Australia - Hunter Valley

Finally, after sailing and Sydney we headed about two hours north for relaxation in the Hunter Valley. This is a small wine making region tucked between the coast and the 'mountains'. We stayed three nights at Chez Vous Villas with some gracious hosts. From there you are stumbling distance to delicious dining at Roberts.
Well fed and well rested we arranged for a small charter bus to take us around to several wineries the next day. Ian, from the Cheers Bus was a perfect tour guide - knowledgeable, but not too organized or formal. Most all of the wineries in the Hunter are boutique sized, but Ian took us to the smallest of the small. We especially enjoyed Ivanhoe, Peacock Hill, and Oakvale. Also enjoyable was the Peterson Champagne House.

The second day we rented bikes from two guys in a barn. They ran a small bike rental business and the Pokolbin Brothers Wines. Riding around in the sun (you can't do that for about 6-7 months each year up here), sipping wines, and snacking made this an enjoyable and relaxing today.

Recommendations: Cheers Bus for transport, Chez Vous to sleep, Roberts to eat, Ivanhoe, Peacock Hill, Oakvale, and Pokolbin Brothers to drink, the Smelly Cheese Shop for snacks, rent a bike.

Things we learned: 1) Semillion is a delicious not-too-sweet white wine which the Hunter Valley is known for. 2) Sparkling Shiraz is a tasty drink.

A few photos are posted here.

Australia - Sydney

From the Whitsundays we headed back south to Sydney. We rented a room on top of a pub (the Mercantile) in the Rocks - right at the base of the Harbor Bridge. Ashlee was only in Sydney for one day so we quickly hit all the highlights - Opera House, ferry through the Harbor, market in the Rocks, and the fish market.

We were there for a bit longer so we enjoyed strolls through the city and the botanical gardens. We walked across (though not up) the Harbor Bridge. We splurged on incredible seats to Tosca in the opera house. The fish market was too tasty to just hit once, so we lunched there twice. We found that Barramundi is a delicious fish. We didn't really love Kings Cross, but found Potts Point to be pretty attractive. We left just before Australia Day, but did get to see the frenzy associated with Prince William's trip to Sydney and boat trip around the Harbor.

Reccomendations: the Mercantile Hotel, staying centrally in the Rocks, Potts Point, meat pies, oysters at the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar on Circular Quay, the Watson's Bay ferry, the botanical garden, lunch at the Fish Market, and dark beer (which proved difficult to find in Australia) at a German-style beer hall.

A few photos are posted here.

Next, rent a car and head north .......

Australia - Sailing

Just after the new year, we hopped a plane out of frigid Anchorage for the southern hemisphere. After a brief (12 hour) stop in LA to visit family and cruise Venice beach, we were off for Sydney. Several days of travel and five flights later, we were in the Whitsunday Islands, Australia - met there by Andi's sister Ashlee. These are a group of islands off of the northwest coast of Australia, inside of the Great Barrier Reef.
Using our sailing experience from last winter we chartered a nice 39 foot sailboat - The Dehler Magic. We spent seven days sailing it around the Whitsundays.
The weather was a little stormy - gusty winds and rail squalls. This made it just a bit challenging, but fun nonetheless.

Check out the map of the route using the Google Earth Plug-In on the previous post.

The days were spent on the water, the afternoons enjoying snorkling, reading, sunning ourselves, etc... anchored up in small coves. We cooked on board most nights and docked twice at Hamilton Island. The whole island is served by electric golf carts and no regular cars. An hour of buggy rental lets you see the whole island.
There was one long night - we just couldn't get the anchor to set and had to sit lookout all night. Other than that it was pretty smooth sailing.
Recommendations: Cumberland Charter Yachts for bareboat charters, order fewer days of provisioning than you plan to spend on the boat, bring lots of sunscreen, don't go during the rainy season, visit Hamilton island for the beach / resort, Manta Ray Cafe has good pizza, boats with the traveler in the cockpit are kind of awkward. Skip the smaller resorts - South Molle, Daydream Island, Happy Bay. Don't pull you dingy too far up on the beach during a falling tide. Bring plenty of books.

We would highly reccomend this to anyone contemplating this kind of trip.

A few photos posted here.

Next..... Sydney

Map of the sailing trip

Australia Trip

We just got back from a nice vacation to Australia. We were there for two weeks: one week on a boat in the Whitsundays, and one in the Sydney area. Check out the map and watch for updates and photos in the next few days.

Chuck



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