September 10, 2020 | 5 minute read
We don't know about you, but we are always amazed by parents that pack their lives and their kids up to travel around Australia. One particularly inspiring family is Emily Harrison, hubby, Master 7 and Miss 4, who are travelling around Australia in a caravan called Harvey, Lucky for us they are sharing their tips on great things to do along the way (Our Family Gap Year). Here we catch up with Emily to see what she recommends doing as a family in the Hunter Valley.
Seeing as we’re travelling around Australia with two small children, hubby suggested that we should share our tips on what to do (with kids) at each of the places we visit. So here’s my summary of things to do in the Hunter Valley. I’ll write a post about Dubbo and the Blue Mountains over the next few weeks as well, and then, if you like them, I’ll keep writing them as we travel around this amazing country.
We’ve had a wonderful few days in the Hunter Valley—blissfully disregarding our budget and pretending that we both have full-time jobs and can afford to eat, drink and buy whatever we want—wine, spirits, cheese … oh, the fun we’ve had.
But you may be wondering if the Hunter Valley is kid-friendly. How do you have fun wine (and spirit) tasting when you have two young, energetic kids with you? The answer, for us, was in ensuring we mixed up the days to include some activities for the kids and some for us. Below are our favourite places based on our most recent trip.
* At the time of writing, activities and places mentioned in this guide are at varying stages of recovery from COVID-19. Please check government and business websites for specific details on opening times and any restrictions before you travel.
The Hunter Valley Zoo is also here but we decided not to go this time as we’d been to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo only a couple of weeks before. But I have it on good authority (from my sister-in-law who used to live up here, and from a few other travellers we’ve met on the road) that it’s well worth a visit.
And of course, there’s the Hunter Valley Gardens. We did have a quick look (and liquor tasting) at the village, and a play on the outdoor playground, but didn’t venture into the gardens themselves. They do have some great kids activities coming up during school holidays but we’ll long gone by then.
Overall, we found plenty of kid friendly venues and things to do (including swimming in the pool at the place we were staying, and staying home a bit longer so they could play duplo), so we all managed to have a great time. Except for our bank balance. It’s feeling a little low…