This is the ultimate experience for those who want to connect with the provenance of their food and wine.
Enjoy a guided tour of the Margan vineyard, farm, winery and restaurant. Meet at the cellar door then stroll past the olive trees to the Kitchen Garden. Walk the rows of produce and learn how Margan manage the garden using organic principles.
Next, meander through the orchard, meeting the local girls (chickens) and across to one of the sustainably farmed vineyards. Your guide explains the focus on regenerative farming and commitment to sustainability. On to the winery to taste a few unreleased wines straight from the tanks and barrels. This is hungry work, so your experience culminates in the acclaimed restaurant with the signature Farm to Table Tasting menu. Enjoy with (optional) Margan wine matches or purchase some to take home and enjoy.
Muloobinba/Newcastle based artist Dan Nelson is known for her luminous paintings. She sometimes thinks of them as light-filled rooms — spaces that both artist and viewer can enter and experience.
Her series Sun Room follows this idea, bringing together works that mediate between inner and outer worlds with brightness and hope. The paintings wander between still life and landscape, offering the viewer solace and replenishment.
Free Art Sunday activities are designed for kids of all ages and, as a family, you can all join in and get creative. Each activity takes around half an hour to complete.
Art Sunday is staffed by Art Tutors who encourage parents and children to add to their experience of the gallery by accessing hands-on art-making activities in a family-friendly environment.
All materials provided! No bookings required!
Please note, children cannot be left unattended during Art Sundays.
Art Materials generously provided by CleverPatch.
Art Sunday is made possible with the support of MRAG Members.
Growing to Glass is Hunter Wine Lab's most immersive winery experience, taking visitors behind the scenes at a boutique, family-owned working winery in Pokolbin.
The experience begins in the vineyard before moving into the winery to explore how grapes are grown, processed, fermented, matured, and transformed into finished wine. Guests are guided through the working winery, with the opportunity to taste wine directly from barrel where suitable wine is available.
The experience concludes with a guided tasting of up to eight Hunter Wine Lab wines, giving visitors the opportunity to connect what they have seen in the vineyard and winery with what is in the glass.
Designed to be relaxed, informative, and approachable, Growing to Glass is ideal for visitors wanting to understand more about winemaking and experience a genuine working winery in the Hunter Valley.
Art and Dementia sessions are creative and social visits of exhibitions specifically designed for people living with dementia and their carers. The friendly facilitator uses works of art as a trigger for conversation and self-expression, guiding people through art-making activities in a friendly and supportive environment. The dates below relate to the Community Day program for group visits monthly on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.
Bookings are essential - please contact the Gallery.
Group sessions are also available for people living in care facilities. Please call the Gallery to make a booking.
Start your day in the charming heritage village of Morpeth, where you'll have free time to explore at your own pace before boarding your cruise. Wander through the historic streets, browse boutique shops, enjoy a coffee at one of the local cafés, or simply soak up the relaxed riverside atmosphere.
After your time in Morpeth, board your vessel for a scenic cruise along the Hunter River to Newcastle aboard Bay Connections 1. Sit back and enjoy the peaceful journey downstream, taking in beautiful river views, wetlands, and local wildlife along the way.
On arrival into Newcastle Harbour, enjoy a brief opportunity to take in the waterfront surroundings before continuing your journey.
From there, relax as you are transferred directly back to Morpeth via included coach return—making it a seamless, easy day out with no need for arranging your own transport.
A guided fragrance journey in the heart of Morpeth.
Hosted by UAINE's experienced chandlers and fragrance connoisseurs, enjoy an immersive fragrance journey where you will:
Explore your fragrance preferences and find their hidden origins.
Discover your unique fragrance profile through a personalised evaluation.
Unwind, relax and learn something new about your sense of smell and the magic of scented soy candles.
Take home a goody bag with your individually curated UAINE candles.
In this informative session, learn about the core ingredients of fragrance, the important differences between candle waxes, and the impact that candles and fragrance have on your environment, health and emotions.
Browse the UAINE Candle Cellar Door and discover why UAINE is one of the fastest growing candle manufacturers in Australia.
Come celebrate the opening of Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi and Mimili Maku Arts: Tjilpi munu Pampaku Tjukurpa Kunpu Kanyintjaku: Holding the Tjukurpa of our senior men and women strong.
Celebrating a decade of Tarnanthi, the nationally acclaimed festival of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia, Too Deadly brings together more than 30 groundbreaking works by artists from across the country.
From monumental installations to works of profound cultural significance, this landmark touring exhibition showcases the ingenuity, diversity and creative vitality of contemporary First Nations art.
Mimili Maku Arts: Tjilpi munu Pampaku Tjukurpa Kunpu Kanyintjaku: Holding the Tjukurpa of our senior men and women strong
Based in the Aṉangu community of Mimili in South Australia's APY Lands, Mimili Maku Arts has supported artists to sustain and share cultural knowledge and artistic practice for over 20 years. Featuring works by founding artists alongside recent works created during bush camps, the exhibition marks the public launch of Alpiri Kuwari, Mimili Maku Arts' Living Cultural Collection. This significant artist-led initiative celebrates cultural authority, reciprocity and the importance of keeping stories and cultural knowledge connected to artists and Country.
Where millions of lights create Australia's most magical Christmas wonderland.
Step into a world where Christmas magic comes alive after dark. The Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular returns as Australia's biggest and brightest Christmas Lights display, unveiling enchanting new realms, including the shimmering Celestial Snowfields, the sweetly spiced Gingerbread Way, and an expanded Planes, Trains and Automobiles precinct filled with colour and festive charm.
With millions of dazzling lights, immersive walk‑through displays, live entertainment, rides and festive treats, the Gardens transform into a wonderland that delights all ages.
From snowy surrounds and twinkling trees to candy‑coated laneways and Rudolf skiing, this Christmas experience is made for making memories, sharing photos, and returning year after year.
Hailed as 'one of the most dazzling performers to emerge on the fringe circuit', Marcel Cole gives a 'stunning one-hour treatment' to the extraordinary life and career of the greatest physical comedian of all time.
After selling out in Adelaide and Edinburgh in 2025, the award-winning fringe sensation about the life of Charlie Chaplin is coming to the Upper Hunter in 2026.
Using mime, clowning, projected story cards and audience participation, Marcel Cole tells the remarkable story of Charlie Chaplins life and career - all in the style of his films!
A rare show for young and old alike.
Created and performed by Marcel Cole.
Recommended for 8+ but suitable for all ages.
This show is part of the Alive in the Upper Hunter Program, proudly supported by the NSW Government and brought to you by Arts Upper Hunter.
Based in Gumbaynggirr Country in Nambucca Heads, Jack Hodges is interested in the way local culture and quiet assumptions of power can influence our daily lives. He does this through introducing his character Gary the Dolphin in a series of recorded vox-pops on the streets.
Gary is a central figure in Jack's work, a laid-back human-porpoise hybrid, embodying the existential paradox of freedom and in 2026 Gary comes to the streets of Maitland. Through conversations in the community, Gary reveals how personal beliefs meet public conversation — what gets spoken, what stays quiet, and who sets the limits of what's acceptable.
Tarnanthi is a national festival of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art presented by Art Gallery of South Australia in partnership with Broken Hill Propriety Company Limited and with the support of the Government of South Australia, assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program. Since 2015, Tarnanthi has established itself as a nation-leader in showcasing the nuanced complexity and ingenuity of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
Too Deadly presents major highlight works of artistic excellence from a decade of Tarnanthi festivals, with more than thirty ground-breaking works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the country.
This national touring exhibition features innovative, significant and memorable works, some of them conceived specifically for Tarnanthi. Several are monumental in their scale, others are immense in the cultural importance of the stories they tell. All reflect the creative vitality and adaptive genius of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
Marthaville Arts and Cultural Centre plays host to a wide variety of events, exhibits and activities including Wine Country Bear Club and Floral Art workshops. Marthaville Guildry has operated since 1996, displaying for sale a wide range of arts and crafts made by residents of the Cessnock area. The building is available for community groups and personnel.
Marthaville is the oldest timber sawn home in Cessnock and still retains many of its original piers, which have been treated to resist the ever present danger of white ants and borers. Under the galvanised iron roof, timber shingles can still be seen especially under the edge of the eaves near the ramp access point. Three of the rooms have retained their original fireplaces and cedar mantelpieces.
Bhutra Spa Thai Massage Cessnock Hunter Valley offers a personal sanctuary of tranquility nestled in the heart of Cessnock, Hunter Valley. More than just a spa, it serves as a peaceful retreat where the ancient art of Thai massage is practiced with deep care and respect.
Visitors are invited to step away from the everyday and embark on a unique journey toward inner harmony. Thai massage at Bhutra Spa is a holistic experience, delivered by skilled and compassionate therapists. It combines rhythmic compressions, gentle stretching, and mindful breathing to release deep-seated tension and restore the body's natural energy flow. Guests leave not only relaxed but profoundly refreshed and renewed.
Whether in the Hunter Valley for a wine tour or a leisurely escape, Bhutra Spa's treatments provide the perfect way to unwind and complete the experience. The spa prides itself on creating a serene and welcoming atmosphere where guests can truly let go. With expert hands guiding each session, individuals discover a state of profound relaxation and a renewed sense of balance and well-being.
Bhutra Spa believes in the power of touch to heal and rejuvenate, helping guests feel revitalized and ready to embrace the world with renewed energy.
Already enjoyed a tour of the many wineries in the Hunter Valley? Why not give yourself a refreshment and revive with a relaxing massage?
Thai Nature Massage is located in Cessnock, just 10-15 minutes drive from the beautiful Hunter Valley, Pokolbin, Lovedale or Rothbury.
At Thai Nature Massage, they are proud to precent you the best Thai Therapeutic Massage offering in a variety of massages such as aromatherapy massage, deep tissue massage, traditional Thai massage, remedial massage and body treatments.
Their experienced and well trained massage therapists will help you revive from a long trip to Hunter Valley and give you a refreshment before heading to your next destination.
Holistic health and wellness business. Connecting the mind, body and soul through meditation and movement. Empowering people to be healthy, happy strong and the best version of themselves from anywhere in the world. Creating a community of Heart, Health and Happiness.
Yoga is a practice that is meant to address the mind. Any kind of yoga practice, mantra chanted, ritual or asana. There is a reason for them all. How it's connected to the mind. The mind that is standing in between our true selves.
Yoga is a practice that empowers one to overcome the obstacles of the mind. For the purpose of self-experiencing its own true nature.
PCYC Cessnock is a new state of the art facility located in Cessnock. They deliver recreational activities to approximately 1,500 children each week in local schools. Currently, 14 local schools participate in their sporting schools program either at the club or at their school.
They offer 35 different programs with 27 activities at the club each week and are soon to introduce four new activities.
Some of the activities include Kindy gymnastics, Gymnastics, Trampolining, Over 55 group fitness, Boxing classes, Music lessons, Table Tennis, Archery, Creative craze and Lego classes. As well as recreational sports aerobics, Indoor netball competition, drop-in soccer as well as a weights and fitness room. They also run a Safer Driver Course and Traffic Offenders Intervention Programs. They are the only PCYC in the state to have an indoor skate park. They are the only PCYC in the state to have an indoor rock climbing wall 18 metres high and are also the second highest in the state outside of PCYC.
The Rally School team is made up of professional and experienced drivers, many of whom are previous rally winners! They'll show you everything you need to know about the vehicle you're driving, to ensure a safe, but fast, ride. Plus, there's the option of a hotlap, where you get to ride in the passenger seat while your instructor blasts around the track.
Visit Hunter Valley Wildlife Park for an Animal Adventure you'll never forget!
Hand feed wallabies and kangaroos, deer, camels, and feed and pat their furry, vivacious farmyard friends. You might even be lucky enough to have a lorikeet land on your shoulder for a quick chat as you walk through the Lorikeet Aviary. With three walk-through habitats you'll have plenty of opportunities to get closer to the animals.
For the most interactive animal experience, have a next-level encounter with some of the world's most incredible species. Guided by a Hunter Valley keeper, you'll step into the animals' enclosure and allow the animal to interact with you at their choosing. You'll learn about their natural habitat, vulnerability, and unique characteristics in an experience you'll never forget.
There's so many creatures to meet – you'll need to take a moment to recharge at the Hunter Valley Wildlife Park Safari Cafe.
Don’t be put off by its name, because Deadmans mountain bike loop offers a fun and active day for the whole family. Set out from Astills picnic area on this easy, flat ride, flanked by ironbark, spotted gum and flowering shrubs.
Whether you travel on mountain bike, foot or horseback, be sure to stop and examine the bush around you. You’re likely to see some rare birds nesting and feeding, like speckled warblers, black-chinned honeyeaters and grey-crowned babblers. Cockatoos, magpies and kookaburras can also be seen along the track.
In spring and autumn, flowers like purple happy wanderer, yellow hairpin banksia, red mountain devil, and the lovely purple thyme honey myrtle splash colour atop the lush greenery.
Astills picnic area is the ideal place for a feed. It's rarely busy, and the picnic tables let you sit and take in the surroundings, with plenty of open grassy areas for games or chilling out.
Towering trees soar above you, so tuck yourself under the shade while reading a book. In spring, you'll see lovely heath flowers like purple happy wanderer, yellow hairpin banksia, red mountain devil, and the pretty purple thyme honey myrtle.
After lunch ride the bikes around Deadmans mountain bike loop, an east 8km ride through Hunter Valley bushland. On a sunny winter's day, rug up, pack the thermos and enjoy the amazing variety of birds from the comfort of your eucalypt canopy. Owls, speckled warblers, black-chinned honeyeaters, grey-crowned babblers, and serenading kookaburras, will keep you company.
Your only opportunity to fly in Australia's rarest war birds. Experience the thrill of a lifetime with an authentic war bird military experience flown by an experienced RAAF or Ace aerobatic pilot!
Twist and turn and feel the G-forces with an aerobatics ride, duck and weave with Top Gun fighter tactics, or just enjoy the sights of Newcastle beaches and the beautiful Hunter Valley from smooth wings-level flights to extreme maneuvers.
At Ubika, their philosophy is to sow the seeds of your physical, emotional, and spiritual growth, nurturing them to full bloom.
Drawing inspiration from the changing seasons, their natural surroundings, and the demands of modern life, they have curated a Spa menu designed to hydrate, nourish, restore, and regenerate, allowing you to thrive.
The Ubika Day Spa menu offers a diverse array of therapies for both men and women, aimed at rejuvenation and restoration. Whether you seek an invigorating body scrub, a deeply relaxing back massage, or a results-driven facial, their treatments cater to your needs.
Their offerings are centred around the essential elements for growth: hydration, nourishment, restoration and regeneration.
From tee off to the final putt, you'll be in awe of Hunter Valley Golf Club's unparalleled natural beauty. A must-play destination for golfers of all levels, this 71-par course is an ideal addition to bucks trips or the centrepiece of golf group getaways. With discounts for locals and Stay & Play packages, there's always something in full swing here.
