We were still hanging round when the stomp was being held in Cessnock. Now for me ‘A Stomp’ was a dance. You stomped up and down as if you had ants in your pants and you waved your arms around as if those ants were biting you. Yep it was popular for a time. Anyone could do ‘the stomp’ and still look like they knew how to dance.

This stomp was to celebrate the crushing of the grapes. We decided to take the courtesy bus from Potters pub, which was in walking distance from the van park. The pub had an old 1949 Ford Ute in the bar. It was the first Ute built in Australia. The story goes a farmer sent a letter to the Ford Motor Company of Australia requesting a truck that could be used for light duties on the farm then be comfortable enough for the family outings.   The designer chose the front half of a sedan and then added the small end of a pickup truck to the back. And the rest is history. Even I could appreciate the magic of the car.

We didn’t have long to wait. It was a good decision, to take the bus as the place was packed. So much easer that trying to find a parking space when you don’t know the area.

At the Stomp you could purchase a wine glass and 10 tickets for $15. Each ticket gave you a sample of 30mls. (Although most stalls gave you a small sample for free.) We only purchased one glass, as 30 ml was plenty to share. We had been in the hunter valley for almost a month so I was pretty much tasted out.

I was surprised with how long the stomp was.   Two blocks of the main road had been blocked off to cater to all the stores. Wine tasting stalls mixed with market stores giving a lovely display of colour.

There was a bouncy castle and pony rides for the children as well as a little carousel. There were seats in front of a group playing Country and Western music for that moment of relaxation. The men weren’t forgotten as there were some shining new cars for them to look at.

One of the stores named Bubbles sold only champagne or should I say sparkling wines. (Champagne can only be called champagne if it is produced in the champagne region of France. A perfume company tried to put out a fragrance called champagne once. That wasn’t even allowed.)

To advertise the ‘Bubble’ store there were two people on stilts walking around blowing bubbles everywhere. The store was also selling food so we stopped for lunch. Adrian went off somewhere else to get a glass of wine. Not a good look sitting in a Champagne tent drinking a glass of red wine. Good thing no one seemed to care. We chose Oysters and an anti pasta plate, very nice.

Some of the shops along the street had opened. We walked into several and I found it funny but the ones that were the busiest were the charity shops. The little old ladies were run off their feet. I guess everyone loves a good bargain.

The day was packed with fun. The local bank had their mascot walking around. There was a Mad Hatter’s tea party with the Mad Hatter himself along with the mouse being there to help run it. Loved the costumes.

Zookeepers from the Hunter Valley zoo brought a baby croc and what look like an albino snake to help advertise the zoo. The children and adults were thrilled. I almost had to push my way though children to take my photos.

Lovely day. By the end of the day we sat and waited for the bus back. We were tired little stompers.