Visit Hunter

I was at a wedding last Friday in the Hunter Valley. The bride was obviously the most gorgeous thing in the room, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off the stunning Hunter Valley scenery that unfolds over every hill, grape vine and cellar door.

And what amazed me even more, was how close it is to other Hunter towns. Singleton is only about 25 minutes away; Newcastle was under an hour.

This is such a perfect time of year to check out the Hunter Valley Wine Country. It’s simply gorgeous – just like the bride!

Ok, you can stop dreaming now – pack your bags, fill the car boot with holiday spring goodies and head to Lake Macquarie.

There’s a great holiday package deal on until the 30 September – guests can choose a FREE gift upon booking their Lake Macquarie getaway.

Who wouldn’t love a FREE MASSAGE or FREE TIX to the Australian Reptile Park? – yes, free gifts people!

Soak up the spring sun in a stunning resort for that ideal beachside escape.

Check out http://www.visitlakemac.com.au/ or http://www.visithunter.com.au/lakemacquarie/freegift/ and have the holiday you deserve!

Did you know the Hunter is the second most popular regional area in Australia for people wanting a day out?

This is great news for the Hunter – visitor numbers to the area just keep getting bigger and better for our humble area.  This means more money is being generated in the Hunter, which is great for businesses and consumers.

So, tell your friends and family to come Visit the Hunter. Trust me, you’ll love it!

Yes. It’s nearly that time again. The annual Bitter and Twisted International Beer Festival will have guests locked up at Maitland Gaol on the 6 and 7 November 2010.

The two day annual event will include tastings of over 60 craft beers from Australia and around the globe, matched with international gourmet cuisine, fine wines and a nationally recognised entertainment line-up.

The Gaol gates will be swung open from 10am to 6pm daily. For more information or for ticket sales contact Maitland Tourism on 02 4931 2888, visit www.bitterandtwisted.com.au or email info@bitterandtwisted.com.au

Four restaurants in the Hunter receive recognition at the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Awards 2010.

Rock Restaurant was recognised as one of two of the regional restaurants to receive the two hats. The Rock Restaurant is located in Pokolbin and brings a new dining benchmark to the Hunter.

Bacchus restaurant which was awarded one hat is located in Newcastle. Bacchus possesses elegance and is reminiscent of the Victorian era’s grace and charm. The fine dining menu is French and Mediterranean inspired with the best of Australian seasonal produce.

Another exceptional restaurant to dine in the Hunter which also received one hat is the Bistro Molines located at Mount View. Bistro Molines is a gorgeous intimate venue which has an ambience reminiscent of a trip to Provincial France.

One of Pokolbin’s newest Restaurants, Muse, has already received an one hat award. Restaurant Muse was established in March 2009 by Megan and Troy Rhoades-Brown. Muse Restaurant and Café opened with the vision of serving high class, contemporary Australian food and wine at a reasonable price in a comfortable and elegant location.

Executive Manager, Sheridan Ferrier said, “All four restaurants have performed extremely well to be recognised for these prestigious awards. We hope these achievements inspire more Hunter restaurants to strive for excellence and make the Hunter a world-class dining destination.”

For further information/quotes, contact Sheridan Ferrier, Executive Manager, Tourism Hunter on 0437 478 393

These days, the Singleton Show is practically an institution that has been operating yearly, attracting hundreds of visitors and locals from around the Hunter and beyond.

Exhibits this year will include handicraft, cooking, art, photography, horticulture, trade stalls, poultry, horses, beef cattle, dairy cattle and goats.

Entertainment at the show includes a Rodeo, Centre Ring events, rides, demo derby and camp draft, and no show would be compete without a fireworks display.

Why not make a weekend of it – stay at one of Singleton’s beautiful guesthouses, hotels or B&Bs and soak in the richness of this Hunter country region.

The show kicks off Friday 24th September and runs until Sunday 26th September, 2010.

See you there!

www.singletonshow.com

Well, Australia has managed to get the queen of talkback TV to come down under, but if she was to come to the Hunter, what would you suggest for her to do here?

She could visit the country’s oldest wine region and sample our world famous Shiraz and Semillon in the Hunter Valley, step into the magic of Morpeth, sipping high tea by the peaceful Hunter River, or visit Lake Macquarie and be blown away by the awe-inspiring lake; 4 times larger than Sydney Harbour.

She could mount a trusty steed around the foothills of the Murrurundi Ranges, crown of the Upper Hunter, for a true country experience.

Can you think of what else she could get up to in the Hunter? Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter pages at the links below.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Visit-Hunter/134029073300661

Twitter: http://twitter.com/VisitTheHunter

Any guesses as to where this may be? Look no further than Barrington Tops.

Uncover the magic of this area at Gloucester Tops, one of the most accessible locations of this World Heritage listing. Discover the beech forest, wander through woodlands and uncover the majestic waterfalls trickling down from above.

The best thing is that this amazing area is just 1 hour north of Newcastle and 3 hours from Sydney. Such an easy day drive. Or why not spoil yourself and indulge in a little R&R for a truly relaxing weekend away in the rainforest.

Did you know…

1. Newcastle has produced more dancers than any other city for the Australian Ballet Company.
2. Stockton Bight is the largest sand dune mass in the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Lake Macquarie is over four times the size of Sydney Harbour: 24 km long with 174 km of foreshore.
4. Barrington Tops covers more than 80,000 hectares of rainforests, mountains and rivers.
5. Hunter Valley Wine Country’s Semillon is known as the ‘unique gift to the world’.
6. Scone, in the Upper Hunter is the Horse Capital of Australia.
7. Lake St Clair in Singleton has a dam wall of 67 metres high, which is as tall as the highest sail on the Sydney Opera House, and when full, the lake has a surface area of 1540 hectares, or more than 2000 football fields.
8. Morpeth, just outside of Maitland has been known to have spirits of the past to still inhabit the town today.

Yeeha Maitland. The Maitland Muster Festival is just around the corner.

During 1 – 4 October, the Maitland Heritage Mall will be cowboy central and will host all sorts of country activities such as boot scooting, sheep dog trials, wool weaving and shearing demonstrations, as well as Country Women’s Association cooking demonstrations.

There will also be an extensive range of country music, both in the Mall and in 12 nearby venues around Maitland.

So get your boot-scooting boots out for this inaugural event and help support the local area.
I guarantee you’ll have an awesome time!