Hello there!
Having completed my earlier travel posts on several interesting countries and regions, including Japan, Maldives, Indonesia, US, Europe and the latest one being New Zealand, it's time to fly over to Australia!
Australia is a country that I have been to twice in my life. The first time was to Sydney in 2009, and the second time was to Melbourne in 2011. And I realised that's 14 years since I was last there! Anyway, time to relive those moments as I share the sights and sounds of my experience!
Here are the posts so far:
Australia - The Amazing Views At Sydney Harbour Bridge
Australia - Admiring The Sydney Opera House
Australia - Exploring The Sydney Beaches
Other than within the Sydney city itself, there were also attractions and places of interest that were a few hours' drive from the city. One popular place would be the Hunter Valley Gardens. By the naming, it's mainly a garden and I thought it was an interesting place because it was very different from the ones we visited in the city, be it the beaches and the skyscrapers.
After a few hours' drive, we were here!
After a few days of city life, this looked like a great way to soak in some nature vibes, get some fresh air, and escape from the bustling pace of life. Hehe.
The gardens were very well maintained and every plot and patch of greenery were so neat.
Just like most gardens, there were many types of plants, be it trees, or flowers, and people who are into botany would love this place.
There were rows and rows of these paths - sometimes I felt like I was walking through a garden maze. Would I be stuck within? Lol!
There were some resting areas for tired visitors to get some rest. We happened to visit during the Christmas period so there were Christmas decorations being put up.
Another section of the gardens, which had the zen vibes. I could just sit here and chill the afternoon away.
There were also interesting structures within the gardens and this one is called "Expressions Of Love". I thought it also provided an additional dimension to the visitor experience as looking at the endless rows of greenery can get a little monotonous after a while.
More Christmas decoration!
We chanced upon a look out area so obviously we had to make our way up!
Hmmm the view from the top looked a bit underwhelming actually. Haha.
Santa Claus and more Christmas decoration!
Then we walked to an area called "Story Book Garden".
I didn't have any much expectations but I had a lot of fun looking at these familar "story books" and it really brought back childhood memories - I am sure you can identify some of this childhood stories from the books or the exhibits! The photos definitely didn't do the place justice and I really enjoyed myself here!
Finally, we came to the photoshoot moment, because this was the place which most people would take photos to depict the beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens. And of course, I should snap one too!
And the highlight marked the end of our visit to the Hunter Valley Gardens. For me, I enjoyed the visit because unlike a typical garden, there were interesting activities to engage in, and these elements were seamlessly incorporated within the nature and greenery. So it felt like I was both soaking in the nature vibes and also doing some sightseeing as well. After the visit, we also visited wineries and had some cheese taking, as both these activities were popular within the area as well, before heading back to the city!
And that's all I have today! Have you been to Hunter Valley Gardens or Australia? Let me know in the comments below!
Finally, thanks for reading my post in the community under World Map Pin!