We picked up our shiny red hire car and headed North across the harbour bridge and after a trawl through Sydney’s suburbs, crossed the Hawkesbury River and into bush country. Amazing trees lined the windy road and we stopped in Wollomi for a sandwich lunch and a walk round this tiny bush town. Avis had run out of sat navs so we were managing with bits of maps but we managed to find the Hunter Valley without too much problem. Once we accepted that Pokolbin was a loose collection of vineyards and accommodation spread over several square km rather than an actual place we found our hotel, The Tuscan Valley Wine Lodge, without too much aimless driving around! A wonderful view across the vineyards to the mountains on the ridge greeting us from our terrace. It had been raining so the lady informed us that the kangaroos might not come to graze in the evening but I went out to look for them behind the pool, no sign, but as I was coming back I spied two of them right by our terrace, though they hopped off pretty sharpish when they saw me coming. We had a delicious dinner at the attached restaurant and a bottle of Shiraz from the nearby Mistletoe winery.
Next morning it was drizzly but warm so we put on our boots and went for a walk along the country roads between the vineyards and wineries. I was fascinated by the mobs (I believe this is the correct collective term for kangaroos) of kangaroos grazing in the pasture. Looking a bit like deer you could see their ears prick up and then they’d stand up on their hind legs to check us out, ready to hop away if we came too close. Not something you see wandering around the Bordeaux or champagne vineyards and absolutely fascinating for someone like me. We did some tasting at Mistletoe to finish our walk, a family winery, where the daughter talked us through the various wines on offer and we bought some to accompany us on our travels, since we have a car for a week and not immediate flights. We bought some cheese and crackers so that we could enjoy a bottle for lunch. I went for a swim in the pool, accompanied by a small frog and this time the kangaroos did come to graze and stayed around till we came out from dinner.
Next morning we set off for the Blue Mountains, again through winding bush country and many miles of country roads without so much as a village or a shop. Eventually we climbed the 3000 plus feet to Katoomba and checked in to a wonderfully old fashioned hotel, the Mountain Heritage, which seemed to have stayed in a previous age, along with the rest of the small town. The view from the dining room was superb so we opted for an early dinner so that we could enjoy the sun setting over the sandstone ridges.
Sunday it was boots on again and we walked to Echo Point and the stunning view of the valleys, mountains and the 3 sisters rock formation. J decided the giant steps into the valley were a bit sheer for him so I just went a little way down to get a better view of the rocks. We then did the cliff top walk to Katoomba Falls and took the cable car down to the rain forest walks in the valley floor. We could have come back in the almost vertical mountain tramway but J preferred to stick with the rather more modern cable car again. Walking back the heavens opened and the plastic bag rain ponchos that I’ve been carrying around since Bora Bora came into their own! No kangaroos here so John had kangaroo for dinner to make up for it – he tells me it tastes like a sinewy kind of venison and they certainly behave like deer in their grazing ‘mobs’.
Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains the most amazing and beautiful places to spend a weekend out of the city and I loved them both. Monday morning we had the place to ourselves so we took a drive to some incredible lookouts and into the Megalong Valley so we could really enjoy the countryside before heading back into Sydney and a 5 night stay in the seaside resort of Manly.
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