John and Julie Hall, who both accepted the award at the ceremony on Thursday, February 3, said they had not expected to win the award on the night.
“There were actually six finalists in our category ... so bronze gets announced, then silver, then gold and they announced Cactus Country as the winner,” John said.
“Mum and I just looked at each other and (were) like ‘what the!’ We were just on cloud nine for the rest of the night.”
“I think part of (the reason for winning) is the unique aspects of the business, the fact that people are journeying to get here ... it’s built such a strong presence across Victoria.”
“So many see the hard work we do, for a small country town in Strathmerton to have a pull to Melbourne ... it’s really exciting.”
“There were congratulations from everyone who was there, they were so excited for us ... so many saw the hard work we do.”
Following behind Cactus Country were CherryHill Orchards in Coldstream with silver and Deep Blue Hot Springs in Warrnambool.
John said he considered the award to be one for his team, rather than himself, as many people had put in significant efforts over the years to make the site what it is today.
“Internally I’m congratulating the team because it is an award for the team ... all the hard work from our whole team for years,” he said.
John and Julie said the application process was “incredibly involved” and included at least six weeks of work for two people.
“We could not believe how much work it was, now it’s feeling like it’s all worthwhile,” John said.
“The actual task of applying and getting to it is huge.”
Julie said now that Cactus Country had won the gold in the state awards, they were now in the running for the national awards, which were set to be announced in March in Queensland.
“Now we’re in the Tourism Australia awards ... if we place in that, then we will lose our minds,“ she said.
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