"The atmosphere is usually one of enthusiasm, excitement, anticipation and curiosity," he says.

If you asked people to try to picture hunting for truffles, the expensive subterranean fungi, many would no doubt imagine men with dogs going through woodlands in France or Italy.

Given that truffles have been harvested in both countries for centuries, this is understandable. Yet since 1999 they have been joined by Australia, which in just 20 years has become the world's fourth-largest producer of the most-prized type of black truffle - the French black or périgord.

Some in the Australian industry, such as Mr Wood, the owner of Truffle Paddock, a truffle farm in the state of Victoria, even believe that in another decade's time the country could take the number one position.

While exact country-by-country figures are difficult to come by, given the secrecy that surrounds the "diamonds in the dirt", Australia is expected to harvest between 14 and 18 tonnes of French blacks this year.