Travel: Phil up and see the roos

HUNTER VALLEY, AUSTRALIA

BUY a liquid souvenir when you combine a visit to long-lost relatives in Sydney with a tour around Australia's oldest wine- producing region.

It's easy to see how those relatives got lost - spending years in the sunshine happily sipping wines from the Hunter Valley. The Hunter is a peaceful retreat a two- hour drive north of Sydney. The landscape resembles the Derbyshire Peaks, but with the added interest of 100 wineries...and kangaroos.

"We take wine seriously, but not too seriously...just drink it and enjoy it," says Phil Johnston, who runs wine tours and wine appreciation classes at the Hunter Resort, the largest winery in the Lower Hunter Valley.

Phil's tastings are renowned for making mini-experts out of those who can barely tell a shiraz from a chardonnay.

Spend the rest of your days in the Hunter Valley recovering around the pool and listening to parrots or taking a stroll to spot kangaroos bouncing over the hills.

HOLIDAY INFO: Travelmood (08705 001 002 or www.travelmood.com) have a 10- night holiday before June 11 (book by the end of this month) with seven nights' hotel accommodation in Sydney and three nights at the four- star Hunter Valley Resort for pounds 839pp. The price includes flights from Heathrow plus four days' car hire.

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