Private Hunter Valley Wine Tour Including Wildlife Park Visit

PRIVATE HUNTER VALLEY DAY TOUR: A WILD DAY OUT

I recently went on my first Hunter Valley wine, cheese, chocolate and wildlife tour as a Sydney day trip with Zepher Tours. It was an exciting experience because, while our destination was the Hunter Valley for wine, cheese and chocolate tasting, we had an enjoyable and informative stopover at a wildlife park!

YOUNG, WILD & FREE IN THE HUNTER VALLEY

Having not spent allot of time in Australia I was looking forward to getting close to native animals that offer so much wonder to foreign visitors. The greatest aspect about the wildlife park was that there were so many creatures roaming around in the open, freely sharing their space with us. It brought such a level of intimacy with the animals that you cannot get from anywhere else. As I looked around the park I saw emus, ducks, kangaroos, and wallabies all wandering around, and eating together as one. Of course, there were some dangerous animals that had their own open space, such as the dingoes and wombats. With our tour leader Stu acting as a guide around the parkland, we were lucky to find some crazy sights. I can still remember one of the wildlife park employees taking two cute pink pigs and two fluffy llamas for a stroll! As for the Zepher crew, we were also fortunate to have had the opportunity to hold a snake (YES!!), take a picture with a momma koala and its baby, sit close to the Alpha kangaroo, and walk next to an emu – a truly magnificent experience.

SMELLY AROMA ON THE HUNTER VALLEY WINE TOUR

The next stop on our tour was at the Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop where a foreign aroma welcomed us. It was a mixture of different cheese varieties floating in the air. This heightened our curiosity as to what we were going to taste. I must say that the cheeses we tried in our private tasting were nothing short of magnificent! We tried some unique flavours such as: pesto fetta, sun-dried tomato and garlic getta, labna with dukkah, herb & garlic fromage frais, and deutto. There was definitely a particular Italian tang in there which was really delicious. My favourite was the Red Wine flavoured cheese at the public samples. Not only did it have this curious pink and yellow swirly appearance, but also the taste was just as exciting!

CHOCOLATE SURPRISE

The renowned Hunter Valley Chocolate Company always delivers wonderful surprises with their chocolate tasting selections changing often. One day you might taste caramel chocolate, the next day vanilla fudge. The tastings on the day all depends on what the chocolatiers feel like making. On our tour, we were excited to found out we were trying Lime flavoured fudge – yum! This place is very unique to the Hunter as they make handmade chocolate and freshly made fudge on the spot. The combination of their freshly made chocolate and their mysterious flavours truly make it a hotspot for visitors to the Hunter Valley region.

WINE DOWN IN THE HUNTER VALLEY

The Zepher Hunter Valley wine tour is not without wine. A morning start with our first winery at the Mountain Viewgave us a time to breathe and relax after our fun morning at the wildlife park. The views were so captivating that you just could not help but take a plethora of photos of the mountainous scenery. Nearing the end of the Hunter Valley day tour, we were able to ‘wine down’ at the Savannah Estate. This beautiful place was born in honour of the owner’s granddaughter, Savannah. It has a wonderful rustic and homely feel with a touch of elegance. This atmosphere definitely resonated among the wines we tasted. Of course, it wasn’t just the wines that made us feel at home, but also the lovely wine connoisseurs who were charming, welcoming and absolutely passionate in sharing their wine knowledge with the group.