Hunter Valley, Australia

...to have two nights in Hunter Valley which is the vineyard region of New South Wales and is located around 100 miles to the North of Sydney City.

In all likelihood, you are not going to book a holiday in Hunter Valley from the UK. Any trip to Hunter Valley will probably arise as a result of a holiday to Sydney. As such, I am not commenting upon flight costs from the UK as you will probably have already paid for that.

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...and the gateway to the Hunter Valley. We booked a two bed-roomed cottage which cost $400 for four adults ie, equivalent of £16 per adult per night. We had our own gardens with parking space and barbeque and whilst there were other cottages around us you were left with the feeling of seclusion and privacy. The cottage themselves had TV, Stereo, DVD and full kitchen and two bedrooms and one bathroom. They were spacious, comfortable and an absolute ... more

***Background***

When we were living in Sydney, we had a regular flow of friends over from England taking advantage of a trip to Oz. One set of friends wanted to see outside of Sydney and left it to us to arrange. We therefore decided to have two nights in Hunter Valley which is the vineyard region of New South Wales and is located around 100 miles to the North of Sydney City.

In all likelihood, you are not going to book a holiday in Hunter Valley from the UK. Any trip to Hunter Valley will probably arise as a result of a holiday to Sydney. As such, I am not commenting upon flight costs from the UK as you will probably have already paid for that.

If you wanted to visit Hunter Valley then you can hire a car (circa £30 per day), get the train or alternatively go on an organised bus trip from Sydney for the day (of which there are lots available but I am unsure of the cost).

We already had a hire car for a week so we drove there (around 2 hours leisurely drive). The place is well sign posted and easy to find with the directions we had obtained from the accommodation web site. For me, this is the best way of doing it as you can do it at your leisure and have your own itinerary.

£1 = AS$2.40

***History***

This is one area of East Coast Australia that Captain Cook didn't discover. Seemingly, he sailed straight past what is now Newcastle, North of Sydney, without realizing the mangrove covered estuary hid the mouth of a navigable waterway. Lieutenant John Shortland was the first to discover this in 1797 but it wasn't until 1801 that due to shortages of food and material in Sydney Cove, Governor King dispatched a major expedition.

In the early 1820's settlements had sprung up and wine grapes were introduced and over 20 acres had been planted by 1823. By 1840 this covered over 500 acres and Many of today's wine-making families can trace their roots back to the early European settlers going back over six generations.

***Time Difference***

There is a 11 hour difference ahead of GMT during UK Winter and 9 hours ahead in Summer.

***Climate***

Temp ( °C) rainfall

Max Min mm
January 30.0/ 17.6/ 95.2
February 29.4/ 17.5/ 94.5
March 27.5/ 15.5/ 90.5
April 24.5/ 11.6/ 58.7
May 21.0/ 8.8/ 56.5
June 17.9/ 5.9/ 52.8
July 17.5/ 4.5/ 33.7
August 19.6/ 4.8/ 39.3
September 22.3/ 7.7/ 42.1
October 25.1/ 10.9/ 60.2
November 27.1/ 13.6/ 70.7
December 29.3/ 16.0/ 69.0

We went in October and the days were clear, sunny and hot (but not unbearably). It got very cool at night though.

***Accommodation***

We wanted our own cottage and so a simple google search brought up a host of options. We decided on Twin Trees (www.twintrees.com.au) as they were family owned, promised quality accommodation in a secluded setting, was within walking distance of some wineries and the price was very competitive. The cottages were spread over 45 acres of rolling country and surrounded by vineyards,

It was based just outside Pokolbin which is the local town and the gateway to the Hunter Valley. We booked a two bed-roomed cottage which cost $400 for four adults ie, equivalent of £16 per adult per night. We had our own gardens with parking space and barbeque and whilst there were other cottages around us you were left with the feeling of seclusion and privacy. The cottage themselves had TV, Stereo, DVD and full kitchen and two bedrooms and one bathroom. They were spacious, comfortable and an absolute bargain. The owners were very friendly and each morning left fresh milk and eggs on the door step and nothing was too much for them. There was also a complimentary continental breakfast on the first morning.

The owners were also very helpful in making recommendations as to where to go and what order to do it.

***Shopping***

Other than local artifacts and mementoes of the visit, Hunter Valley is not a shopper's paradise and the last thing you come here for is the shopping. If you want to shop then stay in Sydney.

***Eating Out***

There is a wide range of options throughout the Hunter Valley, most of which are family owned and cater for a basic snack or fine dining. As we were planning around finishing each day with a BBQ and plenty of beer we didn't venture to any restaurants.

In Pokolbin, there is a huge supermarket where you can go and stock up on arrival. We therefore got all the BBQ stuff, drinks, breakfast etc after arriving so that we didn't have to mess about going to the shops when we returned from our trips out.

***Things To Do***

This is the great outdoors and if you are an outdoor type then there is plenty to do here. Given the vast majority of people visit Hunter Valley to sample the vineyards then this will dominate your trip here. There are over 50 wineries in the immediate area and more are coming on stream all the time. The majority of these are small, family owned businesses that produce wine for the local (Sydney) market. Clearly, you are not going to get around to all the vineyards and frankly after you have seen half a dozen you feel you have seen them all anyway.

All the wineries/vineyards are clearly sign-posted, have suitable car parking and have clearly defined entrances so it is difficult to get lost/go through the wrong door. They are all also free to enter and you do not have to buy anything.

Given we had nearly three full days there then we wanted to plan the trip precisely beforehand so we got the maximum out of it. The first day therefore. after our free breakfast we set off on foot and visited many of the local vineyards. Pepper Tree Wines (www.peppertreeewines.com.au) and Kevin Sobel Wines (www.sobelswines.com.au) were just on the same road as our cottage and so these were very easy to visit. Petersons Champagne House (www.petersonhouse.com.au) was in easy distance and their claim to fame was the only vineyard that specialised in sparkling wines and we bought a couple of bottles of Rose here which I loved. We also visited several other places locally and it is just a very lazy, easy going way to get around. We would spend around 30 minutes in each one and sample the goods, eat the free food (there is usually a cheese tray to go along with it), buy a bottle or two then saunter along to the next one. The only taxing decision to make was "spit or swallow" but we just drank what was in front of us and got leisurely drunk which is probably what most people do.

On day two, I was dedicated driver so we ventured further afield (which means driving less than 30 mins). On this trip we visited some more family owned vineyards as well as some larger commercial ones. We started at Tower Estate Wines which was just outside the entrance to our accommodation but what we had somehow missed the day before. We then went to the Wine Boutique, Ivanhoe Wines (where a voice shouted "Help yourselves, I will be out in a minute"), McGuigans, The Hunter Valley Cheese Co where we bought some delightful Brie and several others along the way. Even though I had to spit today it was still a fantastic experience and a delightful day out.

Whilst we chose to drive or walk around there are many others ways of visiting the vineyards. There are many guided bus tours which you can book before arrival or get your hosts to arrange for you. These are great because you can see many vineyards en masse. However, they do not appeal to me because if you have 30 people on a coach arriving at the same time then you do not experience the same ambience in the vineyards given everything is a rush. You also I suspect feel obliged to buy something in every one. You can also do the tour via horse drawn carriage although I don't know how much this is but this would be a fantastic way of visiting some local ones.

The best way, for me, is to find accommodation that is within walking distance of a number of wineries. You can then do everything at your own pace and order, really spend some time in each one, avoid going when a coach party is there, listen to the proprietor tell you with pride the history of the place and why this was a good year and why such a year was a bad one and feel part of it.

Even then, at no place did I ever feel obliged to buy anything and whilst many people would feel guilty at having some free samples and then just leaving we tended to buy something everywhere we went. The prices are so cheap and the quality so good that it is worth the money (less than £3 for a bottle) and the fact is that you want to buy something and don't feel you are buying it out of some guilt trip.

Also, the vast majority of the wine produced is for local use and very little is exported.

On the day of departure we got up very early and went for a game of golf at Hunter Valley Golf & Country Club, which looked a relatively new course. Again, the staff were very helpful providing us with clubs, buggy (around £30) and a warning to "keep your eyes open for snakes - we have had lots of reports of a few "brownies" having been seen" (the Brown Snake being the second most venomous snake in Australia). This therefore concentrated the mind but sadly not on golf.

***Conclusion***

This is a wine lovers dream trip and even for a non wine drinker I absolutely loved it and would not hesitate to go back. As wine regions go it is not huge and if you were obsessed enough to want to visit every vineyard then this could be accommodated.

It is very easy to get to, accommodation is plentiful and cheap, there are lots of places to visit and a host of ways of getting to them whilst getting slowly plastered.

The whole area is very friendly from the owners of the accommodation who go out of their way to help to the proprietors of the vineyards who always have an interesting tale to tell and you are left feeling very welcome, insist on buying something and yet are never felt obliged to part with your cash.

I was left with the feeling that there is such high demand for wine that cannot be satisfied that therefore the owners do not feel under pressure to give you the hard sell which makes the overall experience more enjoyable. I suspect that the majority of what they have produced has already been pre sold just leaving a few hundred cases for the public to enjoy from each vineyard. Alternatively, it may be that they have been sampling too much themselves and are too drunk to care. The vineyards are certainly full of unique, eccentric characters which certainly add to the atmosphere.

Also, there is no sense of competition between the vineyards either. All of the establishments offer something totally unique to them so whilst they are all selling wine, each is totally different. Whilst there is no doubt the vineyards could probably survive without the influx of tourists you still get a feeling of being made very welcome. In fact, everything is geared to tourists.

Whilst there are organised trips by coach to/from Sydney including trips to selected vineyards I would try and avoid these if possible and do your own thing. Ideally, 2/3 days there is sufficient to see and do lots and if you hire a car/rent a cottage then you are free to roam at your leisure and as long as you have an idea as to where you want to go beforehand (ie, do some research first) then it is difficult to go wrong. You probably would not want more than 3 days here unless you are an obsessive in which case stay as long as you can because you will love it.

Entry to the vineyards is free and maps of all the vineyards are available everywhere including local shops, at your accommodation and even at the vineyards themselves.

In reality you could just show up with no pre planning and it would take you ten minutes to work out an itinerary.

For anyone going to Sydney then I would urge a trip to The Hunter Valley. If you are visiting friends or relatives then suggest it to them beforehand because there is a chance that they may not have been there. Even if you are boring,a tee-totaller or both you would love the experience of this trip as it is totally relaxing, care free and laid back. It typifies Australia. 

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