It was off to an early start for me this morning. Leaving Bec at home in the van with the dogs, I drove the hour or so across to the Williamtown RAAF Base and Newcastle Airport. No, I wasn’t going to the airport because I had had enough and was preparing to fly home. Rather I was visiting ‘Fighter World’, a museum dedicated to the display of all things relating to fighter aircraft, particularly those that have served with the Australian forces.

Fighter World hanger.

The main hanger.

Spread across 2 hangers, the main space had a dozen or so jet aircraft, ranging from a De Havilland Vampire to a couple of Mirages. Set among the aircraft were a number of other interesting displays. I was particularly taken with the 6 barrel gatling gun (or cannon to be correct) which is normally found in an F-18 Hornet fighter. Press the button on the display board, and the barrels start to rotate at a fearsome speed, whilst the sound effects make it easy to imagine the hot 20mm chunks of lead spewing out at a rate of 6000 rounds a minute. Awsome firepower.

Another highlight was the 2 cockpits, which are set up to allow visitors to sit in them, getting a first hand look at what it’s like to be in the hot seat. The first was the cockpit of an Aeromacchi jet trainer, whilst the 2^nd was a Mirage cockpit. I nearly taught a few kids the principle of an ejection seat, when they wouldn’t get out of my way and let me have a play. How very dare they make me wait my turn. Having sat in both, I am amazed at how tight a fit they are. My knees were especially thankful that we were staying firmly put on the ground, as I could only imagine the trauma that they would experience during a turbulent flight. All hard surfaces and acute angles, one would have to be very careful during flight not to sustain an injury. And that’s even without someone else trying to shoot you out of the sky!

The second hanger held a display of World War II era fighters, although they were mostly replicas. The contrasts were obvious between the jets and the props, but there was a certain romanticism about the old war birds. I could almost see Douglas Bader hobbling down from the Spitfire with a cheery “How are you old chap. Be a good fellow then and mark me down for another two now would you? And put a brew on while you’re at it.”

Unfortunately I had timed my visit poorly, as if I had been able to hold off a few weeks, I would have been able to view the museums latest acquisition, an F-111. This new display will shortly take pride of place in the museum, for all to admire up close and personal. Hmm, I wonder when we’ll be back up this way.

Back at the van, I found that Bec had also been busy. She had got all of the washing done, in several very small loads, considering the washing machine we have in the van is rated to only 3Kg. We’re used to an almost industrial 10Kg unit at home, so we have to really plan our washing days with a fair bit of care. In between hanging out the laundry on our miniature clothes line, which is perfectly matched in size to our washing machine, Bec had been running around cleaning and washing everything she could find. I came back to a spotlessly clean and tidy home, only to cook up a storm for lunch, leaving a mess behind me as I twirled through the van like a whirlwind. Oh, now I get why she was pissed at me. Oops, sorry.

After a quick lunch, we bundled the dogs into the car and headed out for an afternoon in the hills of the Hunter Valley wine region. Being that we are staying not more than 10 minutes or so away from some of the areas finest wineries, we thought it would be iniquitous of us not to visit at least a couple.

Our first stop had not only wines to taste, but also a range of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Whilst the wines didn’t take our fancy, the caramelized balsamic was divine. I just wish we’d though to ask the price before getting the girl to wrap it up. $22.00 for a bottle of salad dressing. For $22.00 I want the whole bloody salad, preferably served with a side of steak!

Now that’s what I call a bottle of wine.

The next stop was at the Hunter Valley Village, a quaint little group of stores that brought to mind an olde English village. Selling all manner of hand made goodies, crafts and knick-knacks, we wandered around taking it all in. Running a little short on time, we decided not to have a look around the gardens, which are set on 25 acres and feature 8Km of walking paths through more than 6000 trees, 600000 shrubs and 1 million ground covers. Certainly a garden not for the feint hearted.

From the village, we made our way to the Hunter Distillery, which produces a range of organic Vodkas and vodka based schnapps and liquors. We found the ginger vodka to our liking enough so that we walked out with a small bottle to enjoy at our leisure.

The Hunter Valley Cheese Factory was the next stop, where we treated our taste buds to an array of locally produced cheeses. Despite my preference for a harder cheese, I found that the washed rind semi-soft cheese was my favorite. Bec on the other hand likes the soft cheeses, and yet also found herself leaning towards the washed rind. So we added a half a round of that to out pantry, along with a small tub of pate for Bec.

By this stage I was wondering if maybe the Australian currency was undervalued in this region. Yes, it’s a tourist area, and yes the produce is fresh, organic and probably gone through plenty of other new age processes, but it’s all a little too rich for my tastes.

This didn’t prevent us from making one final stop at another cellar door. Another cellar door, another bottle of wine, or in this case two. I bought a bottle of deliciously fruity Pinot Grigio to drink with dinner, and Bec got a bottle of terribly sweet, but utterly delectable Botrytis Semillon.

It was time to head back to the van by this stage, to take the dogs for another walk, prepare dinner and get ready to settle in for the evening. We had a few things that needed doing, in preparation for tomorrows travels. We are on the road again, heading further north, towards Tamworth.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.