AUSTRALIA 2011: A Hunter Valley Welcome

AUSTRALIA 2011: A Hunter Valley Welcome (May 7, 2011)

Like most of my dream destinations, I’ve placed Australia somewhere at the back of my head, for future use when both my time and my income will permit it. Not a lot is known about it as a country/continent/island, at least not as much as we know about, say, the United States. Aside from kangaroos and koalas, arid deserts and beautiful beaches, I never really associated Australia with anything else. But it is this mystery surrounding that land down under that has always intrigued me. Of course it helps that two of my mom’s sisters are already Australian citizens, which means I have more than enough aunts, uncles, and cousins to welcome me with open arms and tour me around if ever I do come over.

I already know that God is a God of perfect timings, and that He is a God who makes no mistakes. More than that, He is a God who makes dreams come true. So however this “Gia-visiting-Australia” plan was conceived and implemented (it happened, seamlessly, in a span of a few months), however He touched the hearts of the generous people who made this trip possible, and whatever comes out of the three months that I will be here, I don’t really know. The new adventures that await me and the paths I have yet to take are all hazy right now. But when we come to crossroads in our lives, all we can do is have faith in His plans for us. I may not be completely certain about the future, but I can definitely be certain about WHO's in control. And looking at how things are going, I can't wait!

H O N G  K O N G  S T O P O V E R

I left Manila on May 6 at around noon and arrived in Hong Kong by 2:40PM. This was the first time I flew to Hong Kong during the day (all my previous trips were at midnight), so seeing the Hong Kong skyline from the plane was a pleasant experience. This was also the first time I was actually alone and nobody was there to meet me at the airport, so the adventure was a welcome experience. Immigration was a breeze, and since my luggage was already tagged all the way to Sydney I just went straight to the currency exchange and ticket booth. Boarding the Airport Express, I got off at Kowloon station where Tita Dig-Dig met me.

Short Hong Kong stopover

The Ellis family recently moved to a new flat, and I got to visit them during my short stopover. The Arch is very near the Harbourside (their previous building), so it’s still accessible via the Kowloon MTR station. The views from the new building are even more spectacular than their previous one, so I was very lucky indeed. We ate early dinner at their clubhouse, and afterwards Tita Dig-Dig and Alicia accompanied me to the airport (via train and bus because we wanted to try the long way) for my 9:30PM trip to Sydney.

H E L L O  A U S T R A L I A

View from the plane

I flew Cathay Pacific (both to Hong Kong and to Sydney), so I was already able to check-in and choose my window seat beforehand. For the 9-hour trip to Sydney I didn’t have a seatmate, which was good because it meant I had even more personal space. Because I only have a very vague memory of my last long plane ride, I came armed with books and other things to busy myself with. However, I didn’t have much use for them because I ended up watching The King’s Speech (finally!) and sleeping.

When I woke up in the morning, we were already flying over Australia. My first view was of some mountains, and I could hardly contain my excitement. Soon the view changed to one of houses and roads, and so I knew we were getting close. When the plane finally landed, I had such a huge smile on my face.

That smile was still plastered on my face even when I knew I had to go through Immigration. This was a daunting prospect because the Immigration officer in Manila was so strict with me, asking so many questions and insinuating so many unwarranted (and completely untrue) things. Because of this I made sure I came prepared with every proof I had to show them, because it’s better to be safe than sorry. But Immigration was a breeze. They stamped my visa and passport without so much as a question, and even when I declared a few things the Customs officer didn’t even go through my bags. That’s what you call welcoming someone with open arms.

D R I V I N G  T O  H U N T E R  V A L L E Y

One of the old buildings in Cessnock

Tita Carmen and Tito Junjun met me at the airport, and we drove to Rooty Hill to leave my things and pick up Tita Anabelle and the kids. After a quick shower and packing my overnight bag, the gang was ready for the 2-hour roadtrip north of Sydney. We drove a very scenic route along the coast, taking the F3 (Sydney-Newcastle) freeway and going westwards as we exited and drove further to Cessnock.

A small city in Hunter Valley, its old buildings (some dating back to 1908) are very well-preserved, giving Cessnock a very quaint aura. As we drove into the Pokolbin area, which is the wine-tasting region, the scenery became every more picturesque with the beautiful vineyards and wineries. 

Hunter Valley

W I N E  C O U N T R Y

The vineyards up close

McGuigan's

Hunter Valley as a place is breathtaking. As the car lazily rolled by the almost-empty streets, I swear “The hills are alive with the sound of music” was playing in my head. The neat rows of grapevine extend as far as your eyes can see, with the Brokenback mountain range in the backdrop. 

Care for some cheese?

It was a clear sunny day as well, so the whole drive was so picturesque it almost didn’t look real. That said, the Hunter Valley is most known for one thing and one thing alone: WINE. As the “wine country” of New South Wales, it boasts of around 200 wineries.

Tamburlaine wine tasting

The first winery we visited was called McGuigan’s, where we started our wine-tasting experience. We started off by tasting the cheese, as well as other spreads that they had.

We then went on to the wine, starting with the whites and moving towards the reds. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted so much variety of wine in my life, and until this day I never realized that wine is capable of having so many different flavors – some dry, some sickeningly sweet, some crisp, and some comforting.

We also visited Tamburaline to make our wine-tasting experience even more complete.

By the end of the day we’ve each had our fair share of wine (except Tito Junjun who was driving and the kids who obviously couldn’t have any). The whole trip was the perfect “Welcome to Australia” toast, and I couldn’t really ask for more.

A walk (and a welcome) to remember