Monday 20th February
Goodbye Sydney. Today we left the hustle and bustle of the city for the rural idyll of Lake Macquarie. After a short drive we arrived at our new cottage which is lovely and 100m from the lake. Its time for some r&r after a hectic time in Sydney.
Tuesday 21st February
Our first day without having to get up early and sight-see or travel. It was a welcome relief so after a lie-in we went to Newcastle to look at the surf festival. This is the largest surf festival to take place in Australia and surfers attended from all over the world.
Its still 30+ degrees and lovely weather so its another bbq tonight.
Wednesday 22nd February
Today’s visit was to the Hunter Valley – a famous wine region with hundreds of vineyards. We stumbled upon Adina’s vineyard and were the only people there. The owner chatted to us, even though we made it clear we were ignorant of the intricacies of the whole wine “thing”. He nevertheless took time to explain everything viticulture and we tasted and eventually bought a bottle from him. The bottle was a Cabernet which was named after one of his grandchildren (born in London) “James Peter”.
We’re saving the bottle until our last evening in Australia.
Thursday 23rd february
Visited Warners Bay today which is a lovely seaside town once again (they all are!!).
Its our last day at this cabin. Tomorrow we travel further North to a cabin in the hills behind Port Macquarie.