Family getaway to the Hunter Valley 

With our first school holidays we felt we had to make the most of it and have a family getaway. We’d never done the Hunter Valley and it seemed close enough to Sydney to keep the family sane during the road trip. So the family getaway to the Hunter Valley was planned. 

We found a great accommodation deal on Groupon and headed for Pokolbin knowing little to nothing about the area. 

Regardless of whether you’re up for the millions of wine tastings in the area, if you’re going with kids, this will still be a good post to read to have a few other activities up your sleeve. 

Family getaway to the Hunter Valley 

The basics of a Family getaway to the Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley can be split into 6 areas:

1. Cessnock, Mount View and Nulkaba. If you’re coming heading to Pokolbin from Sydney you will most likely pass through the town of Cessnock en route. 
2. Pokolbin South (split from Pokolbin North by Broke Road)
3. Pokolbin North 
4. Lovedale which is the north-east of Pokolbin South 
5. Broke Fordwhich which is west of Pokolbin North. This area is about 20 minutes from Pokolbin and sits at the foot of the Brokenback Range. This is where the “A Little Bit of Italy” annual festival is held each April. 
6. Wollombi which is south west of Pokolbin South and west of Wollombi. Wollombi is the southern most point of the Hunter Valley.

Where we stayed 

Now we landed up staying in Pokolbin at the Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club. This was primarily because we got an excellent deal on Groupon. 

I’m really glad we stayed there though!! 

We stayed in a two bedroom unit / apartment / townhouse. The units are spread out in blocks, generally apart from one another. Ours looked out east and was set amongst trees so the kangaroos or maybe they were wallabies would come and play around in the afternoon. 

The unit was perfect, it was clean, neat and smart. It had a lovely kitchen, living area and outside balcony. It was far more spacious than I thought it was going to be. The kitchen had all the basics and was also not a bad size for the size of the apartment. 

Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club, as the name suggests has a golf course. And it’s not a bad one either according to my husband. There are three pools, two of which that look out over the golf course. 

There is an onsite restaurant and we ate there one night but there is so much to try in the Hunter Valley you want to get out and explore. 

I think it helps if you stay somewhere really great so that you can use that as a base and then have a few activities planned.

There were a few things that I really wanted to do but we unfortunately didn’t get to. So I guess, we will just have to go back.

What we did

Looking back we spent a lot of time just lounging at the pool or playing cards and games in our little townhouse.

Surprisingly, we didn’t do much. I think we only really did one activity per day.

And the real kicker is that I can’t drink any alcohol so we didn’t want to have to drag the kids around wineries just for my husband to have the odd tasting session.

Day 1

Upon arriving we found our little house and investigated Cypress Lakes. We then headed back into Pokolbin to Coles for a quick shop before spending the afternoon in the pool.

We ate dinner that night at Cypress Lakes, at their bar but I wouldn’t recommend it. There is so much room in the units that you would be better served getting a takeaway or cooking in your unit.

Day 2

I was desperate to see the Hunter valley Gardens. Despite the rain, it was all I wanted to do when we were there.

We ventured out for breakfast one morning in the hopes of exploring a micro brewery but it wasn’t what we expected.

After getting our energetic up we hit Hunter Valley Gardens. We spent most of the day at the Gardens.

You can read the full review of our day at the Hunter Valley Gardens here.

Day 3

The house / unit (it’s like a townhouse) we stayed in looked out over a large open area and each morning and afternoon the kangaroos would come playing. We just lazed around in the morning at the house.

We headed back into Pokolbin because my husband had to write his bike license. I promised the kids a treat if they managed to wait patiently for dad. They did and so I surprised them with a trip to Sabor Dessert Bar.

Sabor Dessert Bar is a great place to get morning or afternoon tea. With 90 sweet treats on offer, either from the menu or from the display cabinets.

You can read the full Sabor Dessert Bar review here.

Day 4

The day we were leaving but I didn’t want to just go home.

I made my husband take a detour to the Big Ugg boots. This was partially to see them and partially to see if I could get a bargain.

The Big Uggs are located at the Mortels Sheepskin Factory in Thornton. It’s a little detour off the A43 but still in the area.

More to do on a Family Getaway to the Hunter Valley

There are so many more things to do in the Hunter Valley with kids. Next time we go we will look into:

• Aqua Golf and Putt Putt
• Horse riding.
• Hunter Valley Zoo
• The Peace Park Playground
• The Drive In, in Heddon Greta
• Richmond Vale Railway Museum

From what I understand there are a few “child friendly wineries” but I’m not 100% certain how child accommodating they are. Here are the ones that I’ve been told about but haven’t confirmed for myself:

• Elbourne Wines, if they still have all their farm animals.
• Mount Broke Wines in Broke Fordwhich
• Whispering Brook also in Broke Fordwich
• Gemelli Estate, Pokolbin
• Tamburlaine Organic Wines
• Briar Ridge Vineyard
• Wandin Estate
• Scarborough Wineries

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