Wine tasting and walking.....

Hey there,

The van is nearly finished and we took our first road trip in it last week, on Thursday to the Hunter Valley, famous for its wine (and coal!) Lovely place, amazing scenery, quite like the Lake District, but with no sheep and lots of vineyards!!!!! Lara and Stu came too 'cos they were over in Sydney for hols (although they didnt stay in the van aswell!!!). We managed four wineries (guided by lara and stu's guide book, we chose 5 star recommendations, otherwise it would be difficult to pick which ones to visit 'cos there are tons!), two in the morning (brokenwood and McWilliams Mount Pleasant) and two in the afternoon (First Creek Chatto and Pooles Rock), broken up by a trip to the hunter cheese company for ALOT of cheese, yum! If you guys ever see any Brokenwood wines, get one, would recommend the Cricket Pitch (white or red) and the unwooded chardonnay.

Stayed overnight in the poshest campsite; the van had problems competing with the quite impressive Winnebagos on show!!!!! Drove back to Sydney on Friday via the sceneic route, the Great Northern Road, route 33, also popular with bikers 'cos of its steep and bendy roads, gave the van a bit of a workout! Stopped off for lunch at a really cute village called Woolombi, with the most amazing tavern which had a very impressive beer garden, check the pictures.

Saturday involved a leisurely afternoon in the Opera bar. And on Sunday we did the Spit to Manly walk, along lots of beaches, cool views and plants, and lots of lizards!!!!

And finally, a big congratulations to Helen and Al, who we are staying with. Helen became a new Aunty thanks to her sister who had a baby girl on Saturday. And Al finished two modules of his MBA this week.

hope everyones ok, lots of love..............