Something to Wine about!
28 October 2024 / story Chris Cameron, Photos by Wendy Mulholland and Denise Birrell
Our weekend trip to Mudgee started on a damp note, with our group of 18 members in 9 MX-5’s gathering in the café at Cessnock Information Centre for a hot drink to ward off the cold. Marlene handed everyone a lovely travelling snack containing her delicious home-made biscuits and some snakes for a sugar hit, which was a lovely start to the trip. The hardier souls took a punt on a roof-down start, which lasted until Broke when ominous skies ahead saw everyone stop briefly to put tops up. But we quickly outran the rain and at our comfort stop at Jerry’s Plains, most cars reverted to top-down. A lovely drive in light traffic saw us pull in to Merriwa for lunch at the bakery – and a BIG surprise!!! Marlene had organised a HUGE PINK birthday cake for Felicity’s 60th birthday, so as well as pies and sausage rolls, we feasted on cake and sang happy birthday to Felicity, accompanied by everyone else in the bakery.
Back on the road, we headed on to Cassilis then south past the Ulan mines, arriving mid-afternoon at Mudgee and our motel in warm sunshine. After booking in, the usual suspects headed to the local BWS for liquid supplies, returning to find that Marlene and Ray had laid out snacks beside the pool for everyone to enjoy. Around 4 o’clock we packed up and headed round to the town centre for the main event of the weekend – the Mudgee wine and food festival. Armed with our tasting vouchers and wine glasses, everyone spent a happy few hours browsing the market stalls, wine and distilled spirits tasting tents, and a diverse array of different food sellers. Having been to the event before, Ray made a bee-line for tables set up in the main street and secured a spot for our group – which was a great move as it gave us a home base and a spot to stop for a rest and a chat. We were close to the action, being serenaded by various street musicians and entertainers, and stayed until the tasting vouchers ran out and the light began to fade.
After dropping our purchases at the motel, we walked over to Club Mudgee for dinner (or coffee and dessert for those who had already eaten courtesy of street food vendors) and happily whiled away the evening enjoying good food and great company.
After breakfast at one of Mudgee’s friendly cafes, we headed off in convoy to the Honey Haven for mead and honey sampling, with most of us walking out carrying a purchase of some kind. We then headed off home, traversing the scenic route along Lue Road to Bylong where we took a short comfort stop. Then on to Denman along The Bylong Valley Way for lunch. These 2 roads are notorious for potholes, but we only encountered a few sections with any of concerning size, which was good to see.
Denman pub always has tasty food and didn’t let us down despite being quite busy. Lunch over, we headed back to Newcastle along Bureen Road, the Golden Highway and the Hunter Expressway with people leaving the group along the way to return to their respective homes.
What a fabulous weekend! Huge thanks go to Ray and Marlene for putting it together and leading the runs. And a special mention to our Sydney friends Louis & Laura and Mick & Vivian who joined us for the weekend. We enjoyed your company and hope you’ll come on more runs with us in the future.
