NSW Holidays: The Exclusive Mystery Travel Experience For Food & Wine Lovers

We love a '90s revival — scrunchies, bike shorts and claw clips being some of our favourites. But a recent revival of the mystery holiday concept may be the best resurrection to date. In some very welcome news, this wildcard holiday concept is back, thanks to Wonderlust Escapes, and they're ready to rescue busy Australians from the everyday grind. 

The idea is simple: choose your travel style (laidback luxury, adventurous or foodie-focused), set your budget, dates and preferences with a simple questionnaire, and then sit back and wait until your itinerary arrives in your inbox. From there, you can approve your package, pay a deposit and find out where you're heading one week before you leave. 

Naturally, we had to give it a go. To help inspire your next winter getaway, our Sydney Content Producer — Olivia Storrie — took a mystery trip to Mudgee with Wonderlust Escapes, where a surprise holiday was curated for her by the team.

Here, Olivia shares what she sipped, where she stayed, and what she loved most about her trip.

My NSW Mystery Holiday: A Surprise Itinerary

As an adult, few experiences possess the magic, pure delight and anticipation of a Christmas morning or a best friend's party. All-expenses paid holidays are a thing of the past and surprises — not the kind that turn up in the mail and want your money — are few and far between. But a recent trip to one of New South Wales’s most charming country towns changed all that for me.

When I received my itinerary from Wonderlust Escapes just a few days before the trip, my heart did a little flip. Hello, excitement! Where have you been? Not only was it not over-scheduled (something I am exceptionally proficient at) but it included experiences I’d likely have failed to book in time if the planning was left down to me. 

My NSW Mystery Holiday: Friday Afternoon

Evamor Valley

According to our itinerary, we didn’t need to check in until 3pm so it was a leisurely drive out to Mudgee where we discovered our home for the next two days at Evamor Valley, a 34 hectare property boasting six luxury glamping eco tents. Thrilled is an understatement. The holy grail of accommodation extras — firepit and hot tub — were ours. Our tent came prepared with Leif body products, a cosy king bed, and all the soft blankets you'd need for a winter weekend in the country. 

Despite the fact that my husband had tucked into the morning pastries without allowing me a chance to capture content for the ‘gram, it was a great start. We’d zipped around our tent, taking in all the little details and within five minutes had a fire started and were toasting marshmallows (thoughtfully provided in our stash of supplies).

Exclusively Mudgee

An incredible sunset then descended which was punctuated by the delivery of a cheese board and a private wine tasting by Steph of Exclusively Mudgee. Steph specialises in private tastings which she hosts from the comfort of your accommodation. It was an absolute delight to indulge in her small-batch selections, all the while sitting by our toasty fire, knowing that we didn't have to move for the entire evening. 

As for the cheeseboard, impeccable. Steph pointed out every ingredient and filled us in on its origins. From the pistachios to the marinated fetta, everything had come from within a 10km radius — a foodie's dream come true. After an hour of chattering, we were left with four bottles to polish off across the coming days. Dinner? More cheese, of course. 

My NSW Mystery Holiday: Saturday

Mudgee and Gulgong

Waking up with a free morning is a pure delight so I was glad we didn’t have too much scheduled for the day. Despite the fact that we had hours until our lunch reservation, we got up at 7am to tuck into the thoughtfully curated breakfast spread that was left in our fridge. Fresh fruit, pastries, yoghurt, milk, fresh bread, jam, honey and bacon and eggs were all ours to enjoy.

From there, the world was our oyster until lunch. This block of free time allowed us to discover and cruise through the old gold miners town of Gulgong where we wandered through the Henry Lawson Centre and chatted with friendly shopkeepers while browsing their wares. On our way back through Mudgee, we stumbled upon Mudgee Makers' Market where we stocked up on a pet nat we had tried the night prior, Irish beers and more cheese to take home.

The Zin House

The real highlight of the trip for us, however, was rolling up to our reservation at The Zin House, a farm-to-table restaurant owned by Lowe Family Wines. After entering via the kitchen garden as requested, we were seated in a sunny spot by the window and treated to a welcome glass of house-brewed cordial. Easing our usually decision-fatigued minds, the six-course degustation began. Oh, what a treat.

House bread, warm olives from the garden and greens picked minutes before we arrived were brought our way. This was followed by charred cos lettuce, pasta pappardelle with pine mushrooms, fig leaf brie in honey, quince tarte tatin and plenty of other impeccably presented dishes, each ingredient either from the garden or locally sourced.

After the three-hour sitting, we were pleasantly full and incredibly satisfied after having eaten every morsel that came our way. This one meal managed to connect us fully to the place we were in and leave us satisfied in a way that a day well spent only can. We'd ticked the foodie preference and the trip had well and truly delivered. 

Evening plans? We had none. Again, an unexpected delight. We popped ‘home’ to set up our wood-fired hot tub and spent the evening reading by the fire like we were in some kind of alternate reality where time moved slowly and life is easy. A true holiday. Feeling a little peckish we zipped into town for a quick beer and smokey bbq burger from 3 Tails Brewing. A satisfying end to a wonderful day.

My NSW Mystery Holiday: Sunday

While we’d had some lunch reservations made for us we decided to head home early to allow for a slow afternoon, harnessing the cruisey energy that we’d been able to allow for during this much-needed break and mystery trip. As we drove out of town, covered in croissant crumbs from Althea’s buttery bad boys, we were feeling exceptionally content. 

My NSW Mystery Holiday: The verdict?

Being an over-planner and serial scheduler, I was a tad hesitant about embarking on a mystery trip. But the physical and mental break that it allowed for is something I can well and truly get behind. Would I embark on a surprise NSW holiday again? Yes, yes, a resounding yes. I don’t think you’ll find me in Europe next year. Where will I be? I’m not quite sure yet. 

Enjoyed getting the lowdown on this NSW mystery holiday concept? Glean some more weekend getaway inspo from our guide to 48 hours on the central coast and this wrap up of NSW's most romantic escapes.