Upper Hunter Valley

  Denman, New South Wales, Australia
Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Royal Hotel, Denman

Denman is Australia as I imagine it.  A small town centered around a tavern sparsely populated with lively, outgoing, friendly folk.  I could hardly believe my eyes when Lucky (my newly acquired, highly used Mitsubishi station wagon) rounded the corner onto the main street and downtown Denman appeared.  A hardware store, a butcher, a grocer, a coffee shop, a tractor dealer and two taverns, one new, one old, presented themselves like something straight out of the 1950s.  Yet here I am and it's 2008.  I couldn't believe it.  I wanted to carve the town out and put it in my pocket so I could take it out for the rest of my life and marvel at its quaintness and perfect simplicity.  We checked into a room at the Royal Hotel (the older of the two) and made our way downstairs for a beer and supper.  My bangers and mash did not disappoint and the bartender gave us two beers on the house.  We sat on the patio blissfully eating our food, a cool breeze blowing, the sun having set, listening to kids frolicking in the lawn below and pool balls clashing above us in the pub.  I could stay here forever.  To top it all off, the room only cost $35.

Sunset, Denman

The kicker is that we almost didn't go to Denman.  We almost ended up in Cessnock, a bland suburbia distinguished by nothing.  It was only because Cessnock's prices seemed outrageous for budget accommodation ($60 to $80), that we happened to call ahead to the Royal Hotel in the next valley north. 

Two Rivers Winery

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For me the day started at 4 AM by taking Scott and Luz Maria to the Sydney airport so that they could fly up to Cairns.  After that I spent the morning helping Val tidy up Jessica's apartment and saying goodbye to the German couple, Patrick and Mara, that I adopted and offered Jessica's floor to.  Before hitting the road I bought and installed a new battery for Lucky at K-mart located in a shopping mall. 

New South Wales Backroads

After escaping Sydney with a new battery, we turned off highway 1 onto a small back road, highway 33, making our way up to Hunter Valley in hopes of doing some wine tasting tomorrow.  Along the way we passed through several other quiet, unmolested towns, we spotted kangaroos, gaped at impeccable stud farms, made faces at miles and miles of horses and cows and attempted to photograph unending hills of green grass, eucalyptus and grapevines.