June 4 – Central Coast
We awoke to sunny day for our exit from
Sydney. Pretty typical that the weather on the weekend is the pits
but Monday is gorgeous. We navigated our way out of the city without
trouble and headed down the highway to the Central Coast. Our first
stop was into the Kariong info center which is the gateway to the
Central Coast. We stopped in the city of Gosford for some gas and
groceries before continuing on the Terrigal. In Terrigal we found
some waterfront bbq's and grilled up some yummy chicken wraps. We
then had a walk up to the look out where in the distance you could see
some whales. They were too far away for the camera to get a picture
but we kept seeing bursts of spray. We had a little walk around the
reserve before hopping in the van and heading up to The Entrance. We
arrived in time for the daily Pelican feeding. I'm not entirely sure
why they do the feeding whether it's for conservation or a tourist
gimmick. It does however allow them to keep an eye out for injured
Pelicans. The feeders noticed one in particular had what looked like
stitches in his lower beak and it looked very inflamed. They
couldn't get him in close enough to see what it was or to grab him so
they could help. It quickly became apparent that it was a type of
fishing hook when the poor pelican got hooked onto another one. The
one pelican tried to fly away and dislodge the injured one but was
unable to. Two of the women doing the feeding jumped into the frigid
water to untangle the two birds. They got them untangled and the
uninjured one flew off. They got a hold of the injured bird and
brought him back to shore. Turns out it was a gang hook and had
pierced his pouch in several places. They were going to take him to
a vet to have it removed and get him some antibiotics. After all the
excitement Beau and I took a walk along the waterfront and then back
into to town to look for a new watch for me (mine fell off yesterday)
and a bank machine. We didn't have any luck on either front so we
headed to a holiday park just up the road at Canton Beach. There we
made stir fry for dinner and had a cuppa of Milo.
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| Terrigal Beach, where we had lunch |
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| The Lookout |
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| Overlooking the coast to the south of Terrigal |
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| Pelican Feeding |
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| Poor mister pelican |
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| Awesome Moon Rise, turns out there was a partial eclipse that night |
June 5 – Hunter Valley
It was windy when we woke up but we had
a little change of pace and enjoyed some crumpets for breaky. We
decided to head inland to the Hunter Valley since the day was a bit
gloomy and there is nothing like some wine tasting to brighten it up.
We went out on a limb and stopped into one of the first wineries we
saw, Ernest Hill Wines. They charged a small tasting fee but we
enjoyed a chat to the owner while having a taste of their wines. She
gave us some tips on other wineries to check out while we were there.
Next we popped into the visitors center where we got a good map of
the region and were assisted but a very unenthusiastic girl. Back in
the van we made some guacamole for lunch to have with some yummy
tortilla chips. Our next stop was Peterson House which was once
called the Champagne House but since you aren't allowed to call
sparkling wine Champagne unless its from the region in France they
had to change the name. Obviously they specialized in bubbly which
Beau and I haven't really drank much of before. We tried a couple of
red sparkling wines and while they weren't bad it was just strange to
have a chilled, bubbly red wine. Our host was actually a Canadian
woman from Victoria who had also lived in K-town for about 10 years.
Small world ehh. On site there was also Hunter Valley Chocolate Co.
They had all sorts of delicious looking chocolates but they cost way
more than I would ever spend. There were a couple of samples but
they were just boring dark, white and milk chocolate. For our next
stop we drove across the street to Hungerford Hill Wines. There we
had a lovely tasting. Fortified wines are very popular in Australia
and Beau is acquiring quite a taste for them. As birthday treat we
bought a Liqueur Muscat but obviously he has to wait a couple days
before he gets any. The winery had free Wifi so we had a quick check
of our e-mail and while we there we also got the down low on a
brewery tour. We still had an hour before the tour so we jumped up
the road to Ballaboureen Wine Co. We had a nice tasting there as
well. On site is also an outlet for Pukara Estate which is an Olive
Oil and Vinegar company. We tasted all sorts of flavour olive oils
including a yummy garlic one and hot chilli one. We passed on the
vinegars though as it was getting close to beer time. We headed down
to the Hunter Beer Company and got a tour of their small yet
successful operation. We also got to try three different beers a
kolsch, a whit and a third. I tried an India brown ale while Beau
tried the Bock. They also had some interesting types like Sour
Cherry and a wine beer which was almost like a fortified beer. We
had been chatting with a couple of girls from Sydney through out the
tour so we joined them at the bar for another beer. I tried a Ginger
Beer which I really liked and Beau had the Coco Mama, it was like a
stout. We talked with the girls about our travels and then we all
decided we were hungry so we got some pizza. It was pouring down
rain outside and then it hit me... we left the roof vent open in
van...doh!! Beau ran out and closed it and had to mop up a bunch of
water. Fortunately nothing was damaged just wet. We talked with the
girls till about 9 and then went our separate ways. We did however
get their contact info in case we come back to Sydney. We drove out
to the village of Broke along a bumpy wet road to a free campsite.
Luckily when we arrived the rain had stopped and the trees around
sheltered us from the wind.
June 6 – Hunter Valley to Port
Stephens
Last night was supposed to be an awful
storm but I think we got luck and the bulk of it missed us. After
some breakfast and guitar we headed over the the BlueTongue Brewery
in hopes of a tour or tasting. We were disappointed on both fronts
though as the beer is no longer made on site and the tasting was a
little steep. We popped across the street to the Binnorie Dairy and
had a little cheese tasting of some locally made cheeses. There was
also Tuscany Wine Estate so we decided to check out their selection.
I thought their wines were underwhelming and at first I thought it
could be because I'm getting a cold but Beau had the same thought
too. The lady who helped us was also not very helpful and any time I
asked a question it was answered with well it depends on your taste.
Our next stop was Mistletoe Winery which had been suggested to us on
several occasions. They had some very nice wines including the only
white fortified wine in the valley. As a part of their wine shop
they had paintings and sculptures from local artists for sale on
display. It is nice to see locals helping locals. We continued on
the Tintilla Estate Wines and Olive Grove. We got to try some
different types of olives as well as a yummy olive and wine spread.
I really wanted to get a jar of the spread but at $16 a jar it was a
little out of our normal grocery budget. They also had some nice
wines to taste. We headed out of the Hunter Valley and into the town
of Maitland. We got some gas and then made naughty chicken wraps for
lunch. They were naughty because we bought McD's chicken bites and
some fries and put them in wraps with tomato and avocado, the chicken
not the fries. We went into the library in town for a little bit and
Beau got his site updated. It had been raining on and off all day
and was starting to rain more on than off. We hit the road to Port
Stephens and Jimmy's Beach Caravan Park. We arrived at the park
about 5:20 and the office was already closed. The guy answered the
door though, gave us a bathroom key and said see me in the morning to
pay. Okay, very trusting guy. It was raining quite heavily but there
was a break in the rain for a little bit so we were able to heat up
some canned stew in that time. It continued raining on and off all
night and was quite windy.
