In Suburbia

Hello everyone! Didn’t realise we hadn’t posted for so long – have been out exploring the outer reaches of Sydney and New South Wales. Last week we went to...

Manly and the Northern Suburbs


We weren’t that interested in going over to the northern suburbs i.e. the other side of the bridge, but we got a free tour last week – how wrong we were to ignore this place. The north side of Sydney is like heaven in a city – if you moved here, this is where you would live.

We went through loads of different areas, all with amazing houses (mum – you would love it) with even more amazing views, as you move further out from the city centre. Apparently, this is where a lot of the stars live, the lucky buggers.

After lots of gushing at houses, we made it to Manly beach, which was our first chance to sample the Australian beach. Sorry to say, but it beats Broadstairs hands down. I don’t think either of us had ever seen water so clear, or sand that looked like it was off the front of a brochure, and yet it didn’t feel touristy at all. If you lived here, you wouldn’t mind getting up early to walk along the beach before work. It was so beautiful. And the big child loved playing in the sea, and getting covered in sand and water before new had to get back on the coach. But what more would you expect?

Hunter Valley


Our next trip out was to the Hunter Valley, which you may have heard of as it is the wine producing heart of NSW. Most of the Australian white wine is produced here, and with over 150 vineyards ranging from the international companies such as Lindemans and Penfolds to smaller family run places and Boutique wines we knew we were in for a good day.

It was a pretty long drive out, at just over a hundred miles along the old Pacific highway, and the scenery change was really dramatic. Once we got past the Sydney suburbs, we were out in the country, and boy, was it backwards. It felt like the kind of country towns you see in films, with like a pub and a church and that’s your lot. We stopped at a place called Wollombi, for the best cream tea, ever. Even though it wasn’t clotted cream, the scones were even better than the Ritz! Morning cream teas and wild Kookaburra’s, what more could you ask for?

After that, we carried on to the wine region, and unfortunately, can now claim to have seen wild ‘roos (although at the side of the road – no more moaning about dead birds on the M25) Again, an amazing change of scenery – from backwards country to wide open valleys, that really could’ve been anywhere in Europe. We stopped at Lindemans to do some wine tasting, lots of different varieties, the Rosé was a bit naff but the Port was tasty. And guess what we bought? Yep, fudge. It’s better for you than wine, anyway.

After that, we moved on to a small boutique vineyard, to see how wine is actually made, and to have lunch with some more sampling. We actually got to go in to the factory with the vats, hence the hard hat, but any romantic ideas we had of people standing in large wooden tubs treading in the grapes were dashed – it’s all really clinical. But we did get a certificate too, so we’re now the authority for choosing après Gills tipples. Lunch was great, lots of different dishes and vino to suit (although I didn’t drink any of it – the wine tasting before was like my yearly intake of alcohol!) Keith gladly finished mine though so it wasn’t wasted.

Last stop of the day was the Hunter Valley village itself, just to have a noodle about and see this quaint little village in the middle of nowhere really. Very nice, lovely coffee and a year round Christmas shop were the best bits! A nice sleep on the coach home (wine and age induced for some, I’m afraid) was the perfect end to the day.