Are you feeling wound up? Frustrated? Need an outlet for any number of feelings? Well Sutton Estate is the place you need to go in Pokolbin to smash some wine bottles and plates and throw a nice, sharp axe at a wall.
It was a rainy Sunday afternoon when my boyfriend and I decided to drive out to beautiful Pokolbin for lunch at the Lovedale Smokehouse and drop into Sutton Estate for some time in the Smash Room and try our hand at Axe Throwing.
Glenn and Phillippa Sutton started Sutton Estate in 2012.
“We started out with just the property and accommodation and then we got a few E-Bikes for the guests, then the Wine Escape Room about six years ago, the Smash Room in 2021, Axe Throwing in 2022, the Chocolate Escape Room last year, then the Mixed Reality VR and… watch this space!” teased Phillippa.
“It has been so popular, who would’ve thought – it’s really good, we get to see so many nice people and everyone has so much fun.
“People are looking for activities to do while they’re out here in the Hunter Valley, it’s nice to add it into your day and do it with family and friends.
“Our mission is to make sure everyone has a great time in the Hunter Valley Wine Country region, and we design our experiences around this mission.”
Sutton Estate is right in the heart of wine country just off Deasys Road.
It’s a beautiful estate and probably the last place you think you’d find axe throwing and a smash room!
We started with the axe throwing. Sarah the axe-pert gave us a lesson and a safety demonstration and then we got stuck into half an hour of throwing.
I should’ve known Morgan would upstage me, based on my lack of coordination skills, and so he did! It was much harder than I thought but once you get the hang of it, throwing an axe was very satisfying when your it hit the target and got stuck!
After half an hour of practice, the game begins. Everyone keeps track of their points across several games and the two highest-scoring players battle it out in the final to be crowned the Uncorked Champion and win a bottle of wine.
I managed to get the bullseye once, which was not enough to win but luckily for me I benefited from the prize anyway!
Next, we headed into the Smash Room…
This activity required a costume… some red overalls, gumboots, neck scarf, glasses and a hard hat.
Sutton Estate collects empty wine bottles from wineries all over the Hunter Valley to use in the smash room – each person gets a milk crate full of empty bottles and a couple of plates to smash.
You get a plate before you go in too – on that one you write down your frustrations so you can throw them at the wall in the Smash Room.
It was incredibly cathartic.
I picked a song that I wanted to smash my bottles and plates to and into the Smash Room I went. You can simply throw the bottles at the wall or use any of the weapons on the wall – a hammer, a crowbar, other metal instruments and mallets – to break your bottles and plates.
It was awesome, I felt so much lighter when I walked out!
It’s amazing what 10 minutes of breaking stuff can do to calm your mind…
| If you are looking for something to add to your Hunter Vallet adventure, book in the Smash Room, Axe-throwing and more: https://www.suttonestate.com.au/ |
