12 - 14 September 2012

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Wednesday we headed towards The Hunter Valley, wine country time. As with most wine regions in Australia, The Hunter Valley is blessed with scenic surroundings which make the experience for those from home and abroad all the more pleasurable.

First up we stopped off at the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company and sampled some fine Belgian chocolate as well as some delicious fudge. And who could leave a chocolate shop without a few choccie frogs in hand? Not I. We enjoyed the laid back drive and continued to look at what the region had to offer. Next on the itinerary was the Brokenback Bar where we enjoyed a coffee overlooking the impressive countryside and then walked around to the Hunter Valley Cheese Co. The cheese, sundried tomatoes and apple and rosemary paste that we purchased were top shelf and went down a treat.

After spending the majority of the week in caravan parks we decided we needed to alleviate the outgoing cash flow and we luckily found a fantastic camping ground at the nearby village of Broke. The grounds were so big it looked as though it could have accommodated 50 vans but we were lucky that only had a handful of travellers were already set for the night.

It was a peaceful start on Thursday and even though caravan parks provide a few more creature comforts it's a great experience to start the day in the great outdoors. We read for most of the morning and then headed over the road to the local cafe which served up a tasty cappuccino. From there we headed around to Cessnock for the majority of the day to take care of a few incidentals. The weather had taken a turn for the worst so we headed back to the campgrounds at Broke and fortunately finished cooking and eating dinner by the time the rain started falling.

On Friday morning it was time to move on. We have another house sit starting Sunday and with having to meet the owners tomorrow we thought we better make some tracks to be closer to the destination rather than driving all day in the un-airconditioned van and turning up in a dishevelled state. We decided to take the scenic route and travel through tranquil surroundings but this trek was definitely off the beaten track and uphill and down dale. It would not have been an issue had we remembered to fill up the petrol tank before departing but by the time we realised it was too far to turn back and rectify the situation.

After a few tense moments as the petrol gauge continued to plummet towards the red we came across a cafe and the owners informed us we only had another 40 kms to get to a petrol station. We still had a bit in the tank but the mind definitely rests easier when the gauge hits full. We continued on and soon came out at Richmond which is a town north-west and only about 65 kms from Sydney. We managed to find a council run camping ground just across from the main street. The destination proved a good one as we decided to dine out and made it to Richmond Thai for dinner who did a killer laksa.

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