To appreciate just how small this winery is, this is the extent of its vineyard. The owner took us personally through his wines, and in the end we bought a couple of bottles of shiraz, semillion, and a vibrant rose (stocking up for next summer).
In the meantime, the beagle (who went along with us) had other ideas – getting acquainted with the bull in the vineyard.
You won’t win this battle, beagle.
Our destination for the day was the village of Wollombi, on the southern boundary of the Hunter Valley. The village itself was rather cute, if not quite peaceful due to the proliferation of weekend motor bike riders, but being wine drinkers we wanted to explore a winery. We found one in Wollombi Wines.
A pair of old Morris Minor utes declare that this isn’t a big place, and indeed the cellar door was simply a little cottage. As for the little utes, they appear to be in good nick.
BB and I took a drive through the Central Coast hinterlands the other week and I’d like to share a little of it with you. It might have still been relatively warm by the water, but in the hinterland around Somersby there was still some autumn colours left.
It is almost bedtime, and the beagle spends her final moments meditating… in front of the heater.
It wasn’t too long before I entered Magome. By this stage I was photo’ed out so shamefully I haven’t got a good shot of the town. However, I managed to take a shot of this just to show how far I’d walked that morning.
Thanks for journeying with me once more!
In the village, I spied an obaasan (a mature lady) in her garden. She seemed to be sorting something.
What was she sorting? Perhaps these (rather picturesque) black and white beans that were in baskets all around the village.
I finally entered a village – the first on the Magome side of the pass. The homes are built in the same way as the one on the other side, and all neat and tidy, showcasing a wealth of autumn blooms.
These were particularly vibrant, and kind of appropriate considering the season.
One can’t go very far in Japan without stumbling on a shrine or temple. I stumbled on a little shrine beside the trail through the woods. The shrine itself was only a non-descript torii and an altar with some small offerings. What fascinated me the most was the washing trough nearby, which featured a very ornate dragon’s head.
The trail eventually emerged from the woods. And what did I find? That will be in my next post!
Near the top of the pass was a pair of waterfalls not too far apart from each other. The glade is cool and damp, and being still early-ish in the day, I had the waterfall all to myself.
I passed through more mountain villages, each one sleepier than the last, and at a higher altitude.
The path then ducked back into the woods as I approached the summit of the pass. It was autumn, and although there were plenty of evergreen pines one can’t escape the flame-like glow of Japanese maples.
Static and Silence 