What a cute little community. We didn't have too much time here maybe 45 minutes to grab a meal and get back on our bus for our Hunter Valley wine tour. We first sat at one restaurant and nobody even came to take her order, we are chosen this restaurant because they serve wine. So we return to the other restaurant that did not serve wine and had an amazing lunch that was brought to us very quickly. Well my friend ordered I went and grabbed a bottle of wine from the bottle shop around the corner. The bottle shop Staff was extremely friendly and help me select my wine, even offering me a few tastings to make sure I liked it before I bought it. How cool! I wish we had more time to spend here and there seem to be a lot of cute shops and things to do easily could've spent 2 to 3 hours. I know it's unrelated but being on a bus tour on a strict time schedule does not make for a relaxing day read more

Hunter Valley Gardens - Parks Near Me - Pokolbin, NSW

I can't speak too much of the gardens as I was here for the Christmas Lights Spectacular but what I did see has me planning a return visit for Spring in the new year. The lights are here for their 10th year now and I'm pleased to see the addition of rides and food stalls. Great for kids and families however I came with my partner and we both enjoyed taking photos of the lights and changing sections, ie fairy garden, candy land, story book and world attractions. The paths were rarely congested but be sure to follow the one way direction for easier flow of the crowd. Plenty of parking. read more

Presumably inspired by the Lapland New Forest Christmas Festival, the Hunter Valley Gardens christmas light spectacular was a very memorable experience. Not even in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined parking my car onto a nearby field, only to join the collective disappointment of a zombie-pack of patrons as they amble through the over abundance of tacky plastic lights unquestionably sourced from a bargain bin at the Reject Shop. Not to be outdone by Silverwater jail, HVG does their very best to instill feelings of structure and compliance, by trapping customers into an IKEA-style walking path through their advertised "immersive experience" that you are not allowed to touch by risk of electrocution and imminent death. Luckily no one in my family were left behind on the pathway because I am not sure we would be allowed to go back and retrieve them. I imagine customer service would just say "they belong to the gardens now" and then shoo me off to the gift shop. And if you don't like poor people or pensioners youre in luck, because HVG hates them too. At 30 dollars a head you can be rest assured that any Aussie battler will not be able to afford the luxury of joining the writhing procession of bodies scrambling for the perfect Instagram picture. Nor will they have to endure the "igloo", which predicts a dystopian future of arctic animals sheltering in a hurricane tent littered with plastic and pillow stuffing. Or maybe that was meant to be snow, I'm not sure. Lastly, I hope that three Christmas ghosts visit the owner of the gardens, to hopefully encourage them to make this illuminated ordeal accessible to everyone. read more

What a great little fine this was. These gardens span almost 8 kms and have something for everyone. They organise little groups on trains that go around the garden, they have a pavilion for shows and entertainment as well. We managed to fast track it through most of the gardens before the thunder and lightning struck and the rains came down but what we saw of it was crazy pretty. Mostly Camellias, roses, azaleas and petunias though so not a huge array of heaps of different types of flowers but very very pretty nonetheless. We even saw some baby rabbits hopping through (not sure if they were wanted or not). For those with kids, there are 1.5 million lights set up every Christmas (determinant on the weather) operating 6:30pm through to 10pm. Entry is about $25 for adults and half that for kids 4+. Very close to the Hunter Valley Gardens Village and Mercure hotel. Definitely worth a look see if you're in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. read more

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Every June - July school holidays the Hunter Valley Gardens have their Winter/snow festival.. It's perfect for a day getaway - it took about two hours drive from western Syd. Entry into the event is approx. $29 for and adult and $23 for kids. Family passes are available and also cheaper tix if brought online. My son absolutely loves it here! Included in the entry fee are use of the ice skating rink, face painting, man made snow and snow man making areas, jumping castles and on the weekends they have an ice sculpture. If your looking for a snowy winter experience - but can't get to the mountains then this will satisfy your snow man building urges.. read more

Came here during Christmas period and they had Christmas lights up. Very pretty during the night! Fun place for both kids and adults.

Honestly so much fun , kids can go on rides while adults can eat and drink on the tables looking at good views , also the lights at night were amazing read more

HVG A wonderfully thought out garden, easy to walk well sign posted a floral tribute to all who love gardens. If your not into the wine that much and have a few hours to kill, head of the Hunter Valley Gardens. read more