A Change of Pace

With APEC turning our city upside-down, we took advantage of the long weekend and escaped to the oldies property - Velyama. A very early Friday morning saw us pick up Mum then Joey for the long drive west.

First stop was Katoomba in the Mountains for coffee and to pick up fresh bread for the weekend - oh, and some pastries and cakes for the trip - yum! Hominy Bakery is definitely worth a visit.

Next stop vineyards!

Yes, after some in-depth research by Joey, we stopped off at our first vineyard for a 10.30am wine tasting.

1) Logan Wines - we had some very nice wines and came away with loot! Worth a visit.

2) Andrew Harris Wines - I am not a fan. Although their top wine the Vision would be good with a hearty roast.

3) Huntington Wines - now this place always gets written up as one of the best Mudgee wineries, but in my view it was terrible! And I am not alone in that assessment. Don't wast your time with these wines - move right over to the next one (Lowes).

4) Lowes Wines - what can I say - FANTASTIC! Great wines and we were served by the lovely winemaker. A number of their wines are also grown organically, but the tip of the iceberg is that they are one of only a handful of vineyards in Australia to produce wine with the legendary Zinfandel variety (famous in the US). All the wines I tasted were great and we walked away with a lovely mixed dozen! We will all be back.

After a tipsy morning wine tasting we continued onto the farm to see Dad and have a late lunch, play with the horses, then some slept while Dad and I moved fallen trees (it's bee a while since I rode on the tractor). We finished the day with a lovely dinner, some wine and a few games of 500. Joey was new to this card game but came through with the goods! (We make a good team).

Saturday morning we were up early for a trip to Gulgong to get the paper, more supplies and horse drench. Then on the way home went via Peter & Janine's place to check on the Marama dog (anyone want one? I do!).

Joey made her famous Tex Mex 7 layer dip for lunch - yum! We all proceeded to eat too much. The afternoon was spent relaxing because it started to rain! Later in the afternoon the rain stopped and we went for a walk up the paddock to the Iris patch and kangaroo spotting. Another beautiful dinner and wine followed by a few more games of 500 - did I mention John had a shocker?

Sunday morning was beautiful and we spent it walking around the garden with Mum, then with the horses - but unfortunately we did not get to go riding this time. Jack was not himself. He had a large scratch on his back and was a very unhappy boy. Next time. Although we did manage to go for a beautiful walk up one of the valleys - peaceful.

After lunch it was time to make our way home to the big smoke. Just not long enough! But here are some pics...

Velyama



The Garden