Four Ways to Experience the Hunter Valley – Wellness
Four ways to experience wellness & wellbeing in the Hunter Valley
The Hunter Valley’s wine and food options will have your mouth watering, but its impressive wellness offerings will help keep your mind and body balanced, too.
Here are four ways to embrace wellbeing in the Hunter.
Stay at a health retreat
Healthy, wholefood-based meals (but no vino, sorry) are on the menu at Elysia Wellness Retreat in Pokolbin, along with a wide program of daily activities, whether your goal is to get a little fitter, counteract all that Hunter Valley food and wine, or simply relax.
Rise with the sun to do tai chi overlooking a hill of lavender, take a Pilates, yoga or meditation class, or swim lazy laps. There are plenty of high-intensity options, too – from cardio boxing to deep-water running. Indulgence is just as valued as activity here, so take advantage of the spa’s extensive menu of massages, steams, facials and body treatments, including the signature watsu (shiatsu in a heated pool), guaranteed to induce a deep state of relaxation.
Indulge yourself
Chateau Élan at The Vintage is an award-winning resort and golf club, but it also includes a fabulous spa, which offers luxuriant facials and mud wraps. There’s a hydro lounge and deck with mountain views, where you can extend the spa experience by ordering a glass of bubbles and dipping into one of two Jacuzzis.
At the boutique Spicers Vineyards Estate’s Spa Anise, treatments include aromatherapy massages, a full-body treatment and the spa’s very apt signature treatment – “vino therapy”, an anti-ageing facial that utilises extracts of shiraz.
If you’re visiting with a partner, try the three-hour treatment in a private couples’ suite at Ubika Spa. It includes a body exfoliation, massage and facial for two, along with a bottle of wine.
Feeling too cosy in your accommodation to leave? Book a therapist to come to you. Heavenly Hunter’s therapists offer a variety of massage styles, but specialise in the Hawaiian therapies of Lomi Lomi and Kahuna.
Get active
Saddle up for an escorted trail ride through the region’s undulating countryside with Hunter Valley Horses or grab a map and go further and faster on a Sutton Estate electric bike.
Off-road enthusiasts might like to hire a mountain bike and ride the Old Great North Road. Built by convicts to connect the Hunter to the north in 1836, it’s part of the Convict Sites of Australia World Heritage Area.
For a different kind of experience on wheels, try a stand-up Segway tour. Following a short lesson, you’ll set off in a group with a guide, detouring down scenic back roads, spotting wildlife and winding up with a tasting in a local winery.
At Hunter Valley Resort, there are plenty of options for outdoor adventures, including horse riding, electric bikes, Segway tours, wine barrel rolling and even grape stomping during the harvest season.
Or enjoy a round of golf at one of the Hunter’s immaculate courses – Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club, Chateau Élan at The Vintage and Hunter Valley Golf at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley.
Immerse yourself in nature
Lace up your walking shoes and hit the Yengo walking trail, a former loggers’ track in the Yengo National Park. A 6km loop, it traverses time-worn sandstone bluffs and bush, including a small section of rainforest with red cedars.
Grab some legendary local produce and enjoy a picnic at tranquil Lake St Clair at the foot of Mount Royal Range or at Bimbadeen Lookout, or drink in the spectacular views with a glass of wine at The Narrow Place lookout.
Wine is also an option at the end of a Yoga in the Vines session, with a tasting accompanied by cheese at the winery where the class takes place.
