A day trip from Sydney to the Hunter Valley
I finally got myself out to the Hunter Valley to explore not only a selection of the finest vineyards but also a chocolate factory, brewery, cheese shop and wildlife park too! Here at the wildlife park we got the chance to get up close with Australia’s natives: the koala and kangaroo.
I did all of this as part of a 1-day tour with Kangarrific Tours which started and returned to Sydney on a little minibus.
The drive up to the famous wine region works out around 2 hours on a clear day, so to allow for that, pick ups are nice and early between 7-7.45am (depending on which of the 4 Sydney pick ups you opt for).
We collected the troops and by 8am we were en route north via the Sydney Harbour bridge (a treat in itself). Our group was made up of 10 and was a completely even mix of a family, a couple, a solo traveller and my friend Lydia and I.
The atmosphere throughout the day was super chill – definitely a tour to kick back and relax on. Suitable for backpackers but certainly not a ‘backpacker tour’.
Sam (driver / tour leader) most certainly added to the atmosphere with a few cheesy (but GREAT) tunes to introduce each of the stop offs.
For example… some absolutely random ‘crackers and cheese’ song was our clue for the cheese tasting, UB40 ‘Red red wine‘ for one of the vineyards and when approaching the foot of the hills… of course The Sound of Music.
What’s included in your ticket to the Hunter Valley?
- Small group (max 13 people)
- Transfer to and from Sydney. We opted to stay up the coast and explore more of the northern regions as opposed to retuning to Sydney but should you need it, the return is included. The tour returns to Sydney at around 6pm.
- Cool box in mini bus to store any purchased chocolate, wine or cheese.
- Bottled water in the cool box
- 2 wine tasting sessions at Blueberry Hills and Mount View Estate
- Tea and timtams plus animal encounters at Walkabout Wildlife Park
- Cheese tasting at ‘Smelly Cheese’
- Beer tasting at Potter’s Brewery
- Chocolate and fudge tasting at the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company’s factory
What’s not included?
- Lunch
At lunch you stop off at Roche Estate in the middle of a gorgeous vineyard where there are 4/5 restaurants to choose from. You will pre-order your selection en route in the bus from Sydney and upon arrival it will be ready. Lunch cost is not included in the tour. I got a Vegetarian Pad Thai from Oishii which cost $20. See the menu here. Other cafe options are around $12-18.
- Beers if you want them at Potters Brewery (though you get a Kangarrific 2-for-1 discount.)
See more about the tour and book your ticket here.
P.S. You can get $25 off the ticket price with ‘MOLLIE25‘ – I don’t earn anything. Just a treat from me to you!
See my trip to the Hunter Valley in photos…
Other day trips from Sydney you should consider…
EXPLORE AUSTRALIA ON MY BLOG HERE
Have you been to the Hunter Valley?
What was the highlight of your trip? I’d love to know!
Love as always + happy adventuring,
Mollie.
