Oh it was a nippy night in the campervan, but we woke up feeling really excited about the next leg of the trip. Now it was Nat's turn to take to the wheel , and she was pleased to discover it wasn't nearly as hard as Bret had made it look. (Shhh!)

We meandered up the valley road, to enjoy the last of the Blue Mountains scenic drive as it led us north around the range. Once we cleared the valley the homemade banana bread, that Niv had sent us on our way with from Sydney, was the perfect brekkie and we dived into a tourist information centre to use their toilets and brush our teeth… classy.

From here, we headed to Govetts Leap lookout, where the views are stunning straight from the carpark. Why oh why we didn't just leave it there, we don't know. Instead we decided to go on an hour long walk to get a closer look of the Bridal Veil Falls. An hour, you say? That's not far? Well it involved lots of steep paths, and the heavens opened when we were half way… Still, the rainfall did mean the waterfall was all the more impressive. And, it didn't take long for the shower to pass so we were cranking up John-o's air conditioning as we finished the Blue Mountains drive.

We then headed East to the world-renowned wine region, Hunter Valley. The sat nav took us through a scenic road through an apple growing region. There were enough orchards to supply an army with apple pies. It's been a while since Bret's been able to satisfy his apple a day regime, so he bought a huge bag full of juicy red ones to load up the van with - and we stopped off at a gorgeous little road-side café for a yummy apple pie too. It was such a beautiful spot with the sun shining brightly over the autumnal trees.

As we were driving further on the way to Hunter Valley we came across some more Ozzie wildlife. Alas, still no Skippy though… instead Bret was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid a huge dragon-type lizard crossing the road. It was at least two metres long covering half of the road in front of us… (Although it all happened too fast for us to get a photo, so you'll have to take our word for it!)

Anyway, by the time we reached Hunter Valley, the dense forestation had cleared to sprawling vineyards. The scenary took our breath away, as we worked our way through the region in the late afternoon sun.

In need of a hot shower, we pulled up at a YHA hostel on the edge of the valley's teeny town and pleaded with staff to let us park in their carpark. They agreed, so for just a few quid we had somewhere to park and were able to make use of their barbeque and facilities. Now, the sun is setting and horses are grazing in fields beside us as we scoff burgers on a wooden veranda and plan where to go tomorrow to get a taste of what this wine region has to offer. It shouldn't be too hard -we just have to play lucky dip with the countless cellar doors. Oh, it's a hard life…