The show was filming tourist attractions in the central west, beginning at the Molong gelato factory, then to Cumnock’s animal’s on bikes sculptures, and then to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. Presenter Jules Lund showed a lot of enthusiasm for the area, and was great with the kids.

NSW Woman of the Year Christine Western is one of the organisers of Animals on Bikes, and was overwhelmed with excitement when she found out the project was going to be featured on the popular travel program.

“It was a dream come true to be on a travel show,” she said.

“One-and-a-half million people watch the show every week in Australia, and 10 million people internationally watch it too.

“It’s great exposure.”

Former researcher for Getaway and now local, Felicity Armstrong, who married a Cumnock farmer, contacted the producers and told them about the area and the fantastic attractions.

“Felicity told them it would be a great story,” Mrs Western said.

“I didn’t think it would happen so quickly; we all thought it would take a couple of years to gather momentum to get the word out about the sculpture trail.

“It’s much bigger than what we expected.”

The main point Mrs Western wanted to get across was about growing tourism in the central west.

“We want to get the city

people to visit and get over to this side of the Blue Mountains,” she said.

“We want the tourism numbers up and get them coming back for more.”

During the two days, the film crew spent hours on various sets between Molong and Dubbo, with Mr Lund creating excitement among the teenage girls in Cumnock.

“He was great with the kids,” Mrs Western said.

“We filmed him with the pre-school painting the feet of a caterpillar sculpture, and they all had a ball.

“Those two days of filming has to be cut to six minutes for the show, which is unusual because usually a national story gets more time, but we got just as much which is excellent.”

The show’s airing date is yet to be confirmed.