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Published: January 16th 2007
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Amongst the grapes
Dennis enjoying a snack It was time again for what's becoming our annual trip to the Hunter Valley, once again Eleanor was able to secure first class accommodation in the Ironbark Hill Winery. This year we had a group of twenty - the Whitley family (4), Ronald, Pinky and Chief, the Dela Cruz's (4), the Howes (4), the Daniel's (4) and Justine's boyfriend Matt.
Our trip started at 8.30 am on Friday the 12th of January, Justine was the first driver having successfully passed her driving examination the day before and she drove for the first hour and a half whilst I drove for the remaining hour. We also had a couple of breaks so we didn't get to Ironbark Hill until about noon, and it was hot - 44 degrees Celsius. Luckily we had a pool to swim in plus air-conditioning though that wasn't coping too well in the extreme conditions. We didn't go out on the first day preferring to relax and play poker, swim in the pool, enjoy a few cold beers and wine. Also the cricket was on so we were able to watch Australia thump England once again. Everyone brought at least 2 kilos of meat plus salads etc so
The House
Plenty of room here - 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and lot's of recreation spaces. there was no need to eat out. I was the chief barbeque cook for most meals including breakfast whilst the ladies prepared the salads, pasta dishes etc.
Saturday began with a swim in the pool, bacon and eggs on the barbie then some wine tasting, Justine was our designated driver so Eleanor and I could freely partake without being worried about being over the limit. Eleanor's office mate Jean and family joined us for the day so our group grew to 23, the convoy of cars numbered six. Our first stop for wine tasting was McGuigan Cellars which featured cheese tasting as well as wine. We all (at least those who were over 18) tasted a variety of reds and whites, we ended up buying about 18 or so bottles between us so were able to get a 10% discount.
Next stop was the Olive Centre located in the National Estate Vineyard Pokolbin. This stop was a must as they sell a very tasty mustard salad dressing, the olives and dips are also very good. The centre also had a very good Chardonnay, probably the best I tasted over the whole weekend so I added one of those to my
Aqua Golf
Michael has a swing collection along with 5 bottles of salad dressing and a chilli dip.
We then moved onto Petersons Winery which had a chocolate factory, the chocolate covered strawberries were divine. This winery also featured a number of sparkling wines that were quite good but I especially liked the Shiraz so this is the one I decided to buy.
By now the kids (they're not really kids anymore) were starting to get a bit restless so we went to the aqua golf, it's like a driving range with the idea being to hit floating targets in a lake. Prizes are awarded for successful shot, Rawell, Jean's husband, was the only one to hit a target - twice in fact. After lunch a few of us visited the Blue Tongue brewery and sampled their range of beers including an alcoholic ginger beer. Blue Tongue is a great boutique style beer and can now be bought in Sydney, a few places even have it on tap. The rest of the day was spent back at Ironbark Hill, I had a bit of a nap and read my book (Jonestown) whilst the others played cricket and relaxed. That night we had another barbie and played
Enjoying lunch
The barbeque is at the back poker, most of the kids watched episodes of Scrubs and Alex chilled out with his guitar.
Sunday began with another swim in the pool, the weather had cooled off by now but the pool was still quite warm. The cricket was back on TV so a few of us watched Australia thump the Kiwis and in the afternoon a group went horse riding. I decided to do a bit more wine tasting so walked to a couple of nearby vineyards. On the way back I sampled a few wines at the Ironbark Hill Winery, part of the winery where we were staying. Their wine tasting centre is quite new and includes a big area that will be developed for functions etc. When I mentioned that I was staying in the house, Justin behind the counter gave me two bottles of wine. Whilst there I was joined by a dozen or so young nurses from the US who looked like they were in party mode. That night the kids went to watch a movie at an out door cinema, the oldies played poker and drank a few wines.
Monday was time to go home. It was a great weekend and everyone
enjoyed themselves. We stopped at Maccas for breakfast then made a quick trip back to McGuigan's to buy a case of Merlot in small bottles (187 ml) a handy size for that one drink with the evening meal. The drive back was uneventful though I decided to go via the Harbour tunnel for a change. Next weekend Eleanor, myself and the kids will be off to Melbourne to visit my brother Phil and to watch some tennis at the Australian Open, it will be a pretty quick trip, 4 days only, but a good break none-the-less.
I'll post a few more photos when others send them to me.
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Maribel
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Australia here I come!
Oh man!!! What a beautiful trip to Hunter Valley. Makes me want to spend January there sometime - perhaps the year after next. Hmmmm.