Hawkesbury and Hunter Road Trip

Day One: Sydney to Windsor: 57 km
Highlights: Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail

Day Two: Windsor to Hunter Valley: 196 km
Highlights: Wollemi and Yengo National Park

Day Three: Hunter Valley Wine Country: full day
Highlights: Visit some of the 80 boutique wineries, play a ground of golf at Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club, Walk around and enjoy the Hunter Valley Gardens

Day Four: Hunter to Sydney 158 km
Highlights: Hot-air ballooning with Balloon Aloft, join a dolphin watch cruise on the calm waters of Nelson Bay before continuing your journey back to Sydney.

Day One: Sydney to Windsor: 57 km
From Sydney, head northwest towards the town of Windsor, gateway to the Hawkesbury. With its meandering rivers and historical townships, the Hawkesbury offers rural charm just an hour from Sydney. Drive the Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail and discover Sydney's rural treasures. If you love country touring, sampling fresh, seasonal produce and discovering locally made arts and crafts, then the Trail is bound to please. On the trail are growers, artists, crafts people, historical sites, wineries, restaurants and unique accommodation all committed to providing consumers with access to the best that Sydney can produce. Discover a gourmet goat cheese or native foods. Taste local wines or just-picked oranges and apples; why not pick-your-own? The Farm Gate Trail offers you the chance to taste, buy and learn as you explore Sydney's rural heartlands.

Day Two:  Windsor to Hunter Valley: 196 km
This morning take the Putty Road, which is part of State Route 69 out of town towards Putty. The picturesque Putty Valley winds its way between the hills and the surrounding bushland of the Wollemi and Yengo national parks. Pre-European settlement, the valley was home to the Darkinjung Aboriginal people. It is thought the name Putty derived from the Aboriginal word which sounded like 'Booty' or 'Parbooty' and was understood to mean 'place of plenty'. The area is rich in Aboriginal and cultural heritage. Carry on down Route 69 through Howes Valley. As you leave the national parks you will come to Milbrodale, Broke and Cessnock in the Hunter Valley. The Hunter is Australia's oldest wine-producing region and is now home to a wide range of holiday experiences from golf to gardens and food and wine.

Day Three: Hunter Valley Wine Country: full day
Today you might like to pamper yourself with some of the Hunter's renowned luxury day spa and beauty treatments. Alternatively, you could visit some of the 80 boutique wineries on a wine tour, visit the Smelly Cheese shop, play a round of golf, or enjoy a walk around the Hunter Valley Gardens and its 25 hectares of display gardens. You could even take in a cooking class at the Hunter Valley Resort Cooking School.

Day Four: Hunter to Sydney: 158 km
Time to leave the vineyard-covered valley and drive down the coast towards Sydney. Don't forget to pick up a souvenir bottle of shiraz or semillion and maybe some cheese before you go. Take State Route 82 from Cessnock to the Pacific Highway and then follow this south, crossing over the mighty Hawkesbury River, on your way to National Freeway 1 and Sydney.