Cedars Mount View, Hunter Valley: Cosy among the gums

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This was published 12 years ago

Cedars Mount View, Hunter Valley: Cosy among the gums

Hidden valley ... Cedars Mount View is tucked away but within reach of wineries and a highly rated restaurant.

Hidden valley ... Cedars Mount View is tucked away but within reach of wineries and a highly rated restaurant.

Bruce Elder stays at a timber cottage surrounded by bellbirds and eucalypts.

This is the Hunter Valley - but not as we imagine it. This is cool, dark, tree-change territory, with kangaroos, bellbirds, eucalypts in a peaceful valley - not vineyards, sleek cellar doors and chic eateries.

After driving for about five kilometres on the Wollombi Road south of Cessnock, you turn west at Bellbird, head up Kendall Street, which morphs into Bimbadeen Road, rise higher and higher into the hinterland and then, on a winding dirt road, drop down into a narrow valley beyond the mountain range.

Although, in theory, Cedars Mount View would be ideal for people wanting to spend a weekend poking about the wineries of the Hunter Valley, it is really a destination designed for people who want to unwind and do absolutely nothing at all. It is sufficiently far away from the cellar doors (9.2 kilometres from Bellbird, 14 kilometres from Cessnock and 23 kilometres from Pokolbin) that a visitor could set aside a day to explore the wineries but would not opt to visit the Hunter heartland if they intended to stay only a few hours.

Cedars Mount View has five one- and two-bedroom cottages within a 40-hectare property in the valley of Cedar Creek - The Vue, The Terrace, The Ridge, The Gums, The Creek - and each cottage is located to maximise the setting (all are surrounded by stands of gums) and rustic privacy.

We book into The Gums, a two-bedroom cottage capable of sleeping four. The all-timber cottage is sublime, with views to a meadow, a dam and a very narrow valley with a helicopter landing pad mowed into the grass.

There are verandahs on both sides of the cottage with deckchairs positioned for relaxation. The front verandah has a double-plate gas barbecue. And that reminds me: as you are some distance from shops, make sure you stock up on provisions if you're staying for a few nights. The cottage is fully supplied for breakfast but not lunch or dinner.

The open-plan living area has timber floors scattered with umber shag rugs. There is a small, freestanding gas fireplace; an entertainment centre including Bose audio equipment, a large flat-screen HD TV with access to a complete suite of Foxtel channels; a generous built-in day bed with pillows, positioned under the large picture window; two- and three-seat leather sofas; a glass dining table with four chairs and a well-equipped open-plan kitchen with refrigerator, microwave, electric oven, gas cooktop and dishwasher.

The bedroom has a comfortable queen-size bed, built-in wardrobes and sliding glass doors to the front verandah. We booked as a couple so the second bedroom is locked.

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The en suite bathroom is spacious and, because of the cottage's isolation, has large windows facing a stringybark forest. One bathroom window becomes a large mirror at night. There is a double spa bath, a substantial shower and a freestanding wash basin.

There is meticulous attention to detail. The booking comes with a detailed list of the breakfast ingredients that will be available on arrival, with the addendum: "We are happy to supply preferred bread and milk types so please let us know your preference; otherwise, we provide full-cream milk and white bread." Make mine Lite White and wholegrain, please. There's a vegetarian breakfast available, or some particularly excellent bacon in the non-vegie breakfast. This is the kind of choice and care that separates good accommodation from great accommodation.

There are dining recommendations, too, and we find Bistro Molines sensational. On Mount View Road, an eight-minute drive from Cedars, the serried rows of the Tallavera Grove Vineyard, in which Bistro Molines is located, make this southernmost end of the wine region look more like Tuscany or southern France than Australia. Both the cellar door and the restaurant have terraces positioned to look over the vineyards.

The 2011 Good Food Guide awards the restaurant 15 out of 20 and one hat. Like so many country restaurants, the meals are huge. The duck ($41) comprises two large pieces of perfectly cooked Hunter Valley bird on a bed of red cabbage with subtly spiced orange sauce. The hand-cut pommes frites with sea salt are so substantial, you'll be inclined to walk the seven kilometres back to Cedars. As for the vanilla-bean panacotta with fresh berries, it's a perfect complement to a gorgeous view - part European but distinctively Australian, with every ridge edged by eucalypts.

VISITORS' BOOK

Address 60 Mitchells Road, Mount View, Hunter Valley.

The verdict A perfect place to unwind in an idyllic bush setting, surrounded by Australian wildlife.

Price From $415 a night for The Creek (sleeping three couples ) or The Gums (sleeping two couples) to $550 a night for The Vue (sleeping one couple). This includes breakfast provisions. Mid-week tariffs are cheaper.

Bookings Phone 4990 9009, see cedars.com.au.

Getting there Mount View is about two hours' drive from the Sydney inner city.

Perfect for Relaxation in style in the bush, or as a weekend base for a day of wine tasting.

Wheelchair access Yes.

While you're there Go bushwalking; spend a day in the Hunter Valley; dine at Bistro Molines, 749 Mount View Road, open Thursday-Monday for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday. Bookings for the bistro are essential. Phone 4990 9553.

Weekends Away are reviewed anonymously and paid for by Traveller

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