This is the last leg of our Australia trip, in the past two weeks we spent 7 days in Gold Coast, then flown to Sydney for and stayed for a week. In the final 3 days, we visited Central Coast, the Hunter Region and Newcastle.

We started driving in the morning from our apartment in Sydney CBD. It took us around one hour to reach our first destination in Gosford, Central Coast.

Chocolate Factory Gosford

This is probably the best place for me to purchase some gifts back home. Typically, most of the snacks I purchased at overseas airport, outlets or in supermarket are already available in most shops back home. However, this factory’s chocolate are delicious and unique, and is not available in other shops or supermarkets.

There are a variety of chocolates and biscuits available in the shop. They also run a factory tour every Friday – unfortunately we couldn’t make it on that Friday. We did however get a glimpse of the factory through the window, which satisfied our curiosity.

There is also a cafe located on the back of the shop for people who wants to fill up their stomach. Given we were short of time, we skipped that part. We managed to purchase several boxes of chocolate for our friends and family.

Accommodation – Hunter Region

We then head straight to the Hunter Region by driving on the M1 Motorway. It took us another hour to reach our destination. The house was exceptionally beautiful. This is the first house in our trip, as the cost of renting an apartment was a lot cheaper on Gold Coast and Sydney.

It is very important for us to get at least some memories for living in a house, and this one did not disappoint. It is located at the heart of Cessnock – the main town in the Hunter region. Our place is very close to Hotel Cessnock, there are many shops, restaurants and supermarkets nearby, which is very convenient for us to find supplies.

Our favourite part of the house is definitely the large garden, which provide us opportunity to exercise and stretch our muscles. Another important place in the house is the kitchen, it was fully equipped with really good design. I can imagine if I have my own kitchen in the future, I will love to have something similar.

Binnorie Dairy

After arrived at Cessnock in the afternoon, we decided to visit Binnorie Dairy as there was still time before the 5pm close. The cheese manufacturer is located north of Cessnock, and it only took us around 10 minutes drive to get there. They have many different kinds of cheese, and provide us free tasting for different flavours such as Brie, Labna, Marinated Fetta, Herb Fromage, etc.

We were able to pass by their cheese factory and had a glimpse of their manufacturing operations. We managed to purchase some cheese from the shop and use them for our dinner flavouring.

It is also a good idea to have a walk at the beach before sunset and take pictures. We didn’t get a chance to have a swim or even have a dip in the ocean waves as the water was too cold in winter.

During night time, if you head along Cavill Ave, there are live music and street performances which made the environment feel incredibly vibrant.

Hunter Valley Gardens

Hunter Valley Gardens is around 15 minutes drive up north from Cessnock. We wanted to explore different Garden styles, especially during a beautiful day. Once arrive, we parked the car very close to the garden entrance, parking is free for all visitors.

At the time of writing, garden entry cost AU$39/adult, and AU$31/child. They also have family passes available, for example, a family of 2 adults and 2 children cost AU$107. You can pre-purchase the tickets on their website. We decided to purchase upon entry, given that we want to flexible schedule, and it was on a weekday, and expected no crowds.

Given that our visit was in winter, there weren’t as much flower as we would have like. I do advise it’s a better idea to visit in spring or summer. Nevertheless, we did enjoy our visit, many of these gardens were carefully planned and very well maintained.

There were almost 10 different kinds of garden for us to visit. Our kid’s favourite would be the Storybook Garden – it has a variety of gardens with classical fairytale story themes such as Alice in Wonderland, Mary had a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Jack ‘n’ Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle, and Hansel & Gretel.

The other garden I wanted to visit was the Rose Garden. Unfortunately there were no roses in winter, so hopefully my next visit will be a different season. Other gardens that are worthwhile to visit include Indian Mosaic Garden, Chinese Moongate Garden, Italian Grotto, Oriental Garden, Sunken Garden and Border Garden. We spent around 3 hours getting through all the gardens. Any garden lovers would probably able to spend an entire day there.

There was also a small theme park near the Storybook Garden, the one that stands out was the ferry wheel. Unfortunately they did not operate during weekdays so I could only take a few photos. They normally operate on weekend or on special occasions such as Christmas Day.

After our visit, we found out that the Hunter Valley Gardens has a small shopping village nearby, we took the car and drove for 2 minutes to reach the shopping village carpark. There were around 10 different shops, and most of them sells different kinds of souvenirs.

Nearby, there was also an Aqua golf driving range, along with a Putt Putt golf area. Given that my family is not really into golf we skipped the place. However, it could be fun for any golfer to try it out.

Hunter Valley Horse Riding & Adventures

Hunter Valley Horse Riding & Adventure takes around 20 minute drive north of Cessnock. There is free parking on the farm. The farm offers horse riding for visitors, but we passed the opportunity as I think it was too pricey for a 30 minute ride of AU$80.

Instead, we spent most of our time visiting farm animals, especially the ponies, given that it not easy to find them on a typical farm. We were given a lot of food (hays) to feed the animals at a cost of AU$10. All the animals in the paddock were really gentle, and we really enjoyed the experience.

From their website, it described on the possibility to experience yabbying on the dam. Unfortunately it wasn’t available during the winter season. Instead, we decided to spend the rest of our time playing pedal go-karts. A word of caution – make sure to ask the staff to inflate the kart’s tyres, otherwise it’s almost impossible to pedal across the sandy road.

Escape Reality

Given our two daughters wanted more challenge after breaking through their escape game in Sydney in just 35 minutes, I decided to book a more difficult one in Newcastle – we are a team of bank robbers trying to steal the world’s most valuable diamond in a bank. The room was really spacious, and we thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

There were a total of 7 different themes available, each theme has different skill levels requirement.

We managed to scrape through the game in 45 minutes. Afterwards, we managed to take some photos at the bar downstairs.

Treetops Adventure Central Coast

This was the last leg of our trip to Central Coast, and also the last day in Australia. Having some fun with rope climbing and ziplining would be the ideal finish for our memorable trip. Treetops Adventure Central Coast is located west of Wyong, around 1 hour drive south of Cessnock and north of Sydney.

Unfortunately we only have enough time for one activity only given that we need to catch a flight home, so we would try the Zipline Course only, given that our girls already tried various treetop course in Europe, but rarely experience ziplining.

Given that it was on a Saturday, I already made a booking on their website for the Zipline Course to avoid the queue. Riding the Zipcoaster cost AU$42/adult and AU$36/child, a family pass of 2 adult and 2 children cost AU$148. It takes around 1 hour to complete the whole session. However, if you have an extra 3 hours, you can do both the Treetop Course and Zipcoaster, which cost AU$84/adult and AU$69/child, which family pass at a cost of AU$315.

For the one hour session of the Zipcoaster, it includes a briefing session and taking the riding gear up to the top of the hill. You get a maximum of two zipline rides, which is already enough, given that we already spent most of our energy by bring our heavy equipment up the hill.

It was a great experience on the final day of our trip!