Caves Beach
After our short stay in the Hunter Valley, we departed to Caves Coastal Bar & Bungalows which we had booked "with Gourmet Grazing Hamper". The accommodations were near Lake Macquarie, Australia's largest coastal saltwater lake covering an area of 110 square kilometres (42.5 sq mi) which is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Our bungalow oversaw the ocean at Caves Beach, not the actual lake.
Caves Beach is well known for its namesake - a network of sea caves at the southern end of the beach, which can be explored at low tide.
We enjoyed our days at the beach a lot with long beach walks, dinners at local restaurants and in our bungalow.
I let the drone fly observing surfers from above and spend early morning hours taking pictures of the Galactic Centre.
We also observed nature, seeing for the first time a Purple Swamphen.
Here the combined video including surfers.
More images here.
Hunter Valley
In November 2020, we went for a short vacation trip to the Hunter Valley--about a two-hour drive north from us. We started with a wine tasting and picnic at the Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard in Pokolbin.
The vineyard's history is interesting as it is one of the oldest vineyards in Australia, acquired by the Wilkinson family in 1866. Audrey Wilkinson took over his father's vineyard at the age of only 15 years, with his father having died. He assumed the daunting role of running the family’s vineyard which he did until he died at the age of 85 in 1962. Audrey was blessed with a wonderful sense of taste and produced some of the finest wines in Australia. In 1897, Audrey helped develop leading-edge technology such as cement fermenters and steam-powered crushers and hopper. In 2004, the Agnew family enters the Australian wine industry with the acquisition of the historic Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard in the Hunter Valley.
We then checked into the Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens for two nights. On our first night, we booked dinner at éléments which is run by executive chef Michael Watson "who has created a menu with an elements base, influenced by the flavours of France and Italy. Michael brings extensive experience to the kitchen, a finely tuned palate and a passion for excellence. éléments signature dish - duck confit has been an inspiration throughout Michael’s career and takes a different form across the seasons. To enhance the dining experience, food and beverage manager Amanda wise has paired éléments menu with Hunter Valley wines which enables the wines to be fully appreciated. The interior design of éléments is boutique and overlooks stunning manicured gardens with a feature fountain, éléments offers a unique space to dine and engage." After reading this announcement, we had expected a great culinary experience , but the food was rather ordinary.
The next morning, we visited the Hunter Valley Gardens which are advertised as the largest Display Gardens in the Southern Hemisphere--we left rather disappointed after 30 minutes as the only word that came to mind was kitsch. In addition to the rather underwhelming gardens, they were full of plastic Christmas decoration including life-size reindeer and large plastic sculptures in the shape of Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower.
Then, we did a wine tasking at Andrew Thomas Winery which was really impressive in style, how the wines were presented including the display of soil samples and taste, how the wine tasted and which convinced us to purchase a few cases and also sign up for their wine club.
In the evening, we had an excellent chef's tasting dinner at EXP Restaurant in Pokolbin: (1) Hiramasa Kingfish, fennel pollen vinegar, chilli ferment and Hunter Wagyu Tartare, beef fat emulsion, eschallot and Duck Ham, macadamia, focaccia, (2) Sourdough, cultured butter, native seasoning, (3) Zucchini, cherry truss tomato, lemon verbena, society garlic, (4) Petuna Ocean Trout, shiitake, mushroom xo, radish, native pepper, (5) Paroo Kangaroo, onions, black garlic, beetroot & davidson plum, (6) Canelé, milk & honey, (7) Wild Fennel Cheesecake, mulberry, caramelised white chocolate, waffle.
Here a video of the Hunter Valley experience:
Bowral, Southern Highlands
On our first day, we visited Berrima situated on the Old Hume Highway, first trying to get lunch at the PepperGreen Estate which was solidly booked for the long weekend.
However, we found a delicious lunch at the nearby Magpie Cafe.
We then walked through the village of Berrima admiring all the old cottages and small galleries. Berrima is located on the traditional land of the Gundungurra People.
Finally, we made an evening walk at the Wingecarribee River where we saw many Australian Water Dragons, but not the promised Platypus that should be part of the Berrima River Walk.
We have read about the German Internment Camp that located at the river: The internees’ constructions during their enforced stay during World War I was built along the Wingecarribee River. Berrima was the only camp that not to confine the more than 300 internees within the camp perimeter. The internees were merchant naval captains, senior officers, the senior executives from German shipping companies with offices in Australia, and a small number of prisoners-of-war from the German light cruiser SMS Emden. The had times when they could leave the camp and were free to shop in the village. The men from larger companies were on half-pay—forwarded from Germany throughout the war. The men were used to confined shipboard life and a disciplined routine. As they were not required to work they put their energy into recreational pursuits—the River was their playground.
On Sunday morning, I tried to photograph at 4 am the Galactic Centre and the Orionids, a meteor shower that marks the second occasion the Earth encounters the stream of debris left behind by Halley’s comet each year. Neither worked out very well due to the strong moon and the light clouds.
After breakfast in Moss Vale,...
...we embarked on a 4-hour bushwalk in the Gibbergunyah Reserve starting on the Goanna Circuit—without visible goannas. A later search on YouTube confirmed that we heard their hissing sounds.
During the walk, we saw literally a hundred or more entrants to wombat burrow systems. As they are mostly nocturnal, we saw no wombat. They eat grass and herbs and their teeth grow continuously throughout their lives.
I took a picture of a Red-and-black spider.
In the evening, we had dinner at the Porterhouse Bistro in Moss Vale. On Monday, we did a 3-hour bush walk in Box Vale admiring the Hawkesbury sandstone formation as the paths are cut through the stone.
The Box Vale Walking Track follows the formation of a historic railway line and through a tunnel 84m long. One of the displays showed a picture of a “Saddle Tank” locomotive emerging from the tunnel—it had been built in Leeds, UK, in 1862 and imported to Australia by John Whitton who is recognised as the father of the NSW Railways.
The surrounding terrain is steep and rocky—often with little topsoil that can be used by the wombats to build their burrows. We read that the vegetation is classified as dry sclerophyll forest—most of it was burnt during the December 2019 bush fires that raged through the area. Most trees show new growth and the ground is mostly green now. Since the removal of the railroad line, late last century natural regeneration has occurred along the embankments.
We saw a lot of birds—apparently, they flew away during the fires and are now back, unlike snakes and spiders.
Afterwards, we drove to Berrima for a lovely lunch at the PepperGreen Estate for which we had reservations this time. On Tuesday after checking out at the Briars Country Lodge & Inn in Burradoo, we first visited had a delicious breakfast at the nearby Magpie Cafe in Berrima.
Our first stop after breakfast was the Bendooley Estate vineyard and tasted (and bought) some vine. Then, we advanced to Centennial Vineyards doing the same but combined it with a light lunch.
In the early afternoon, we made it to our second hotel, the Blue Wren, Pines Postoral Cottages. We stayed in a cottage with 4.5-metre high window overlooking the pastures. "A spiral staircase leads to a mezzanine level with king-size bed (with electric blanket). When the sun rises, waking up in Blue Wren is magic! An extra luxury is the private cedar-lined sauna. This is a dry Scandinavian sauna, ideal for relaxing in the late afternoon.”
I flew my drone around the property as the cows did not seem to care. On Wednesday, we woke up dense fog and rain, so we spent a very quiet day with reading and some gallery browsing in Mittagong and Moss Vale. On Thursday, the rain made us postpone our visit to the Fitzroy Falls to our next trip into the Southern Highlands.
Here some video impressions of the trip:
More picture here.