Victoria's Gippsland region is experiencing one of, what feels like, its harshest winters; frost, hail, sleet and plenty of rain are making regular appearances.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 4 minutes 46 seconds 4 m 46 s Brad Carmody, from Drouin Macadamia Farm, says the trees have adapted well to the cold Gippsland climate ( Laura Poole ) Download 3.3 MB

It is the perfect time of year for Gippslanders to escape the cold winter conditions and head to the warmth of Western Australia's Broome.

That is exactly where you will find Michael and Anne Carmody, soaking up some sunshine, while their macadamia trees in Drouin, west Gippsland, do the exact opposite.

Their farm is the southernmost macadamia farm in Australia, according to the peak body for the macadamia industry.

On a one-hectare block, Michael Carmody, planted 125 trees in the early 90s.

The trees have created a dense forest that now shades most of farm, with each tree producing about 10 kilograms of nuts.

"A few people probably thought my Dad was a little mad when he planted the seeds in the early 90s but he's a very patient man," Brad Carmody said.

"But we knew it was going to take at least 10 years before we saw any harvest."

Growing macadamias is a family affair, even two-year-old Toby Carmody helps collect the nuts when they fall on the ground and are ready to harvest.

Most of the country's macadamias are grown in the much warmer conditions of northern New South Wales and Queensland.

Brad Carmody, from Drouin Macadamia Farm, said while there were challenges to growing a sub-tropical plant in Victoria, their venture appeared to be working.

"So if it's about 20 degrees they dry themselves out and it takes about a month," he said.

"But Mum and Dad have the wood fire going inside and there are trays of nuts all around it making sure they are right and ready to go.

"You can get lost among the trees and the leaves and I know Mum spends a lot of time foraging through finding the nuts when they drop from about March to September-October, during the harvest time.

"Early on we put hessian bags around the trees...early on there was frosts, but once they got going they were actually surprisingly low maintenance."

It is a bit of a mystery, but for whatever reason the macadamia trees in Drouin appear to be thriving in the cold climate.

And when the holiday in Western Australia is over, Michael and Anne will have plenty of harvest to complete.