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Hunter Valley
by Caroline Gladstone | 27 Feb 2014
The diversity of sights as you meander through the Upper Hunter region of NSW means you won’t have a dull moment.
Maitland Gaol
Prisons are usually pitiful places, best avoided. However the folks at Maitland have turned their historic jailhouse into a place that really rocks. Throughout the year the 19th-century sandstone prison stages concerts and a beer festival to help cast out the resident ghosts.
Also on the bill are self-guided and themed tours – some are led by psychics and others by former wardens, but the most popular
are conducted by former inmates. Visitors are regaled with gruesome tales as they walk the corridors and cells. They learn about the 16 hangings, the unsuccessful escape attempts and the notorious riot. Those who want to test their mettle can bed down for the night in C Wing, once the domain of hardened criminals, for a sleepover.
Hunter Valley Gardens
Everyone with a sense of whimsy and a love of colour is charmed by the Hunter Valley Gardens. Ten theme gardens can be explored by foot or golf cart. The Sunken Garden is cooled by a 10-metre waterfall, the corkscrew-shaped rose garden has 8000 blooms and the Indian Mosaic is dotted with topiary elephants. The Storybook Garden is a hit with young and old, who can’t help but smile at the nursery rhyme characters, such as Humpty Dumpty, sitting on a wall amid a riot of flowers.
Bimbadgen Estate
High on a hill, Bimbadgen Estate is a winery with the lot. Wine lovers come to sample the wares and are awe-struck by the views from just about every angle. Diners feast on home-grown produce and spectacular vistas at Esca restaurant just below the distinctive bell tower. The Cellar Door’s glass doors open onto the vines and the amphitheatre where the popular Day on the Green concerts are held in summer.
Morpeth
Beautiful Morpeth is the arts-and-crafts centre of the Upper Hunter. Tall ships and paddle-steamers brought supplies in the 1800s for the burgeoning township and its 30 pubs. William Arnott and chemist Caleb Soul settled there, and today the historic Arnott’s Bakehouse is owned by the family and produces excellent bread, while Soul’s former residence is a charming guest house. Shops, cafes and a boutique brewery operate from heritage buildings.
Dolphins
Around 90-40 bottlenose dolphins call Port Stephens home, frolicking in the large natural harbour and rarely venturing to the open sea. Scientists have identified a unique species living in the Port and many are so well known they have been given names. Sightings are a matter of course, even from the shoreline, and cruises leave regularly from Nelson Bay, equipped with hydrophones to let passengers listen to these fantastic creatures.
Stockton Beach and Tin City
A 4WD tour of Stockton Beach turns up intriguing sights. Stretching more than 30km from Anna Bay to Newcastle, the beach is constantly reshaped by the wind, creating the largest continuously mobile sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. Heavily fortified during WWII, the shifting sands reveal old bomb shells, cement tank traps that were installed by the army to prevent invasion and a collection of shacks known as Tin City. The first corrugated iron sheds were built in the late 19th century and added to by squatters during The Depression. Today the 11 shacks appear like a mirage in the desert and are much loved by fishermen.
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