Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 4 . NEW SOUTH WALES
include canyoning, last from 3 hours to all day and cost from A$55 to A$187.50
(US$36–US$122) per person.
ACCOMMODATIONS YOU CAN AFFORD
The Gatehouse Jenolan The Gatehouse is a clean and cozy budget-style
lodge, with a separate cottage nearby. It’s opposite the caves. The Gatehouse
sleeps 66 people in all, in seven six-bed rooms and six four-bed rooms in the
main building. The cottage can accommodate up to four couples. There are also
two common rooms, lockers, washing machines and dryers, and kitchen facilities.
There are outdoor barbecues on the premises, and apparently at least one
ghost.
Jenolan Caves Village, NSW 2790. & 02/6359 3322. Fax 02/6359 3227. 13 units. Weekend A$90 (US$59)
4-person dorm room, A$120 (US$78) 6-person dorm room; weekday A$60 (US$40) 4-person dorm room,
A$80 (US$52) 6-person dorm room. Linen rental of A$3.30 (US$2.15) per person.AE, MC,V. Amenities: Coinop
laundry.
Jenolan Caves House This Heritage-listed hotel was built between 1888
and 1906 and is one of the most outstanding structures in New South Wales.
The main part of the enormous three-story building is made of sandstone and
fashioned in Tudor-style black and white. Around it are several cottages and former
servants quarters. Rooms vary within the main house from simple budget
bunkrooms, to “traditional” rooms with shared bathrooms and “classic” rooms
with private bathrooms. The traditional and classic rooms are old-world and
cozy, with heavy furniture and views over red-tile rooftops or steep slopes.
Mountain Lodge rooms are in a building behind the main house and are more
motel-like.
Jenolan Caves Village, NSW 2790. & 02/6359 3322. Fax 02/6359 3227. www.jenolancaves.com. 101 units,
some with bathroom. Weekend A$255 (US$166) Classic, A$225 (US$146) Grand Classic, A$125 (US$81) Traditional,
A$145 (US$94) Mountain Lodge; weekday A$185 (US$120) Classic, A$165 (US$107) Grand Classic,
A$95 (US$62) Traditional, A$105 (US$68.25) Mountain Lodge. Additional person A$60 (US$39). Family rooms
and suites also available. AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; tour desk; nonsmoking rooms. In
room: TV, coffeemaker, hair dryer.
2 The Hunter Valley: Wine Tasting & More ¡
Cessnock: 190km (118 miles) N of Sydney
The Hunter Valley (or the Hunter as it’s also called) is the oldest commercial
wine-producing area in Australia, as well as a major site for coal mining. Internationally
acclaimed wines have poured out of here since the early 1800s. Though
the region falls behind the major wine-producing areas of Victoria in terms of
volume, it has the convenient advantage of being just 2 hours from Sydney.
People come here to visit the vineyards’ “cellar doors” for free wine tastings,
to enjoy the scenery, to sample the area’s highly regarded cuisine, or to escape
from the city for a romantic weekend. The whole area is dedicated to the grape
and the plate, and you’ll find many superb restaurants amidst the vineyards and
farmland.
In the Lower Hunter, centered around the towns of Cessnock and Pokolbin,
you’ll find around 110 wineries and cellar doors, including well-known producers
such as Tyrell, Rothbury, Lindemans, Draytons, McGuigans, and
McWilliams. Many varieties of wine are produced here, including semillon, shiraz,
chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and pinot noir.
Farther north, the Upper Hunter offers the very essence of Australian rural
life, with its sheep and cattle farms, historic homesteads, more wineries, and