يستقطب آلاف الزوار

According to ABC News, a canola walk at Shiraz Republic in Cornella, near Heathcote in central Victoria, has become one of the state’s fastest-growing agritourism attractions. The site drew 20,000 visitors last season, four times the number expected.

Now in its fifth year, the attraction began as a response to the social media trend of visitors seeking photographs in flowering canola. Owner Brian Spencer said 700 people came in 2022, with attendance doubling and more than doubling in subsequent years. The farm created a track through the crop and initially placed an old truck in the field for visitors to use as a viewing spot.

Visitors Shashika and Sachana Samith travelled two hours from Notting Hill in Melbourne’s south-east. They said they wanted to experience the countryside and brought a drone to capture aerial footage while following regulations. Deanne Jeffers, from Shepparton, and Jim Sutherland said walking through the crop offered a different experience from seeing canola fields from the roadside.

Mr Spencer said opening the paddocks extended an existing agritourism business that includes a winery and grape-picking. Campaspe Shire Mayor Daniel Mackrell said visitors also supported cafes, wineries, accommodation providers and other local attractions after the region experienced floods and fires in recent years.

Tourism Research Australia reported visitors spent $20.3 billion on agritourism in 2024, representing 14 per cent of total tourism spending nationally. The Cornella operation has brought forward opening times this year because canola flowered about a month earlier than it did last year, Mr Spencer said, while the duration of the bloom remains uncertain.