Day Tours, Hot-Air Balloon Rides & Other Fun Stuff

If you don't have a car, you'll have to get around as part of a tour, because no public transport runs between the wineries.

Trekabout Tours (tel. 02/4990 8277) offers half-day and full-day winery tours for a maximum of six people. Half-day tours cost A$35 (US$28/UK£14), with visits to five or six wineries; full-day tours cost A$45 (US$36/UK£18) and take in up to nine wineries, mostly boutique ones. The company can pick you up from your hotel in Cessnock or Pokolbin.

Also offering local pickup is Hunter Vineyard Tours (tel. 02/4991 1659), which has a full-day tour on a 12- or 21-seat bus, taking in five wineries. It costs A$50 (US$40/UK£20), or A$74 (US$59/UK£30) with a two-course meal.

A tranquil way to see the wineries is from above. Balloon Aloft, in Cessnock (tel. 1800/028 568 in Australia, or 02/4938 1955), offers year-round dawn balloon flights that include postflight champagne and optional breakfast costing A$16 (US$13/UK£6.50). Flights last about an hour and cost A$280 (US$224/UK£112) for adults and A$170 (US$136/UK£68) for kids ages 8 to 12.

If you like adventure, try Grapemobile Bicycle and Walking Tours (tel. 0500/804 039 in Australia, or tel./fax 02/4991 2339. This company supplies you with a mountain bike, helmet, guide, and support bus, and takes you on a peaceful meander through the wineries. Tours cost A$98 (US$78/UK£39), including lunch in a restaurant. The firm also rents bicycles -- A$22 (US$18/UK£9) for a half-day and A$30 (US$24/UK£12) for a full day.