Bransby & Friends’ Oz Trip 2025

Today we hit the wineries in the Hunter Valley!! First stop was Hanging Tree Wines because like the sign said, ‘National Wine Day is 1st January to the 31st December!’ We started with prosecco and worked our way through the wines. Next stop was Brokenwood but at $25 for tastings we decided against it! (They didn’t see our shopping at the last winery, big mistake! Huge! 🤣) The Cheese Factory had some delicious oils and dips but no cheese for tasting unless you paid $28.50 each! The Hunter has nothing on the Swan! We walked across to Roche …. and Rach and I did some tastings (and more shopping) at McGuigans. On recommendation we had booked into Baume for lunch. The food was delicious, but like so many places we have discovered, they were understaffed and so the service was terrible. It took ages for someone to take our order, ages for our drinks and food to arrive, and Rachel’s order didn’t arrive at all! They had forgotten it. Eventually she got her meal and they did apologise and not ...

It was a longggg drive today!! Actually, it wasn’t that long but felt long because I wasn’t feeling so good! We stopped at a servo, The Rocky, for some very average food which I ended up throwing away. But then as we were coming in to Cessnock we went past a KFC - allelujah!! That was just what I needed.  We arrived at the Showground where we were staying and set up.  There was an old racetrack in the middle and lots of horses in the stables and paddocks. We had a bit of a lazy afternoon and then went for a walk to check out the Showgrounds and meet some of the neighbours (and pat their dogs!). The evening was spent relaxing and playing cards and then we watched the new Lion King movie. We all enjoyed it but the weather is definitely cooler than we are used to!!

It was a looonnnggg drive today to Cessnock! Well, actually it wasn’t but it felt like it! I was a little hungover lol!  We stopped at The Rock Roadhouse as I needed some hot food. The selections were scarce and I ended up getting a very average pie that was filled with big gristly bits. I tried my luck with a melting moment but it was so stale I could barely get my teeth through it. Ended up throwing away most of the pie and melting moment.  Lucky for us, we passed a KFC on the way to the Showgrounds where we were camping so we stopped to indulge! It was delicious and was just what I needed. At the Showground, we checked in and set up. There is an old racetrack in the middle so the vans just set up around the outside.  There are also stables and lots of horses. We went for a wander to explore the grounds and pat some of our doggy neighbours before returning to our cabs for a very chilled afternoon and evening. 

We set the alarm this morning for an early morning walk among the breakwall - along with everyone else in Port Macquarie!! It was like a highway lol! It was a beautiful walk though and lovely time of the day. We ended up back at the nature reserve but again no koalas only bats. Back down the boardwalk… …and a delicious breaky of ham and cheese croissants. Went into town to do a couple of things and browsed through a couple of caravan shops looking for our next van. We went back and chilled for a bit before heading to the pub to watch the grand final.  What a game! So glad the Lions won. The tavern we had chosen because it advertised an afl event with cheap drinks, $20 nachos all day and a competition to win an esky. The staff knew nothing about it and when I went to order nachos they said the kitchen was closed. I wasn’t happy. I asked for the manager, we ended up getting a round of drinks and two nachos free and we won the esky (after they went looking and found it).  Ended u...

 Only a short drive today to Port Macquarie. The NRMA park we are staying at is right on the water and has absolutely everything- a pool, skate park, playground, cafe and a great big boardwalk that goes all the way along the breakwall. There are rocks all the way along that people have painted - it looks awesome. Ian was quick to grab his rod and throw out a lure. I walked up to watch and look at some of the artwork on the rocks. Some people are very clever.  The tides were no good for fishing so we went into town to grab a couple of things and then walked into the  nature reserve to try and find a koala.   No koalas but there were bats everywhere. We went back to the park and then went for a walk along the breakwall. It was a beautiful walk watching the sun go down. There were lots of people out and a stage set up with people playing music. We were lucky enough to see a dolphin pretty close to shore, moving pretty quickly like he was chasing a fish. Back to the...

We enjoyed a sleep in again this morning and rolled out of bed about 8.15am. We weren’t in any hurry this morning so enjoyed a leisurely coffee and did a load of washing before we headed out. First stop was into town to the visitor centre to get some info. This ended up being the most difficult part of the day. We walked up and down, browsed a little market, just about gave up hope of finding it and then came across it in the middle of the shopping centre. At least once we found it they were helpful. We followed their advice and made our way to the Beacon Hill Lookout. There were magnificent views on both sides! We drove down to the harbour and walked across to Muttonbird Island. It was a very steep but very scenic walk to the top. It was well worth the climb! At the other end of the island we spotted whales, dolphins and turtles! It was absolutely stunning- I could have stayed all day!  After walking back to the mainland we wandered around looking for a cafe. We found what looked ...