After visiting once or twice, many assume that a few tastings and a winery lunch amount to having seen the Hunter Valley properly. But that version is only one narrow slice of what’s actually there. Here’s what you can do in the Hunter Valley on your third, fourth and fifth visit to make your escape feel totally unique.
Couple enjoys a helicopter flight over the Hunter Valley with Hunter Valley Helicopters, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley / Credit: Destination NSW
Been to the Hunter Valley Before? Read This.
The first mistake people make with the Hunter Valley is assuming it only knows how to do one kind of weekend (yes, a wine tasting one). Those who spend time beyond the familiar wine-weekend loop in the Hunter Valley will however tell you how much else there is alongside the cellar doors that define a first visit.
Food producers run tastings, working farms offer animal encounters, and walks through national parks are scattered all around the edges. Meanwhile, small villages and towns dotted in between the vineyards make for some charming little cafe, gallery and shopping stops throughout the weekend.
Coming back to the Hunter Valley does not mean repeating the same kind of trip, and if you’ve written off another visit, just know that you haven’t seen anything yet!
Things to Do in The Hunter Valley for Repeat Visitors
These are the kinds of experiences that make the Hunter Valley worth coming back to, long after your first trip.
Young people enjoying a bike ride around Sutton Estate, Hunter Valley / Credit: Destination NSW
Cycle Hermitage Road
If your previous wine tour was carried out by car, why not switch things up? A short cycle along Hermitage Road, with a couple of wine stops is a simple way to drop into some of your favourite wineries, and the bike lane keeps you safe as you go. The route is flat and sealed, and there are plenty of spots to stop when something catches your eye. Hiring an e-bike from Sutton Estate Electric Bike Hire makes things even more cruisey with an electric-assist bike, helmet, and a basic map of nearby cycling routes around Pokolbin!
Follow the Finchley Trig walk in Yengo National Park
Just over an hour’s drive away, Finchley Trig walk starts from a small car park and elevates swiftly onto open sandstone. Here in the heart of Yengo National Park, low pagoda formations and scrubby bush replace anything that looks remotely vineyard-adjacent for the morning. The loop is short and clearly marked, and once you reach the top you can wander across the fascinating rock platforms.
Hang Out With Alpacas
If wine tastings are starting to blur into one another, Gumnut Valley Alpacas offers a very different kind of Hunter Valley detour. Set on a working farm in Butterwick, alpacas roam the paddocks alongside miniature donkeys, goats and chickens here, with visits usually running by appointment or during relaxed Open Days. You can hand-feed the animals, wander the property and learn something new about alpacas along the way in a setting that feels like being invited onto someone’s garden.
Credit: Destination NSW
Wander Through Hunter Valley Gardens
At Hunter Valley Gardens, you’ll follow a clearly marked loop that trails you through a series of themed garden sections, including carefully crafted gardens, shaded pathways, and lawns. Walk one or two sections, stop for a coffee, sit for a while and admire the surroundings which are guaranteed to calm you down and make for a moment of peace.
Visit Local Tasting Rooms (Food Not Wine)
A Hunter Valley visit can be a totally different experience when attention moves away from wine and towards food producers. And the Hunter Valley has a heap of options that would easily fill an entire day. Try the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory, Pukara Estate (for olive oil), Hunter Valley Chocolate Company, and Hunter Valley Honey for a day of tempting local flavours. As a repeat visitor to the valley, you’ll be surprised by how much of the region you’ve overlooked beyond cellar doors!
Do a Yengo National Park Self-Guided Rock Art Walk (near Wollombi)
Several short, clearly signposted walks in Yengo National Park lead to Aboriginal rock engravings set directly into sandstone, surrounded by open bush. Interpretive signs explain what you’re looking at and how the engravings were made without the need for joining a tour. These walks are ideal if you want something culturally significant that sits well outside the Pokolbin wine bubble.
Credit: Destination NSW / Maitland Regional Art Gallery is home to an impressive collection of more than 6,000 works with a focus on work made with, about or on paper. Each year the gallery shows thousands of artworks and creates hundreds of learning activities across 25 exhibitions that are available to enjoy.
Visit Maitland Regional Art Gallery
Time at Maitland Regional Art Gallery is always a good idea for a total change of scenery. Rotating exhibitions spread across a former federation-era building and the program leans contemporary. You’ll need about an hour here, so it fits neatly into a Hunter Valley trip when you want something absorbing, perhaps when the weather plays up.
Explore with Chapman Valley Horse Riding
This is one of the best ways to properly uncover the landscape in the Hunter Valley and a great alternative to looking at it through a windscreen. Rides with Chapman Valley Horse Riding start at the property in Broke, where you’re matched with a horse and given a short introduction before heading straight out into paddocks and bush tracks. The route typically loops through grazing land and tree-lined paths, giving you views back across the valley at various points.
See the Hunter Valley by Helicopter
Helicopters rise straight out of the vineyards at Hunter Valley Helicopters, lifting off from a grass airstrip in Pokolbin and climbing quickly above the rows of vines. Even the shortest flights, around 10 minutes, give a clear sense of the valley’s shape, with patchwork wineries and winding roads laid out below. Longer options go a little further toward the Brokenback Ranges, with some extended flights reaching as far as the river near Singleton and Cessnock. What a way to see how the Hunter Valley fits together, all in one sweep!
Where to Stay in the Hunter Valley
Set at the base of the Brokenback Ranges in Pokolbin, Estate Tuscany sits on a 26-acre property of vineyards and rolling hills, just over two hours from Sydney.
The boutique hotel has 38 rooms, an outdoor pool, on-site dining at The Mill Restaurant and Brokenback Bar, plus there’s even a cellar door on the property! Guests love the very relaxed and scenic feel, with most of the region’s wineries and gardens only a short drive away.
Book your stay at Estate Tuscany today.
