Hunter Valley holiday travel diary
Last month Easylink went on its first holiday! Read all about it in our travel diary.
Day One
Excitement is in the air as customers embark on Easylink’s 2022 Hunter Valley holiday. Pick-ups begin mid-morning as two buses with 20 customers and 5 Easylink staff members head north.
The drive up the highway is the first time many customers have left the Northern Beaches since before the pandemic. To break up the drive, we stop off at Cowan’s famous ‘Pie in the Sky’ café where we stretch our legs and enjoy some lunch. Then we are off again, this time our Easylink drivers take the scenic route west of the highway, and we meander through the countryside, taking in the vast bushland.
We arrive at Wine Country Motor Inn in the mid-afternoon. We settle into our rooms and appreciate the free time before dinner, many of us taking the opportunity to unpack after the journey. Others choose to do some shopping and explore the town of Cessnock instead.
Dinner is at the Hunter Valley’s famous Irish pub, Harrigan’s. We enjoy a delicious (& filling!) a la carte menu and talk loudly amongst the frivolity and bustle of the pub. After dinner, we head back to our motel and hit the hay, very much looking forward to day two!
Day Two
After a restful and comfortable night sleep, we enjoy a hearty motel breakfast. Not long after, we head off to the beautiful and vast Hunter Valley Gardens. The sky is blue and the sun is high as we explore the award-winning gardens - with the Storybook and Oriental gardens amongst our favourites!
As the morning progresses, the weather is becoming warmer which is the perfect time to get back onto the buses and head just down the road to the charming Hunter Valley Village. There, we spread out, grab some lunch, explore a few cellars and look through the quaint cottage-style boutiques.
Soon the buses are back and we excitingly go along to our pre-booked wine tastings. Half of us go to Peterson’s House - a rustic and romantic winery that specialises in sparkling wine; while the other half of us go to the striking, modern winery - Brokenwood Wines - for a sampling of white, reds, sparkling and rose’s. Everyone agrees that both tastings were fabulous!
The day has become scorching, so it is perfect that we all have free time back in our air-conditioned motel rooms. We meet up again in the motel lobby before heading to dinner. Dinner is booked at the lovely Baume’ restaurant… and is undoubtedly the best meal of the trip! We all indulge in delicious share plates and are very well looked after. We can’t believe this is our last night of holidays. We all agree it’s been wonderful.
Day Three
We meet up again for our final breakfast in the Motel. We’ve had a wonderful stay. Even though we are heading home today we still have a few more places to visit on the itinerary. We pack up the (now very full) buses and are on our way.
First stop – much to the excitement of all – is to the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company. We pick up bags full of sweet treats for our friends and family. Oh, who are we kidding? For ourselves more like it! The staff at the store are very helpful and it is hard to walk away from the incredible assortment of fudge on display.
Our final stop off is at Roche Estate, a landmark in the Hunter Valley which looks like a giant concert arena. We grab a quick bite to eat at The Smelly Cheese Shop before settling in for the long drive back to the Northern Beaches.
After such a fun holiday, we are feeling reflective and happy as we drive back down the highway. We stop off at Mooney Mooney to stretch our legs before continuing our way, and yes, the buses are definitely a lot heavier than they were a few days ago!
Meet Easylink's new General Manager, Dan Giles.
Easylink is delighted to announce the appointment of its’ new General Manager, Dan Giles.
Dan Giles is a local Northern Beaches resident and lives on the peninsula with his wife and young twin sons.
Dan comes from a diverse and varied career in executive leadership and strategic planning, both in New Zealand and Australia.
In the past, Dan has overseen strategic development for Canon Australia, RSL Care and most recently at a Debt Management company helping vulnerable people get back on their feet.
Dan is excited to be returning to the aged care and non-profit sector and is looking forward to bringing his wealth of experience and leadership skills to our organisation and working alongside our dedicated team of staff and volunteers.
Inspired by Easylink’s mission to keep people connected to what matters through affordable and accessible transport solutions, Dan will be looking at how we can optimize our service offering to continually meet and exceed our customers’ needs and expectations.
Meet Easylink's Fleet and Administration Manager
Who?
Pat Lang, Fleet and Administration Manager
How long have you been with Easylink?
Since 2007. It has been fascinating to experience how the organisation has grown, changes in management and the organisation’s structure.
What do you love about Easylink’s services?
We provide not just transport solutions but safe, clean and reliable comm unity transport. I also love knowing that we support our customers to improve their quality of life, encourage independent living and reduce social isolation. Our services would not be possible without our dedicated team of volunteers.
How many vehicles does Easylink operate?
We have 20 vehicles in our fleet. It consists of mini buses, vans and cars.
Last year our vehicles completed over 50,000 trips covering over 400,000km. We used over 56,000 litres of fuel and went through about 18 tyres.
What things does Easylink do to maintain the integrity of our vehicles?
We have vehicle maintenance plans in place and service our vehicles every 10,000 kms.
We have an amazing fleet team which includes Anthony our Fleet Support Officer who checks our vehicles and keeps them maintained on a weekly basis. Our mechanic Majid is the best, always making us a priority. Dimitri services our hoists every six months, making sure they are always in excellent working condition.
Our dedicated cleaner for our fleet is Andre. Together we all take pride in keeping our fleet safe, clean and meet the community transport regulatory requirements.
We have very visible branding on our vehicles too. I guarantee that you wouldn’t miss one of our vehicles out on the road picking up people.
What’s the best part about what you do?
I love the variety and challenges that comes with my job. I’m not just with dealing with the fleet but I’m also involved in recruiting and training, organising functions and events for our wonderful volunteers. I also take care of the administration of the service, accountability for keeping Easylink’s contracts and agreements up-to-date, the office operations, IT and phone systems.
Easylink's new Northern Beaches Hospital Shuttle
Easylink will be operating a shuttle bus between Mona Vale Hospital and surrounding area and the new Northern Beaches Hospital. The service will start on Tuesday, October 30 – the day the new hospital opens – for a 12-month trial.
The shuttle is proudly sponsored by the NSW Government and Healthscope.
Fees start from $6.00 one way.
The shuttle bus will run on a set timetable between the two hospitals, with the first departure from Mona Vale at around 7.45am and the last return from Northern Beaches Hospital at around 3pm.
Passengers who want to be picked up or dropped off at home or from the hospital bus stop need to book their trip two working days prior by phoning Easylink on 9919 0700.
Payment can be made on board, to the driver, or passengers can open an account with Easylink.
For more information about our shuttle, view our information flier here, or phone us on 9919 0700.
Robert the Robot
We thought it about time to introduce you to Robert. He is our friendly office voice robot! As part of our contract with Transport for NSW we must offer our customers automatic reminders of their scheduled trips. That’s where Robert comes in.
The day before your outing, Robert will give you a call to remind you of your outing and let you know your approximate pick up time. As Robert is a robot, he won’t be able to answer any questions. If you need to ask us something, or if you don’t hear from Robert by 3.00pm, please phone us at the office on 9919 0700.
Remember that for social outings and mystery drives you will not get a call from Robert.
Volunteering with Easylink
Easylink is so fortunate to have the best volunteers! Our volunteers provide vital support to our organisation and we wouldn’t be able to function without them. Their time is invaluable to us and our customer’s love seeing their smiling faces on their outings. We truly value and appreciate our volunteers and offer regular training sessions and organise social events to acknowledge their contribution.
We are looking for more Volunteers to join the Easylink team. It’s a great opportunity to give back to your community and contribute to the lives of others.
We are searching for Drivers, Bus Attendants and Receptionists. Drivers must hold a LR, MR or HR driver’s license. We are looking for a minimum commitment of 1 day a fortnight.
Could this be you, or someone you know? Easylink would love to hear from you! For more information, please phone us on 02 9919 0700.
New Fee Schedule as of August 2018
New fee schedule effective as of 1st August 2018.
Please contact the office for more information.
Successful Third Party Verification 2018
Successful Third Party Verification 2018 - NSW Disability Service Standards
Easylink was audited by HDAA, a government approved external verification agency, to review the quality management system with the requirement of NSW Disability Serv
ice Standards. The report and evidence confirm that Easylink meets all of the requirements of the NSW Disability Service Stands. This is a measure of the effort that has gone into establishing and maintaining an effective quality management system. Thank you to everyone for your contribution to ensuring Easylink provides the highest quality of service for our customers.
Susan Watson
General Manager
NSW Governor launches new name for northern beaches community transport provider
MEDIA RELEASE 27 July 2017
Local community transport providers, Easy Transport, ha
ve relaunched as ‘Easylink’, and revealed recent research showing their positive social impact for thousands of northern beaches residents, with the help of the NSW Governor, their volunteers and customers.
His Excellency the Governor congratulated Easylink on the launch as an opportunity to build on their mission of empowering older people, people with disability and other disadvantaged residents through ‘transport with care.’
“… it is important that everyone has the opportunity to be mobile, to stay connected with friends, families and essential services, and enjoy quality of life,” said His Excellency, who is patron of the NSW community transport peak body.
Easylink General Manager, Angela Doolan, said the recent research showed the service helps their 4,000 northern beaches customers maintain their social connectedness, which is strongly linked to better health outcomes and longevity.
“The power of transport for wellbeing can’t be underestimated,” said Ms Doolan.
“An important consideration in choosing a new name was that Easylink provides more than ‘just transport’ – the care and social outings we offer, on top of essential transport, are vital for increasing social connection, while helping people live in their own homes.
“We chose Easylink Community Services Limited (our legal name) to open the possibilities for doing more than transport and working further afield than the northern beaches.
“As we prepare for a competitive market place, reduced block funding from government, more consumer choice and control, we want to be the provider of choice.
“With the northern beaches population ageing, we believe there is an important role for organisations that put people before profits,” said Ms Doolan.
See our new video about our service, prepared by UTS journalism student Adriana Zanchetta.
Helping people get out and about a great way to 'Do Something'
Media release
Easylink, a northern beaches charity helping older people and people with a disability get out and about, needs more volunteer drivers and assistants.
With News Local’s Do Something Day urging everyone to carry out an act of kindness or volunteer, Easylink’s General Manager Angela Doolan said research just released showed 100% of Easylink’s volunteer respondents enjoy their Easylink volunteering experience.
“83 percent of our volunteers also report feeling more connected to their community,” said Ms Doolan.
Ros Connor of Freshwater, who recently joined Easylink as a volunteer said, “I enjoy volunteering because I like giving back to the community as I’ve received so much myself.
“I started off as an Easylink customer after having major heart surgery, and I couldn’t drive.
“I got picked up twice a week for rehab at Manly Waters by Easylink for two and a half months.
“The social aspect of volunteering is great fun. Ted Craig (an Easylink customer from Freshwater), for example, has known me from when I was 15 or 16 years’ old, and his wife did the icing for my wedding cake.”
“The social impact of transport can’t be underestimated for our customers,” said Ms Doolan.
“Social isolation can negatively affect people’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.”
“This can happen as people get older and increasingly live alone with limited mobility, or for people with a disability - our transport really is a lifeline,” Ms Doolan added.
Call 9919 0700 or visit easylink.com.au if you’d like to be part of the Easylink volunteer team.