Hunter Valley July 2014

**** old post, found in draft mode dated 16-07-14 ******

We went to Hunter Valley again! This time we stayed at Cypress Lakes for 3 nights (one of those mystery hotel deals). Kids loved the fact that the villa we stayed in was two-story high and the bedrooms were upstairs. "Upstairs" is a very big thing with our kids.

The main attraction this time was not the wineries. It was the Snow time in Hunter Valley Gardens. Kids played with 'fake' snow, saw an ice-sculpture, did ice-skating and loved the toboggan rides especially. I lost count of many times they/we did it!! The whole Snow time set up was not huge, but it attracted a huge crowd.

The other (food) highlights included lunch at Mojo's (Lara learned how to play chess with Daddy here), desserts at 'Sabor in Hunter'(divine coffee and desserts, lots of gluten free options!) and dinner at Harrigan's with friends (yummy!).
We visited only 3 wineries (Gundog, Mistletoe and Pig's Peak) but still bought over 2 cases of wines. It was a lovely short break!

Outdoor chess:


More chess at Cypress Lakes lobby:


Caught up with an old friend, the 3-legged dog we saw at Pukara Estate last year.


Still our favourite: