Making the most of the Wheatbelt

It is a day after some rain and we walk across an ancient rock, between Merredin and Southern Cross.

Rivulets of water run down natural channels in the rock and appear to glisten in the sun.

Bobtails are out and about soaking up the rays, while wheat in a paddock sways gently from side to side in the distance and we bend down into a cave to see Aboriginal rock art. It is fabulous.

Our guides, Laura Black and Ron Goodhill of Nulla Nulla Farm Retreat, point out recently opened purple orchids and a burrow for a resident echidna, and stop to show us ripened sandalwood nuts.

According to the couple, the rock they take visitors to on their farm near the town of Moorine Rock does not have a recorded name to their knowledge, but it is vast. The rock covers an area of more than 240ha of granite and pristine bushland that is, in turn, surrounded by crops.

Although having visited the Wheatbelt many times, the thoughtfulness and knowledge of my guides that afternoon helped my understanding of the natural landscape to rise tenfold.

The pair were also very kind to my 13-year-old son, Jack, and he enjoyed himself a great deal.

While farmstays are not new in WA, many are sharpening their marketing skills and growing in professionalism to attract city folk and overseas tourists for bush experiences.

And Laura and Ron's Moorine Rock venture - 7km from the Great Eastern Highway between Southern Cross and Merredin - is one of those. The property is positioned close to the highway to catch traffic travelling between Perth and Kalgoorlie.

Laura, who was born in Scotland, lived throughout Africa for much of her life before moving to Perth - where she met her partner Ron - and settling in Moorine Rock. She is also a Royalties for Regions-funded primary health nurse practitioner serving the eastern Wheatbelt.

Laura, who has plenty of get up and go, values the surrounding scenery, which reminds her of Africa, and wants to share its unique beauty with tourists.

Ron is a local, his family having farmed in the area for generations, and is also a keen photographer.

His superb pictures are displayed in the gallery section of their website, www.nullanullafarmretreat.weebly.com , and his talent and interest in photography may serve to attract other photographers from Australia and around the world in the future.

The pair said Kylie Whitehead, a Wheatbelt Development Commission tourism research and project officer who is based in Merredin, had given them terrific advice and ongoing support about making their venture a success.

They are hoping to offer guided tours to photography groups as well as nature enthusiasts.

Laura has nicely furnished one home on the property to rent to guests at reasonable rates, and the pair have moved into the rundown main homestead, which they are restoring one room at a time.

She said the website Gumtree had been useful in finding affordable, country-style furniture.

Ron admitted that he had felt a bit uncomfortable about the shift from full-time farmer and to entering the tourism game, however, this venture has given him a lot to look forward to.

It is another focus aside from farm debt and vulnerable wheat crops, he said, and the project had been important to him personally.

Since opening for business several months ago, the growing number of bookings has given the couple confidence that the product they offer is in demand. It has also helped a great deal in terms of living costs.

Furthermore, Ron has been collecting historic shearing equipment and artefacts that are on display in the farm's early 1950s shearing shed.

He also has a collection of local gypsum crystals, which formed in a nearby salt lake.

While WA farmstays are not uncommon, they can be hit and miss. In decades of travelling the bush, I have seen many a grimy room and revolting bathrooms, not to mention bed bugs in Bremer Bay recently.

But Nulla Nulla is cheap, cheerful and sparklingly clean and Ron and Laura's professionalism and knowledge of the local area were impressive.