Destinations
: New South Wales
Hunter Valley
On the way to the Hunter you might want to drop in to Old Sydney
Town or Lake Macquarie (one of the few places that has always rewarded
me with a fish). Apart from the wineries, the Hunter is a bit like
the Southern Highlands - rich, green and pretty. Beyond the white
fence of a horse-breeding stud, you may see kangaroos loping in
the distance.
In the lower Hunter (around pretty Pokolbin Village) are about
fifty wineries - most of them welcome visitors and some offer guided
tours. The Hunter Vintage Festival is held during harvest period
(January to March) and the annual Wine and Food Affair is held in
September.
The Hunter vines started producing grapes in the mid 1800s, about
the same time as the Barossa Valley but, unlike their German counterparts,
the first wine was made more for tippling than taste. It was produced
as an alternative to rum, which had a tendency to bring out the
aggressive side of some people and, for a time, was illicit.
The Valley is home to large and boutique wineries, and produces
fine wines from light whites to heavy reds. It's an informal, relaxed
place where the people are casual and welcoming.
Here’s a thumbnail guide to a few of the Hunter wineries.
Drayton’s
Family Wines has been family-owned and run for 140 years.
The winery includes an outside barbecue area and a playground
for children. - Lindemans Wines, one of the founding wineries of the
Hunter, has tastings in its original stone-walled cellar.
- McWilliams Mount Pleasant Estate was founded in 1921
by Maurice O’Shea, regarded as one of Australia’s greatest winemakers.
The winery has a tasting room, bar and lounge overlooking the
vineyards.
- Petersons Champagne House specialises in methode champenoise
sparkling white and reds.
- Pokolbin Estate is one of the smallest old wineries with
its tasting room in a 100-year-old sandstone cottage.
- Reg Drayton Winery has one of the few female winemakers
in Australia. It also has spectacular mountain views.
- Rothbury Estate, though relatively new, is one of the
best known in the Hunter thanks to founder and bon vivant, Len
Evans.
- Tulloch Wines was established in 1895. A vintage delivery
truck, which still runs, sits outside the tasting room.
- Tyrell’s Vineyards tasting room is lined with 100-year-old
wine vats. Visitors are welcome to enjoy a picnic lunch among
the vines.
- Wyndham Estate has been making wine on the same site
for 170 years. There’s a licensed restaurant and a barbecue area.
Apart from the wine area, the Hunter extends to the wilderness
of World Heritage rainforest at Barrington Tops, the city of Newcastle
and the coastal region of Port Stephens with its blue, calm waters,
sandy beaches and resident dolphins.
Newcastle
is a place I really like but it’s a strange city/town with many
contradictions. It’s a compact city with a country community feel,
even though it’s on the coast. It’s industrial but sunny and welcoming.
It ‘soft and family’ but there’s also an ‘edge’. Yuppies sit in
trendy al fresco cafes next to the homeless asking for money. Laughing
teenage girls with braces may skip past a girl, pushing seventeen,
pushing a pram, nerdy teen boys attract pretty girlfriends and other
youths with tattoos and attitude cruise about in souped up cars
as ‘Normies’ have done up Hunter Street since the 1960s. It’s classy,
but rough, shiny but old.
The Art Gallery is smart and contemporary and Fort Scratchley sits
sombre and strong, with its tunnels and guns, above the harbour
and Nobby’s Beach. Down on Nobby’s, toddlers paddle between the
flags while, off shore, ubiquitous tankers bob and wait their turn
to dock.
Newcastle
is Australia’s second oldest city and was founded as a penal colony
in 1804 after Lieutenant John Shortland discovered the Hunter River
and coal in 1797. Labour was needed to mine the country’s first
export, hence the convicts.
The convicts were also used by Major John Morisset (c1820) to cut
him his own personal ‘Commandant’s Baths’ on a rock platform. Known
as Bogey Hole, it was extended and became swimming baths in 1863
with men’s and women’s designated days. It’s still a nice, safe
spot for a swim to the sound of surf crashing on the rocks.
More Information
For more information about New South Wales:
Cheap Flights To Australia
New South Wales Tours With Tours To Go
