Coach Tour to Hunter Valley Wine Country on Thursday 8th March Meeting Time & Place is 7.45am at back entrance to the Wentworth Hotel in Bligh Street. We are hoping to arrange an extra pick-up stop on the north side somewhere and further details will be in your Welcome programme folder. Once again, we have a lot of miles to cover so please be on time as we will not be able to wait for stragglers.

Updated 18th May

My thanks to Ron Park for this photo

Oblivious to all around our fealess tour leader ventures on.
Can anyone who heard the snores please advise which day this should be in.
Informed source have advised it was taken after the trip to the Hunter Valley Wineries.
Guess that figures.

My thanks to Pauline Williams for this photo.  Please send yours.

Gillian Aldington & Anne Marie Lee
 

My thanks to Les Baker for these photo.  Please send yours.

The Bus to the Hunter.  Nothing changes the (seniors) still get the back seats.
Rosemary & Les Baker, Nicky Vargassoff, Ian Harris, Micael Mylvaganam and Grham Cochrane in front.

A break between wineries.  Carol Monteiro, Maunie Kwok, Valerie (Souza) Castro, Pauline (Williams) Burnaby, Roy Hutchinson and Elaine Souza.

(Roy Hutchinson)
My thanks to Roy Hutchinson for the 4 photos below.  If you have any please email them and if possible with comments.

A bit of food to wash away the wine.

The group sampling.

Having sampled enough the group stocked up.

Graham Cochrane studying the message on the white board.

(Maunie Kwok)
Day 5 Thursday 8th March Hunter Valley Wine Country Coach Tour

Another early start but everyone was ready and waiting at the rear entrance of the Wentworth Hotel for the 8am departure. Only one coach this time and once again everyone was in good spirits (and we hadn’t tasted the wine yet!)

The Hunter Valley is a little over two hours north of Sydney and is a lush green valley dotted with vineyards and small towns. There are over eighty wineries - traditional ones specialising in aged vintages and others producing more stylish boutique wines.

Our first wine stop was at McGuigan Cellars in Pokolbin where we sat at long U-shaped bars, listened to an informative talk by the cellar master and of course sampled various wines and nibbled on delicious cheese and biscuits. I am not a wine drinker so can’t comment on the wines but, by the amount of cartons loaded on to the coach at the end of our visit, I would say the wines met with the approval of many in our group. I can, however, comment on the cheese which was produced at the adjoining cheese factory. It was absolutely delicious.

We then boarded the coach for a short drive to The Rothbury Estate, also in Pokolbin, where we sat down to lunch at a very long table that stretched the length of the keg room. Lunch was yummy and comprised of damper loaves and an antipasto selection of chargrilled vegetables with locally cured meat, green salad with parmesan cheese and balsamic dressing, caramalised onion tart, grilled mint and chili chicken on minted cous cous, beef fillet with spinach and feta salad and garlic dressing, followed by platters of assorted cheese, biscuits and fruit. Also, during lunch we listened to a talk on wines and sampled various vintages.

Next stop was at the Wyndham Estate at Dalwood for more wine tasting in their Trophy Room. From there were drove to the historic Hunter River town of Morpeth for a short browse before boarding the coach for the drive back to Sydney. Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter on the return trip although there were a couple of people, who shall remain nameless, who had forty winks! I wonder, was it the early start, long day or the wine?

"Pay attention children"

Lulu (Diespecker) Lee and Helen (Kim) Lew    "We're happy!!!"

Skip Heinecke, Diana (Parker) Mullan, Elspeth (McAuley) Lamb

The short and tall of the Sydney Committee, Maunie (Bones) Kwok and Frank Rodrigues
Which tells the Short Story and which the Tall Story?.

My thanks to Ian Harris & Frank Rodrigues for these 2 photo.  Please send yours.

Janina & Frank Rodrigues with Mrs Reeves at the Hnter Valley.  The wine barrel behind makes a nice back drop.

Bob and Pauline (Williams) Burnaby at McGuigans Winery in the Hunter Valley.
 

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