Sunday morning had us up and out of bed at 6am, though it wasn't early enough to say goodbye to Joy. She starts her day at 5am in the Deli so after packing up and having breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Peter and then headed around to the supermarket to repeat our thanks and goodbyes. It is always sad to leave but knowing that we will be catching up again in NZ in the New Year helps.
The drive down the Pacific Highway was an easy one, especially starting at 7am on a Sunday morning. We had a break at The Rock, a roadhouse designed with Uluru in mind.
We arrived at the Hunter Valley Gardens just before 11am and with the temperature almost at 30degrees we donned our hats and a good covering of sunscreen. We were keen to visit these gardens, as when we drove through the area last year with Joy and Peter we didn't have the suggested three hours needed to explore the site.
These gardens are privately owned and were developed by Bill Roach as a retirement project. They cover 60 acres and have 8 km of tracks and contain 10 themed garden areas including The Rose Garden, The Border Garden, The Storybook Garden, The Lake Walk and the Italian Grotto.
The border garden, hitch can be viewed from a viewing platform or by walking along the paths.
The Rose Garden, while not looking its best in December, had a special feature as the Grandmother's Garden. Here is a bronze statue other Grandmother and her 13 grandchildren all enjoying the roses.
The Storybook Garden is especially designed with the interest of children at heart. Here many of the nursery rhyme characters can be found in garden settings.
The Lake Walk takes you passed a series of lakes.
By 2:30pm, and sweltering in 34 degrees we decided that had probably seen enough and so we made our way to our accommodation for the evening - a motel set among a vineyard. We had no sooner settled ourselves in for a mid afternoon siesta when we were witness to a horrific thunderstorm and downpour. Fortunately it only lasted an hour. Our plans for the evening were to return to the Gardens to see the Christmas Lights and these are not on show during inclement weather.
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