Meandering through the Hunter Valley ...

View from our breakfast table

After the Elton John concert, our second priority of the weekend was to explore the Hunter Valley to admire the countryside and sample some of the local wines.  We didn't have a lot of time so we headed to the area that was most concentrated with wineries and drove around the small roads just checking it all out.  We wound up at the Small Winemakers Centre, which is a location for winemakers who are not large enough to have their own cellar doors to show their wares and offer tastings of their wines.  They also had a cafe attached where we sat for some time, enjoying both the food, the first tea/coffee of the day and the stunning view.  For me, I truly felt like I was back in Australia with the sight and smell of the gum trees surrounding us.  After breakfast, we tackled the wine tasting counter, trying many of the local specialities (shiraz and semillon) from a number of small winemakers, making several purchases to take home with us.

Wine tasting at the Small Winemakers Centre

A bird enjoys the Sunday morning sunshine

In the early afternoon, we headed back to Newcastle where we met up with a couple of friends who I used to play hockey with at the Kew Hockey Club.  They've been in Newcastle for a few years now and were kind enough to take us to a beautiful bar in a terrific location - on top of the Newcastle surf life saving club.  The view was stunning on such a cold, wet and stormy afternoon.  I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the coastline of Newcastle was - I was expecting it to be a very industrial looking city.

Lake at Small Winemakers Centre

Driving through Wine Country

After a quick catch up, it was time to head back to Sydney on the train, ready for a week filled with exciting experiences to share with Mum during her holiday in Manly.

Storm approaching the vineyards

View from the Newcastle Surf Club Bar

Catching up with old hockey friends