Hi all,

I'm going to be going to AUS in early June. I'll be mostly staying in
Sydney but will have a weekend to venture out to Hunter Valley. A few
questions

1) Any recommendations on good places to stay for me and my wife in
Hunter Valley that will make seeing the area most effective for
someone without a car?

2) What will be my options for getting from Sydney to Hunter Valley
without a car?

3) Any other tips or thoughts on things to do / see in Hunter Valley
and/or Sydney? This trip sort of sprung up rather quickly and I'm
trying to plan my 2 weeks as best as possible.

Thanks in advance.
Frank

Hello,
1) Highly recommended you look into the small coach opportunities as a)
places are a bit far apart and
b) Aussi coppers do not look kindly on driving under the alfluence of
incohol ...
2) Any number but not cheap, especially around weekend. Google-san-wa
anata-no tomodachi-desu, as I always say ...
3) Look out for Semillion which is a totally illogical archetypal Hunter
Valley variety. Both as dry and sticky. Also, look out for Shiraz (Syrah if
they are Francophiliacs). Apart from that, they tend to try anything.
Verdelho is often a rather light, slightly aromatic dry variety which works
a treat as aperitif.
Ernest Hill was a very forthcoming and friendly family business with some
good stuff (notably Shiraz and Semillion). Recommended.
Brokenwood is a larger operation with vineyards in other states (Victoria,
Eastern Southern Asutrailia etc) but makes a slew of different varieties and
styles - you cvan spend a fairly happy afternoon trying their wares ... the
flagship wine is their Graveyard Shiraz but it needs serious cellar time.
Audrey Wilkinson had some good stuff but really not in the same class.

Also, you might enjoy the helpful hints I received last summer (notably from
Salil) using this link:
http://groups.google.se/group/alt.fo...31c780 5f4901

HTH

Nils Gustaf


--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se
"fsa3" > skrev i meddelandet
oups.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm going to be going to AUS in early June. I'll be mostly staying in
> Sydney but will have a weekend to venture out to Hunter Valley. A few
> questions
>
> 1) Any recommendations on good places to stay for me and my wife in
> Hunter Valley that will make seeing the area most effective for
> someone without a car?
>
> 2) What will be my options for getting from Sydney to Hunter Valley
> without a car?
>
> 3) Any other tips or thoughts on things to do / see in Hunter Valley
> and/or Sydney? This trip sort of sprung up rather quickly and I'm
> trying to plan my 2 weeks as best as possible.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> Frank
>

Thanks for the help,

Are you suggesting the 'small coach' for getting around the valley or
getting TO the valley? I need to figure out an answer for both. I've
found lots of information about getting tours setup to get around the
area but I'm still not sure how I can get to the area (from Sydney) --
everything I've found have been day trips. Are there shuttles or
trains I could take?

Sorry, mate, you got me there and no mistake
Nils

--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se
"fsa3" > skrev i meddelandet
oups.com...
> Thanks for the help,
>
> Are you suggesting the 'small coach' for getting around the valley or
> getting TO the valley? I need to figure out an answer for both. I've
> found lots of information about getting tours setup to get around the
> area but I'm still not sure how I can get to the area (from Sydney) --
> everything I've found have been day trips. Are there shuttles or
> trains I could take?
>

On Mar 22, 3:28 am, "fsa3" > wrote:
> everything I've found have been day trips. Are there shuttles or
> trains I could take?

Shuttles, not really - the coaches are your best bet. Trains - nope.
Sydney public transport isn't the greatest; if you don't/can't drive,
things become a bit more difficult once getting out of the city
centre.

In response to your first post:
What I found with the Hunter is that a lot of it is so widely spaced
that even if you're staying for a few nights inside the Valley, it's
still quite difficult to go around unless you drive. The best thing I
could suggest is just to stay in Sydney and do it with a few day trips
- that way you also get to enjoy the evenings in the city (and around
the Rocks/Oxford St./King's Cross and such, it's a great place for
nightlife). Bit more expensive, unless you can talk a friend who
drives into going along.
There are a few good services (I used Boutique Wine Tours, think Nils
did the same there as well) that pick you up from the city early in
the morning, and then drop you back in the evening after taking you
through a handful of wineries, and it's far easier than walking around
(the distances can be huge between some wineries) or driving.

Wines - Semillon's a big thing here. Mount Pleasant Estate makes some
legendary Semillon in a number of different styles, and you need to
try the young Elizabeth Semillons, the Museum reserves (with some age
on them) as well as the sweeter botrytised ones. All gorgeous.
Tyrrell's is also famed for its Semillon - and among other wineries,
Brokenwood, Tempus Two and De Bortoli are also worth looking at.
A word on De Bortoli - I haven't been to the Hunter Valley cellar, so
no idea what to expect (but they should have some of the famed Noble
One botrytised Semillon there). I did visit them a couple of times in
the Yarra Valley though (their main outpost), and was blown away.
Worth a look IMO.

Salil