Cessnock & Elton John at Tempus Two (the flying trip that wasn't)

[Mazda]

Mr & Ms Mazda had tickets to see Elton John at Tempus Two in the Hunter Valley, so why not go by air? After all, Cessnock aerodrome is just down the road.

 

Unfortunately the weather forecast put a stop to that. A tempo of broken cloud at 1,000 feet, plus a forecast of thunderstorms and poor visibility, was not encouraging. So we decided to drive because we had to get there!

 

I still thought you might like to see this as a trip report because it would have been extremely aviation friendly.

 

There is a motel right on the airfield at Cessnock and that is where we stayed. Had we managed to fly there, we could have just carried our bags from the tarmac straight to the hotel. Fantastic.

 

The "Hunter Valley Accommodation Centre" was a very basic motel but perfect for pilots flying in. There is a small pool and a laundry. The room was clean, the bed comfy, the very reasonable room rate included breakfast (cereal, toast, fruit, juice, tea, coffee) and best of all the window looked right over the runway at Cessnock! Had we flown there we could have seen our aircraft right from our room window. That photo of the airport below was taken through the window of the motel room.

 

A bus seemed to do regular stops in the airport/motel car park and the driver advised that he was running a shuttle to the event. So again, had we flown there we could have been picked up at the airport/motel.

 

Dinner was available at Tempus Two but thinking it would be too busy we drove into town and ate at the local Indian Restaurant. We were a bit short of time to make the last bus so we left exactly 12 minutes after entering, having ordered and eaten a curry in some sort of speed eating attempt.

 

We jumped on the bus and headed off to the concert. We could have eaten there, it wasn't nearly as frantic as I thought it would have been. So it would have been fine if we didn't have the car to go into town.

 

Oh, Elton John wasn't bad either.

 

Back to the motel by bus, and back to Sydney in the morning.

 

If anyone is planning to go to any of the concerts at Tempus Two, maybe you could keep this in mind. You won't need a car at all. The Crowne Plaza is across the road from the airport if you prefer something up-market to the motel at the airport.

 

Perhaps we could arrange a fly-away to Cessnock some time? There is a horse and carriage that does an all day vineyard tour, with wine and cheese tasting, lunch etc. $75 pp for a picnic lunch, $85 for a restaurant lunch. Maybe we could fly up there, do something like one of these tours, stay overnight at the airport motel and fly back home the next day?

 

This is my first attempt at uploading pictures so this may or may not work!

 

 

 

 

 

[Matt]

Great story Maz, even if there wasn't any flying involved! You've given us a new entry for our "places to fly to" list and the idea of an overnighter with tour, dinner etc. sounds great. Might have to arrange something for the new year.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

 

Oh, and the pictures worked great ;)

 

 

[Mazda]

Thanks Matt! One thing I forgot to mention is that there is also a cafe at the airport, at the visitor centre near the main road. I only looked at it when we left and it hadn't yet opened (normal hours 9 am to 5 pm every day). It could be a Wollongong alternative!

 

 

[Guest brentc]

I was reading elsewhere how Elton's private Jet attempted to take off from Brisbane on the taxiway, that is until the controller told them to stop. Would have potentially made a huge mess if he kept on trying and the controller hadn't noticed. He was in a very nice Gulfstream.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

If you wander over to the other side of the airfield you will find the Rec flyers based there. best to order food with your tickets. the only complaints i have are the ticket prices.

 

ozzie

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Great report. Thanks for sharing ;) I have been told about this place by someone else and it is something Emma and I have on the 'to do' list. Winery tour sounds good. Cheap for the horse and carriage too. Incidently, Eltons aircraft was HB-IKR. Some probably useless info for you

 

 

[Ultralights]

ahh tempus 2, fantastic japanese restaurant there as well

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

One thing i enjoy during summer in the vineyards is the outdoor cinema. very enjoyable.

 

Ozzie