Back from the Hunter Valley!

Had a great time up at the Hunter Valley this week staying at the Bimbadgen Estate winery. Great place and I highly recommend their Verdehlo... The accommodation (for 4 families!) was for nix and was in a 5 bedroom mansion at the back of their vineyards. We got to stay their via our friends Julie and Con as Con works in the "industry" and it was one of the perks of his job as he puts it. So for only a shared grocery bill and petrol we got to spend a week of touring, drinking and eating and then some more drinking...



This is a broader shot of the back yard with the pool and the vineyards... The place was mainly single story, but had a single room upstairs which was the main bedroom with an ensuite and spa... We were lucky enough to get to use that room! But with all the kids about, the spa was only used for mass bathing of filthy kids! :)




This is a shot of Niki & Brooke out the back of the house we stayed at with the pool behind them and the vineyards in the background. We were about a kilometre off the road down a dirt road and hence we got plenty of visitors from the local kangaroos as well... There was plenty of lush grass for the kids to run around and of course the pool. It wasnt very hot weather, but that doesnt deter kids from swimming..


And of course there was the obligatory wine tasting to be done... This is a shot of our friends Julie, Con, Sean and some tool on the end of the bar enjoying the wines at Wyndhams Estate. The people at Wyndhams put on a big spread for us that included anti-pesto, gourmet foccaccia's, cheese platters, cakes and muffins and soft drink and juice and coffees. They also gave us a tour of not only the functional areas of the winery, but also the history and how George Wyndham came to the Hunter and subsequently lost everything in a double whammy flood and recession. "Wyndham Estate" only bears his name out of recognition by the current owners not because the Wyndham family still runs it...

Here Kate & Brooke pat a baby crocodile at the reptile show at the Hunter Valley Gardens. The girls took the kids and went to the Gardens whilst us guys played golf at Cypress Lakes. For the record, I shot my best ever round of golf but still came third in a 3 horse race, but I actually won the back nine!