Your mate’s getting hitched – well, that’s awesome! So, what to do to celebrate and give him a memorable transition from bachelor to hubster?
Here’s seven awesome bucks night or bucks weekend ideas to keep all sorts of bachies entertained.
1 :: Pretty fly for a soon-to-be-married guy
Experience the great outdoors with fly rod in hand and wading boots on.
Book a guided day out with local fly-fishing expert, Angus Reynolds. Angus is one of the guides at Haul Fly Fishing and knows all the best spots to find trout locally.
Follow a day of fishing up with some awesome food + beers – kick back at the Royal Hotel and order the Rump or the Scotch Fillet, kickarse Chicken Parmie or a Classic Burger.
Fishing. Tick. Meat. Tick. Beer. Tick.
2 // Good old boys drinking whisky and rye
Hey, there are some kickarse distilleries and breweries in the Highlands.
Joadja Distillery has whipped up some pretty amazing spirits and Renegade Spirits is the new-ish kid on the whisky block!
If you like your brewski’s, head to Wyadra Brewing [their beer is only made from rainwater!] and Eden Brewery.
We recommend you hook up a private tour or van with one of our local operators and lock in a few private tastings and visits with lunch at The Highlands Taphouse in Mossy, before heading to Eden Brewery for paddles of beer and some Boozy Burgers deliciousness.
If you’ve got a few gin connoisseurs in your crew then make the next stop at Millsheds Distillery for a group gin blending experience. You’ll even get some bottles to take home as a little souvenir of the day, nice!
Then finish off with a night cap at Aspinalls Whisky Bar & Lounge where the fellas can choose from a whisky menu boasting over 100 premium labels from across the world.
3 // Straight down the middle
There are stacks of awesome golf courses dotted across the Southern Highlands and whoever said “golf is a good walk spoiled” obviously never spent the morning playing 18 holes at Bowral Golf Club.
Considered one of the best country courses in NSW, it has a cracking view from the club’s deck for post-round festivities! Get a round in first thing, then relax with lunch from the club’s bistro.
Base yourself at Berida Hotel – it’s just around the corner from the golf course – and after golf and lunch, settle in to their onsite bar Gin Trading Co before dinner next door in Bistro Sociale.
Follow that up with a pub crawl down Bong Bong Street – you’ll hit The Bowral Hotel, the Royal and the Impy [in that order!].
4 // Get on your bikes and ride!
If pulling on the padded pants and firing up the Garmin is your bachie mates idea of fun, then base yourself in the southern village of Bundanoon for the weekend.
Check in to the Bundanoon Hotel and explore the local area on your bikes. Wingello State Forest’s single tracks are back up and running for all your mountain biking pals.
Penrose State Forest is an easy 15-minute ride from Bundanoon. While it doesn’t have as many single tracks for the mountain bikers, it has loads of gravel riding and fire trails to explore.
Follow up your ride with a night at the Bundy Hotel and a recovery lunch in the beer garden [and in the warmer months, hit the hotel’s swimming pool!].
5 // Get your crackerjack on
Robertson Bowlo is a great place to hang with a group of mates for some green action during the warmer months.
Grab some snacks from the bistro and settle in for an afternoon of beers and bowls.
Head up the road to Roberston Public House for sundowners and a feed – we reckon the 350g Maugers Sirloin should do the trick!
6 // Shootin’ the breeze
Spend the afternoon at the Berrima Clay Target Club. They happily host bucks groups.
Base yourself in the town of Berrima and head to Berrima Vault House for something awesome to eat. The menu at Taylor’s Crown Inn at BVH is awesome. Settle in by the huuuge outdoor fireplace, order up something heart and delightful and maybe try to keep room for dessert. It’s a great place to kick back, have a few laughs, drink good wine [or try the cocktails too – they’re reaaaalllly good] and eat kickbutt food.
Then cross the road to the always popular Surveyor General Inn for some quiet nightcaps.
7 // Going bush
If going off grid and getting back to nature with the boys is how the groom relaxes, there are plenty of awesome camping spots in the Highlands to escape to.
Combine a night in the bush with a gravel ride. There are some great places west of the Hume out towards Canyonleigh.
Give the team at The Fixed Wheel a call or drop into their store in Bowral for some more info and get kitted up while you’re there too!
8 // Unleash the inner lumberjacks
Could the act of throwing axes at a target to score points be any more quintessential bucks party?
And you can do just that at Highland’s Hatchets in Mittagong. Book a group axe-perience for a 2-hour session with their certified axe-throwing instructors.
Afterwards, head next door to Eden Brewery to discuss all the hits [and misses] from the session over a couple of brewskis. Don’t forget to grab some epic burgs from Boozy Burgers to replace all those axe-throwing calories your crew just lost.
9 // It’s Wine O’Clock
Another awesome thing about living in the Highlands is how many top-notch wineries we have around. Book your crew in for a tour with Vino Rosso Tours and let them take care of all the rest.
Or if you’re more of a DIY groomsman then check out our list of local wineries here. We recommend Bendooley Estate in Berrima and Cherry Tree Hill Wines in Sutton Forest for a start.
And if you need to be ferried around [probz a good idea if a few beers, wines, ciders and bourbons are on the agenda], here’s a list of local transport companies to help you out!
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