The Hunter Valley & Sydney; Sarah & James’ Travel Blog

Well as Sarah said, we headed to Newcastle to catch up with another couple that we met while on the Milford Track. Anne and Lindsay actually live an hour outside Newcastle out in the countryside, in the Hunter Valley, famous for it’s wines. Anne picked us up from the bus station and we took a quick trip along the coast and saw how close to the city the beaches are, which is a completely new concept to me, to be able to walk to the end of the main street in the city and be straight onto the beach!

From here we wound our way through the Hunter Valley passing acres of Vineyards and olive groves and finally arrived at their property. We pulled up their drive and were welcomed by the kangaroos that were happily playing between the rows of their vines. Sarah and I thought that this was brilliant to have resident kangaroos, and they seemed unfazed as we tried to navigate around them in the car to get down the drive. We arrived in the dark so could not see much of what was around us, but once we were inside we realised what an amazing place they have. As it is well into autumn here now, Anne lit the open fire and we enjoyed a glass of their own wine from their vineyard and caught up by the fire, and discussed what we would do in the couple of days that we were around. Lindsay returned from work and we were soon enjoying a fantastic dinner made with fresh produce out of their garden. Sarah and I are definitely sold on the idea of producing as much of our own fresh produce as possible after our trip, it just tastes so much better.

We woke the next morning to a gorgeous sunny day and suddenly realised what lovely grounds Lindsay and Anne’s house is set in. Looking out from our bedroom window was wide open grass land and native trees as far as the eye could see. At the back of the house was a fantastic covered patio which was was brilliant for taking in these views. To the front of the house was their vineyard of 300 vines and at the side the olive grove that provides them with the lovely oil that they had cooked with the night before. To Sarah and I this modest 25 acre plot was like owning your own country! After breakfast we headed out with Anne to have a look around the Hunter Valley and sample some of the delights that it has to offer. It really was like having our very own tour guide, and she seemed to know so many people in the area, and we felt like royalty as we received special treatment at the places we went to. First we visited one of their neighbours who runs a hotel called Tonic, we got a guided tour of the accommodation and fully understood why it costs $425 per night to stay there, it was a great setting with amazing views, and apparently has attracted a few celebrities. The complex is up for sale and if Australia was only a bit closer to home I think we could have been tempted by a new business venture! Next we headed to another of their neighbour’s places called St Clements Estate run by a fantastic character called Luigi, and his (huge) dog ‘Bundi’ who despite his dominating appearance was the softest of dogs you have met. After a tour of the 100 acre estate, which includes one of the tallest hills in the area, with amazing views of the surrounding area, we got down to the serious business of wine tasting. St Clements is a relatively new and small commercial winery but the wines were fantastic and Sarah and I were that impressed that we joined the wine club. We are just hoping that Luigi can send the two boxes of wine over to the UK that come with the membership! Soon Luigi will be opening the bar and Pizzeria, which is just in the final stages of being fitted out, and I am sure will be a great success.

After visiting a couple of other wineries we stopped for lunch at the ‘Smelly Cheese Shop’ which was attached to another of the vineyards, what more can you want, wine and smelly cheese, as you can imagine I was in heaven. We went in the rather pungent cheese room and Sarah just couldn’t stand the pong and had to get out. I could have stayed in there all day, although they wouldn’t have had much cheese left if I had! We sat on the terrace and looked over the vineyards and watched as a helicopter arrived to take a bride off to be married, they don’t do things by halves around here! After lunch we made it to another couple of vineyards, one which specialised in sparkling wines (it’s really hard not to call it Champagne, but of course it isn’t) and I tasted sparkling red for the first time, which was really nice. We also visited a chocolate factory and I think this was more Sarah’s thing than the wine. I think we covered all the important things that day, wine cheese and chocolate, brilliant. After a quick pit stop and cup of tea back at the Marsh’s ranch we headed back out to the Tatler Estate for dinner at their Tapas restaurant, where we met Lindsay on his way home from work. The food was amazing and we ate so much we could have popped! There was also yet another amazing sun set.

The next day we had arranged to meet up with another of the Milford Track walkers who are friends of Lindsay and Anne’s, and live an hour or so away in Nelson Bay. We drove up to Nelson Bay and had fish and chips by the marina, with Keith and Cheryl and one of their daughters. The fish was as fresh as it could be and was so tasty, but the Aussies just don’t know what they are missing out on by not having mushy peas!!! After the short stroll back to Keith and Cheryl’s house overlooking the sea, we had a cup of tea on their patio, while I played with their new Jack Russell puppy, before heading back down to Lindsay and Anne’s in time to catch the late bus to Sydney. Overall we had a fantastic couple of days, and time permitting could have easily stayed a couple more. It was nice to be staying in a home again after the soullessness of hostels. Thank you Lindsay and Anne for being great hosts.

We arrived late into Sydney but thankfully our hostel was only a short walk from the bus station. As we were walking towards the hostel we could see what looked like a queue to get into a nightclub, and could hear the thumping music, and Sarah said ‘I hope we’re not too close to that nightclub!’. When we got closer we realised that ‘that nightclub’ was our hostel! When we were checking in, the chap behind the reception desk was having to shout over the noise of the music coming from the basement! We both looked at each other and I could tell we were thinking the same thing, we were in for a noisy night! Thankfully though our room was on the 5th floor and we couldn’t hear the music. The hostel, called ‘Wake Up’ is by far the biggest that we have stayed in and is in a great location to explore the city.

On Sunday we headed out to meet another of walkers that we met in New Zealand for some Lunch. Rich is similar to us in that he has taken a year off work to travel but is settled in Sydney for a while. We met outside the Town Hall and strolled down to Darling Harbour for lunch. From here we strolled over to the Opera House and found a bar with amazing views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We had a good few drinks and chatted the afternoon away as the sun went down behind the bridge. Monday unfortunately brought slightly worse weather but after a late start we headed back out to ‘The Rocks’, a historic area of Sydney, and back to the Opera House as I had not taken my camera out with me the day before. We walked back through the Botanical Gardens and via St Mary’s Cathedral but the heavens opened and we escaped into the shops. I quickly decided that it was time for a wardrobe overhaul and took advantage of some of the sales. I now just have to work out what I’m going to throw away. After a couple of days here I think I have to declare Sydney my new favourite city of the trip.

Tomorrow we leave Australia and catch a flight over to Buenos Aires. The flight takes 13 hours 15 minutes, but because of the time difference, we land 15 minutes after we take off. Tomorrow is literally going to be the longest day of my life. We are looking forward to South America but have just realised how short our visit is going to be! It is only 7 weeks until we will be in Seattle with Stuart and Sarah’s parents!

So the next time we write we will be in Argentina.

We hope all is well and just want to say COME ON STOKE!!!!