The Hunter Valley Gardens
The Hunter Valley Gardens is one of the most beautiful and expansive gardens I have been to.
It’s just such a pity about the price of the visit. I’ll deal with this in detail below.
With so many sections of the garden, there is something for the whole family to enjoy. Except maybe my husband I’m not sure Gardens or carousel rides are really his thing.
In this post I’ve included various “Top Tips” for you to consider to make your visit easier or cheaper.
I’ve also taken far too many photographs so have created an Album on the AllThingsMomSydney Facebook Page with all those photos.
The Hunter Valley Gardens
The Gardens are privately owned by the Roche family and you can see it has been developed around their love of gardens from around the world and specific plants, flowers and themes that they appreciate.
Personally, I think there are three primary things that make the Gardens so interesting:
- The different aspects of the Gardens
- The story book garden
- The rides and entertainment area
These three things coupled with the train that runs around the garden make it a very interesting and memorable place to visit. I will touch on each of these things together with the basic information you need to visit.
Where is the Hunter Valley Gardens
Location and Address
The Hunter Valley Gardens are located in the Pokolbin area of the Hunter Valley.
The official address is 2090 Broke Road Pokolbin, NSW 2320.
Parking
There is plenty of on-site parking!
What makes the Hunter Valley Gardens so interesting
To give you an idea of how big the garden is – it takes the train 35 minutes to do a loop of the garden.
“There are eight kilometres of walking paths winding through 14 hectares of gardens consisting of over 6000 trees, 600,000 shrubs and over 1 million ground cover plants, plus waterfalls, statues, murals and much more. The ten individually themed gardens showcase the artistry of gardens around the world and use both native and exotic varieties of plants.”
As I’ve said there are three aspects that interested us as a family – the gardens, the Storybook garden and the entertainment space.
1. The Different Aspects of the Garden
There are 10 of different gardens all within one greater garden. Different designs taken from places all over the world.
- The Rose Garden
- Italian Grotto
- Chinese Garden
- Sunken Garden
- Oriental Garden
- Storybook Garden
- Indian Garden
- Formal Garden modeled on the designs of English and French Gardens. It definitely reminds me of aspects of Versailles.
- Border Garden
- Lakes Walk
I’ll deal with the storybook garden as an element all on its own.
While all of the gardens have their own lovely features I did have a few favourites and I’ll touch on these just briefly.
Top tip: if you’re going especially to see the flowers, go when they’re in bloom.
Top tip: if you’re heading past the formal garden then make sure to make a wish in the wishing well!
The Oriental Garden
This was one of my favourite spaces in the garden. Similar to what you see in the Japanese Gardens in Auburn it’s just more expansive.
Every little piece of lawn is perfectly trimmed and so soft. It’s the fancy type of grass.
There are koi in the pond, bridges to cross, little pathways and a two story Japanese pagoda.
Top tip: for the best view of the Oriental Garden head to the top of the Italian Grotto.
The Sunken Garden
The Sunken Garden is the garden that has the big waterfall. As soon as you see the waterfall you’re drawn to it. If you go around the side (facing the waterfall, head to the right) and there is a lookout halfway up.
Make sure to get a photo from the top and the bottom!
The Border Garden
May sound boring but I assure you, it is quiet something to see. You have to visit in Spring or Summer though.
This garden incorporates several hand-carved Indian marble water features and statues representing the Four Seasons.
The beauty of this garden is that it is divided into four shapes and in each shape there are different flowers.
You must go up to the viewing platform to really grasp the structure of the garden. Please, if you do and you get there in Spring or Summer, please please send me a photo. I would love to put a picture of this up on the AllThingsMomSydney Facebook page and AllThingsMomSydney Instagram feed.
2. The Storybook Garden
This was how I got the kids to agree to visit the Gardens in the first place.
This is a highlight of the garden for kids. Tucked in one of the top corners, next to the Entertainment area is a whole garden just for kids. You follow a winding path through the garden with all its lifesize story book characters living within the borders of the garden.
You never know which character you’re going to met around the corner.
As the name suggests, this garden is populated with characters from popular stories and nursery rhymes.
There is:
- Alice in Wonderland as she sits down at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
- Humpty Dumpty under the watchful eye of two King’s men.
- Hansel and Grettle in the Gingerbread House.
- Jack and Jill.
- The dish running away with the spoon (Hey Diddle Diddle).
The kids and I absolutely loved the storybook garden!!
We sang and repeated nursery rhymes the whole way through the garden. And thanks to the intermittent rain, we were virtually the only ones there!
I do think a lot of the story book aspects need a lick of paint though and maybe a more solid walkway through it. When it’s wet, it is very very muddy!
Top Tip: make sure to grab a photo on the massive red chair. It’s hidden just behind the Ginger Bread house.
3. The Entertainment Area
This is area is only open during events like the Christmas Lights Spectacular and school holidays.
This was definitely my son’s favourite area.
At the top of the garden, next to the Storybook garden is a permanent installation of rides. A carousel, Superslide, Ferris Wheel and Swing Chair live in the garden all year round. These rides were actually made especially for the Hunter Valley Gardens.
Going up in the Ferris Wheel is one of the best views of the Gardens and the greater Pokolbin area.
Top tip: before you visit, check what is going on in the garden. There are often events which may make it more exciting or expensive to visit.
When we visited there were additional rides and activities set up. It must have been because it was at the start of the school holidays!
There were loads of bouncy castles, decorate your own cookie station, face painting and an area filled with little animals from the Hunter Valley Zoo. Thanks to the latter we got to meet a gorgeous little wombat who had been orphaned. He was so cute, running around the gardens like a little crazy thing.
The Train
I would advise going on the train, despite the additional cost for two reasons:
- You get to see the whole garden and you get to understand where each element is in relation to another.
- It is so informative. I’m not sure you would know what to look at otherwise. It would just be so overwhelming.
Train tours are available between 9 or 10am and 3pm. I’ve seen on the website that booking is essential. For more information on the train head to the Hunter Valley Gardens website.
The train was really really informative. The woman who led our tour was so knowledgeable and more than happy to answer any questions we had. From the history of the family to the names of the roses, statistics and key features in the garden.
There are so so many features to the gardens that if you don’t take the train you may miss out. Like the brumbies galloping in one area, the statutes of Mrs Roche and her grandchildren, the wishing well and the gazebos all over the garden.
The cost
The only downside to the Hunter Valley Gardens is the cost. Yes it is a private Garden and the owners are entitled to charge whatever they want to but admission for a family of three is $70 and a family of four $80.
Add to that the train ride which is a must and you pay $100 just for entry.
Our entrance tickets, train tickets and unlimited rides pass (school holiday rides) came to $145. It is a lot considering that doesn’t cover food.
Top tip I now know that there is a discount in the Entertainment Book.
Facilities
Accessibility
A large portion of the gardens is accessible in terms of wheelchairs and prams. Where there are stairs there are ways to go around by using an alternative path. There will be some limitations but I don’t think its enough to warrant not visiting.
Bathrooms
In a space this big you need lots of bathrooms. I know that there were bathrooms at the very entrance to the garden and makeshift bathrooms up near the rides.
I don’t know if the makeshift bathrooms are permanent so I would make sure everyone uses the bathroom as you enter the garden. It is a long walk from one side to the other.
Eating
There is a cafe within the gardens, just as you walk in. We didn’t eat there but rather had brunch before we visited.
If the menu at the cafe doesn’t spark your interest, there are also shops and a little village just beyond the Hunter Valley Gardens’ car park. It is still part of the same complex.
Opening Hour and Ticket Prices
Opening Hours
The Gardens are open every day except on Christmas Day.
The gardens are open 7 days a week from 9 am – 5 pm
Christmas Lights Spectacular hours:
Daytime: 9am – 4pm
Evening: 5:30pm – 10pm
Ticket prices
| Family Pass 1 | 2 Adults 1 Child | AUD70 |
| Family Pass 2 | 2 Adults 2 Children | AUD85 |
| Adult | 16 years + | AUD30 |
| Child | 4 – 15 years | AUD20 |
| Child | 0 – 3 years | Free |
| Local | AUD27 | |
| Senior | AUD27 | |
| Extra Child | 4 – 15 years | AUD20 |
