UPPER HUNTER

Up here, you’ll refresh in the pristine wilderness of Barringon Tops and make rewarding new wine discoveries at low yielding vineyards hidden away in these rolling green hills. Touring six, pretty rural townships, you’ll enjoy the warm, small town welcome and generous hospitality. It’s a thrill to back a winner at one of our country race days and visit world class horse studs with 200 years of thoroughbred bloodlines. Dial your short break up a notch with a stay at a stately homestead in a valley of its own, and street celebrations at the  Hunter Valley’s most lively food and wine fair.

Come on up!

Put some space between you and the fast pace of Sydney with a getaway to the Upper Hunter, 300km to the northwest. From Pokolbin, it’s a scenic 90 minute countryside drive, to where the Hunter and Goulburn rivers meet.

The Valley’s Horse Capital

A rich agricultural area, the Upper Hunter is a multi-billio dollar horse breeding ground with more than 150 thoroughbred studs. It makes for scenic touring between the handful of high quaity cellar doors that circle the small town of Denman. On wide verandahs with vineyard views you’ll taste exquisite, single-estate wines and may be welcomed to picnic in the vines, or flame grill a slab of aged beef on the vineyard bbq to enjoy with a juicy Cabernet.

The small farm produce here is so good we’ll raise your expectations of pub lunches and tempt you with restaurant menus that promise our seasonal best, fresh from the farm to your plate. Shop an extraordinary selection of infused oils and vinegars at an olive grove, learn a little about making creamy farmhouse cheeses at an artisan dairy, grab gold medal winning camel milk from the farmgate of a rescue reserve, and cider straight from the orchard. Each town has its grower’s market where you’ll be amazed at the selection, from garlic garlands to Wagyu beef.

We host the Hunter’s most enjoyable food and wine street party, a host of festivals and Highland Games. Experiences to get your heart racing start with a day at the country races, total immersion in the world heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests of Barrington Tops, close encounters with Devils in the Wild, and the exhileration of scenic flights over the outback or rugged mountain range.

Done touring? Settle yourself in at a heritage mansion in the heart of town, relax by the open fire at your country lodge or drift off to sleep in your cosy orchard cottage.