Loka: Stop 1: Barrington Tops

I checked out of the hostel at 7.30am to get to Wake Up for an 8am departure. I didn't realise it was actually just a five minute walk, but I wasn't the first to the Loka Bus. I rocked up and met our driver, Wes, dumped my bag in the trailer, and headed to 7Eleven for a cuppa.

The weather had been terrible since I'd got to Sydney on the Friday, but hopefully the rain would stop the further up the coast we got. Typical, I had waited for cooler weather and just got warm rain. We managed to get out of the CBD and onto the highway before the downpours.

My first Loka Bus was called Danny and there were twenty-one of us that would be travelling together for the next few days at least. Starting from the front of the bus, we had:
- Naomi (Dutch)
- Elle (English)
- Emily (German)
- Sinead (Irish)
- Emma (Irish)
- Guro  (Norwegian)
- Isabella  (Dutch)
- Koen (Dutch)
- Frederico (Italian)
- Dylan (Spanish)
- Mart  (Dutch)
- Mike (English)
- Debby (Dutch)
- Julia (German)
- Tobias (Swedish)
- Sofia (Swedish)
- Celine (Danish)
- Hannah  (English)
- Bart (Dutch)
- Mieke (Dutch)

I was sat next to Isabella and Guro and we enjoyed a lovely chat about where everyone had been so far etc etc. We all gradually fell asleep, there wasn't much out of the window to enjoy. The rivers and lakes we passed all looked so high, I was doubtful we'd even make it to Barrington.

After a stop off to buy some lunch (turkey baguette for me), we were in the Hunter Valley. Here, we had a chance to enjoy a wine-tasting at one of the top vineyards in the region.. Hope Estate. Obviously, I was not going to be drinking any wine, that would be a nightmare for everyone! I enjoyed some fresh cold water while the others sipped on the four chosen samples.
After the tastings, we were allowed to explore the venue. They often held weddings and parties, and the night before had had an 80s concert outside. The room was massive, if a little dark, I imagine it would be lush on a sunny day. I loved seeing the giant barrels that completely random celebrities had signed, you had the King of Sweden alongside John Cleese...

A quick fuel/wee stop, and a few more naps, we made it up to Twistops Retreat. Here we met Will and Rach and were given a tour of our home for the night. It was a 300acre farm with cows, horses, chickens and a reluctant farm dog called Oaky.

We settled into our rooms, I was in the smaller 6-bed dorm next to the window, and the chickens. Unfortunately, we couldn't go tubing down the river, something we'd all been quite looking forward to. We could go for a walk down to the bank to check it out though. Until then we just chilled, shared stories and hoped the rain would hold off all night.

The sun made an appearance as we made our way down the hill to the river.  It was still pretty muddy and I was so glad I'd opted for trainers. I couldn't believe just how high the water was, and how fast it was flowing. Looked pretty dangerous, I didn't fancy my chances. We took a really nice group photo to remember that time that we could have tubed, if the weather had been better.

On the way back we took a detour up to a fancy view point up the hill. This was a tad steep and slippery, and I very nearly didn't go up. The promise of no steps had me climbing up the hill. The view was pretty good, you could see the rolling hills and the surrounding farmland. It was quite moist up there, but it still hadn't rained so we were lucky.

Back to the hostel, it was dinner time! Freshly prepared pizzas cooked in a pizza oven? Yes please. They were something else! We couldn't quite work out a system though. To begin with we had one pizza on each table to share, then both pizzas would be placed on the pool table to grab. Being further away from the pool table, we didn't like this method all that much, we couldn't get to them in time. Next, Wes found it hilarious to see us all standing around the pool table, ready to pounce on the next batch. We were like vultures!

I was so full of pizza I could barely move. This was the case for most of us, so we sat and chilled for a while and the drinks started to flow. I enjoyed a lovely cup of tea, cementing the stereotype. When the drinking games began, me and Naomi found it much more fun to watch Married at First Sight. What made it funnier was that we had to rely on subtitles, so made up voices for each of the contestants. Great fun.

After a quick 3min shower, they relied on a tank so we couldn't be too long, I got my pjs on. Looking up at the night sky I was lost for words. I knew I wanted nothing more than to lie and star gaze for the remainder of the evening. Myself, Mieke and Celine tried to find a good spot to park ourselves. The trailer was taken and the tractor didn't look that comfy so we grabbed blankets and lay them on the gravel driveway.

The blanket of stars were beyond stunning, I don't think I have ever seen so many. We did have some clouds try and ruin the party, but they didn't hang around long. The more we lay there, the more magical the sky became. Guro joined us and, once the outside lights were off, we could see even further. I'm pretty sure we even saw the edge of the Milky Way. The night was abundant with shooting stars, flashing across the sky so fast I barely had time to think of a wish.

I climbed into bed with a massive smile on my face and fell asleep almost immediately.

~

I was one of the first awake this morning and was amazed by the view. There was a magical feel about the hills laid out before me. The clouds were so low and the sun was trying to peep out, splattering sunlight in random directions. Gorgeous. I enjoyed my cuppa and wheetabix staring across the valley.

Once we were all packed up and had settled our bills, it was time to leave. Will had suggested feeding the cows on the way out, something I was definitely up for. There were only four of us that actually clambered out of the bus to hand feed the cows. They were surprisingly cute and seemed very happy to have some fresh grass to munch on.

On to our next destination, our last long drive of the trip. We all wished and hoped and prayed for better weather. We'll see if it works...

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