Hunter Valley and drinking

I went to the Hunter Valley on Tuesday with June, one of my flatmates, and it was an extremely relaxing day!

We had to wake up really early in the morning to get to the pick-up point, but I think, the loss of sleep was made up by the excellent day we had. APT is a really good tour operator, and I really gained a lot of knowledge while having lots of fun that day. I couldn't take many photos because my camera ran out of juice early in the tour (my extra batteries also ran out of juice) but fortunately, June bought 2 phone-cameras just in case, and between us, we took enough photos.

Wollombi was an interesting stop, because it was just a really really small town, with 1 pub, 1 courthouse, 1 tearoom and... that's about it! People don't stay in town, they just come to town on some occasions only. In those areas, people are farmers and they live mostly isolated from each other. It's really a lot like what Wales was, except that I experienced Wales in autumn-winter weather, so it was really a lot cooler which allowed for more trekking and exploring.
So, it wasn't suprising that while we were driving along the roads from Wollombi towards Hunter Valley, I found myself reminiscing about Wales. I think now, when I think back about the trip, I think I'll prefer Wales anytime. But if you'd ask me if I could live forever in places like Wales or the Australian farm country, I will honestly tell you I don't know. Afterall I violently resisted living in Lidcombe for the city right?

Wollombi sells an interesting liquor called Dr Judy's Jungle Juice, which the tour operator said was only available in Wollombi and nowhere else. I believe him, because I've never seen it in Coles or Woolies. It was supposed to be made up of the dregs of the wineyards, and is supposedly pretty nasty, but its taste has been smoothened out dramatically in modern times, and it now tastes like grape juice (to me, anyway). One can hardly taste the alcohol, though I think if you drank more, it'll be possible to get drunk on it anyway. I bought a small bottle, which I hope to illustrate soon.

That aside, Hunter Valley is a very charming region. You could really travel from one wineyard to the next, tasting endless rounds of wine, and acting tai- tai-ish. In fact, on our tour, nearly everyone was foreign and pretty old. There were only a few other youngish people, but, when we got round to talking during lunch, I thought these young people are really very well travelled. And some part of my mind wondered where they got the money to travel! :D But that's evil of me, so we'll put that thought aside.

I didn't manage to get a photo of my lunch platter, but June took a picture of the lunch setting, which I shall post as soon as I get the photos from her.

The only other thing of note was going to a place called Roche village, built by a person called Mr. Roche. He is of course very rich, and the place reminds me of Holland Village, without the bustling life. This village was built to look like a old English village, but it just seemed too quiet. There weren't many people on a weekday, and it seemed almost spooky. Mr Roche also built a chapel there for his daughter to get married in, and I have a photo of it in June's phone. It's very pretty and cozy, but again, because it was situated in such a remote location within an almost artifical village, it seemed... odd. But then again, it seems unfair of me to pass such a judgement on a place that i've visited only once, and on a weekday at that. Perhaps on a weekend, the picture drastically changes?