Comfort Inn Cumberland Hunter Valley Cessnock

... tourist centre I booked a wine tour for the next day on which we travelled by horse and carriage rather than the usual mini bus. <br><br>Starting at the civilised time of 11am the other 9 members of the group and we set off at a gentle pace to the first winery. They were a nice group (seven from one family on a birthday outing and a German couple) and no-one seemed to be inclined to drink a very much which is not always the case on some tours.<br><br>In all we visited 5 vineries and ...

26.04.09: The region of the Great Lakes is beautiful and very different from what we have seen so far in Oz. Among the large forests, you could easily picture yourself somewhere in Canada! We took a step walk to the summit of Cape Hawke which gave us a clear view of the likes and the ocean around. Tough after breakfast but all worth it! We then drove to the Hunter Valley, the wine region near Sydney. We arrived at the visitor centre to check different stuff and to see what tours were ...

... but no olives. Lots of bread to soak up the booze.They had a very exotic bug. Of note: lemon and myrtle olive oil, sesame chili and something marinade, lime and coriander relish. 4) lunch; at Oscars in the Hunter Valyye Gardens, a rather disappointing "gourmet" chicken, apple, appricot, sultana sandwich. Yvette just had chips. 5) Audrey Williamson. Great views, wines not memorable. 6) Golden Grape Estate; not a winery but a "glorified ...

... all drop off to sleep so this guy kept us awake, another winery where we could choose this time what we drank, this one stuart decided to give this one a miss as he knew what was coming next, have you guessed, yes beer!! this one was slightly different, you paid 12 dollars for a selection of 6 beers then the one you enjoyed best you had 1/2 pt free i had to pull out of this one,i thought i'd had enough by this time stu thought so ...

... although being very succesful in business have been very unlucky in other aspects of their lives including the terrible accident at the begining of 2008 where 1 family member died and an engineer badly burnt in a fire at one of their other vinyards just down the road. A very brash aussie lady greated us and proceeded to take us through a further 10 or so wines, chatting all the time, having most of us in stiches. A brilliant time was being had by all, and there was still 3 or ...

... WWII artifacts and many Aboriginal middens which are coverred in pipi shells. There's also many ponds or puddles scatterred all around that are natural fresh water. That was an interesting thing to find in such an environment. WOW...what a fun day. We got back to the ship just in time for dinner, but not much time to clean up. I changed my clothes but all through dinner we were laughing about all the sand in our hair (among other places!) Fun day!

... lessons were peppered with "Got it? Beautiful, right-o." They had some great examples like how you shouldn't hold or carry your surfboard by the leash ("leggie") because some girl a week or so ago got her fingers wound in it and one of her fingers got cut off from the knuckle up. They were crazy guys, and a lot of fun. Rob(instructor) was really proud that I stood up today because he knew I was having a hard time and he was helping me ...

... sticky and in need of a walk. we are all of 25 yards from the beach and it is gorgeous, i had a midnight paddle and it was just wonderful. pajamas, sea and stars- im sorry mum i dont think im ever coming home. xxx chpter 2. i went surfing... well i say that- i attemped to surf and failed abysmally- i swallowed a lot of seawater but it was fantastic. roll on bondi and snorkelling tomorow xxx

... her friends and I heading to the Black Butt Nature reserve to take in my first real look at kangaroos, wallaroos and koalas (in cages). We also had a stalker in an angry, ugly emu that seemed to follow us around in an attempt to ruin all potential photos of the kangas! Jerkstore! From there, a nice night off, and tomorrow I'll be setting out for Brisbane by train...it's going to be a long one! Thanks to the girls for a great weekend!!

... we were up at 8 the next morning they still didn't stop drinking till 4am. Today (Wednesday) the girls managed to get up early and we had to drag the lads out of bed due to their bad heads and their drunkenness. we got on the train to the city and got the ferry to manly to see the beach and surrounds. First impressions of manly is that it was so much nicer than Sydney, no tall high rise buildings, no people in suits rushing about to get places ...