Today we travelled to Denman, about 100 k’s northeast of Newcastle but first it was a quick visit to Morpeth with Mark & Lorraine.

Morpeth is a lovely little heritage town in the Hunter Valley. With a lot of Antique and specialty shops, just perfect for Grey Nomads. Whilst Mark and I tested the beers at the Micro Brewery the girls did their thing. We enjoyed lunch with one of the “special locals” in the Cafe next to one of the Antique shops before checking out the Gallery and Lilly shop. The Gallery had some great pieces of Aussie art at some hefty prices tags as well. Plenty of fabulous pieces around the $30,000 mark, right up to $75,000. Not something I expected to see when we came in.

We left Mark & Lorraine at Kurri Kurri and headed on to Denman. We had a great time with them both in Bonny Hills and in Newcastle. After 20 years, Susan finally got to met them, funny how quick time goes by. We look forward to catching up with them in Be Brave during our travels in future years. Thanks guys we had a great time!

The drive from Kurri Kurri to Denman was only 100 k’s but it took us thru some interesting countryside. Plenty of Coal mines but 2 particularly large horse studs that are owned by Robert Sangster and the Gondolphin family, pretty significant enemies in the horse racing world. The Sangster property had its own airstrip which is not unusual but it was not a grass or dirt strip, it was fully tarred with a concrete apron. No mucking around here.

Denman is a small town, a couple of pubs being the main calling but surprising it has 3 cafes as well. We are free camping in the compound of the Royal Hotel for tonight before we’re off to Dubbo and the Zoo tomorrow.