Who says the Hunter is just for wine buffs? With boutique beer quaffing, endless retail therapy, jagged ranges and adrenalin-fuelled aerial adventures, even non-wineos will find their cup runneth over.
There are heaps of activities to suit your fancy, so here are our recommendations for what to do when visiting wine country ... without the wine.
Boutique beer
Strap on your beer goggles and sample a few hand-crafted swills. Check out the big boy flavours of
Pokolbin's Blue Tongue Brewery and Cafe, or
Potters Hotel Brewery Resort's heritage brick beehive kiln and show the wine peeps how a good drop should taste.
Cadillac on country roads
Let Mercs and BMWs eat your dust while you cruise the valley in your convertible
chauffeur-driven Cadillac and as you slip into
Hunter Valley time feel your worries hit the road. The Hunter stretches way beyond the vineyards — head for historic
Kurri Kurri for a gander at the murals, or convict town
Wollombi, in your old school glamour tank.
Cook up a storm
You are never far from a good nosh-up in the Hunter, but why not create your own? At
Majors Lane, courses range from pasta making to Asian fusion. Fresh local ingredients and a small group environment will have you cooking your heart out in no time. Best of all you get to eat your handiwork afterwards.
High tea happiness
Topple into a high tea hotel for the clink of teacups and plateloads of girlie, swirly treats. High tea offerings abound, but our pick is
Sebel Kirkton Park for a wicker chair summery vibe or in winter,
Tower Lodge when a roaring fire and throw rugs are your best friends.
Explore on two wheels
OK, serious cycling this ain't, but pedal power is a blissful way to get to and from lunch.
Hunter Valley Cycling hires self-guided bikes with maps and suggestions. Despite weekend traffic, cycling is cruisey around these parts and it's easy to find a road less travelled. For more bad-ass two-wheeled adventures, hire a Harley with
Wild Ride Australia
La vie en boules
Embrace your inner French wench or garcon and try your hand at
boules, wine country's latest big thing. It's a breezy way to while away the arvo and many establishments now offer guest boules; try
Tower Lodge,
Peppers or the
Youth Hostel
Go walkabout
The rugged, alpha male
Brokenback Range makes the Hunter glorious hiking territory. Dust off your boots and head for the hills —
Watagans National Park offers all-ages trails and forms part of the
Great North Walk from
Sydney to
Newcastle.
Enjoy a concert
With a calendar chocca with big name
music events , the Hunter dances to its own beat. Grab a picnic rug and listen to the likes of Sting, Kate Ceberano or Santana. All that musical talent means celebrity spotting is never far away;
Tower Lodge and
Chateau Elan are fave celeb boltholes.
Catch up on retail therapy
Traipse the main precincts —
Pepper Creek Village,
Hunter Valley Gardens Village and
Pokolbin Village, which specialise in spendy jewellery and homewares, plus enough antiques to make the folks from
Antiques Roadshow weep. For treats that won't max the credit card, pick up cheese smudged with dukkah from
The Smelly Cheese Shop or swoon-inducing chocs from
Hunter Valley Chocolate Company.
Go sky high
However you like your thrills — dropped from a height or the gentle waft of hot air ballooning at dawn — the Hunter has you sorted. Admire the lay of the land with a
hot air balloon ride followed by a bubbly brekkie. Or indulge in your very own rock star moment by arriving at a concert by helicopter with
Slattery Helicopters — at $250 for three people, it's an affordable adventure. Otherwise go wild with a
jet fighter flight from
Cessnock — sure it's pricey but someone is going to enjoy it, so it may as well be you.
Art attack
The Hunter is home to all things artsy, including photography whizz
Ken Duncan's Gallery, plus ceramics, glassware and sculpture at
Pokolbin Gallery & Sculpture Garden
Still want more?
Hit the Greg Norman-designed
golf course then soak up the spa treatment at
Golden Door Spa, Elysia
Have you got any places to recommend for the non-drinker when visiting the Hunter Valley? Enter your comments below.
