Red London bus shows off small-town gems
Written by admin on October 2, 2024
A red double-decker London bus tour will show off the “hidden gems” of one small town in regional NSW on Wednesday.
The town is Bargo, a farming community in the state’s Macarthur region about 95km south of Sydney.
IGA store manager Kassia Minassian is leading the tour to show off the best of the town and the community she had come to love.
“We’ve never had something like this in Bargo, so we’re all very excited,” she told NewsWire on Tuesday.
“I just thought … sometimes locals don’t know where to go either, and a lot of people are moving here as well from Sydney, and they just come to us, ask us questions, ‘where do I go get coffee, where do I do this?’
“So it was just perfect to show everyone.”
The free tour kicks off at the Bargo IGA at 11am and hits some of the town’s hotspots, including the Australian Wildlife Sanctuary, the Leafy Latte Cafe, flower farm Thornton Bros Roses, the Cedar Creek Orchard farm and Hotel Bargo, which Ms Minassian hails as her favourite pub in town.
“I moved here about 10 years ago and there is nothing like it,” she said.
“Everyone is just so supportive of each other, we take everyone under our wing.
“What is so special about Bargo is the community, the people. There are a lot of hidden gems that no one knows about.”
Ms Minassian came up with the idea and her friends in town helped her pick out the tour spots.
“It is a community,” she said.
The tour comes as new research from Bastion Insights shows some 63 per cent of Australians report spending more time exploring their local neighbourhoods rather than venturing out and 48 per cent don’t feel “up to date” on new businesses like restaurants or shops.
And some 81 per cent said it was important to support local businesses in their community.
It’s a sentiment Ms Minassian said she sees everyday in Bargo.
“We all know each other. My hairdresser works here. The cafe owner next door, her son works here. It’s very close.”
Ms Minassian formerly worked as a marketing executive for a cruise company in Sydney, she said, and moved to Bargo about 10 years ago.
“I started farming and growing vegetables, and it was hard, a really hard industry to be in,” she said.
“And that’s why I’m so passionate about supporting locals because I knew how hard it was to make money by farming.”
For travellers stopping by Bargo, Ms Minassian said Hotel Bargo specialised in an “Aussie parmy” with a cracked egg, Cedar Creek Orchard offered freshly squeezed apple juice on-site and in store, Bean 2 Bargo offered 50 per cent off pies and sausage rolls from 1pm Monday to Saturday and the Pine Ridge Miniature Donkeys offers farm stays with donkeys, goats, alpacas, dogs and chickens.
