As the winter draws to a close, it’s impossible to miss the seemingly endless fields of yellow slowly bursting into life.

A powerful visual image, canola crops have increasingly become a fixture of social media posts for everyone from families to globally recognised influencers.

But as the trend has grown, so has its unintended consequences.

People parking on the side of roads, jumping fences, and trampling fields to get shots poses real risks, both to the crops and their own safety.

In response, the owner of Cornella-based winery Shiraz Republic Brian Spencer came up with an alternative.

“Growing up around canola, you knew two things,” Mr Spencer said.

“Most farmers have photos of themselves and their grandkids with the canola, and they also hate other people jumping their fences and getting in the canola.

“So we figured, we have canola, we have a car park off-road, we have some toilets, and we can probably sell them some beer and some wine as well.

“You either fight these things, or you say, ‘we’re a hospitality business at our heart, and this is another form of hospitality.’”

The Cornella canola walk started in 2022, attracting 700 visitors in its first year, roughly what the Shiraz Republic team were expecting.

With each canola season, the number of visitors increased exponentially and with more than 20,000 people visiting the field last year, the decision was made to cap tickets for 2026 to prevent overcrowding.

Visitors predominantly come from Melbourne, but as the walk’s popularity grows, its attracting more and more people from interstate and even some international tourists.

“We’ve found more people are staying overnight,” Mr Spencer said.

“People who’ve been here other years are now saying, ‘I want to come up and stay overnight and (have) a bit more of an explore of the district.’

“That’s certainly been our aim, we’re committed to trying to develop the district and other wineries.”

Shiraz Republic staff have invited external food trucks and coffee vans to their site, and are encouraging those who visit the walk to check out the other offerings that the region has to offer.

The walk is open until September 27 at 507 Hamblin Rd, Cornella.

Those interested can find out more and book by visiting https://shirazrepublic.com.au/canola-walk/

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Friday, 17th February 2034

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