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They were the sentiments of tourism and hospitality business operators towards the thousands of people who descended on the Hunter across the long weekend.
The region's holiday hot spots had a huge influx of visitors over the past few days that made either pre-booked overnight stays or day trips.
One operator described it as a "boom", another said it was their "busiest June long weekend ever" and the summary of a third was simply "a spectacular weekend".
The busy few days - the first weekend holiday travel was allowed in NSW in more than two months - has left many operators feeling optimistic about the weeks ahead.
Accommodation providers had reported strong bookings ahead of the weekend and many achieved 100 per cent occupancy rates for at least two nights, particularly in the Hunter Valley.
Tulloch Wines chief executive officer Christina Tulloch said it was a thrill to see the Hunter Valley's wine country "packed" with visitors.
She said the only downside was the 50-person capacity limit that had to be adhered to, as much like other wineries, her business was capable of hosting "upwards of 200 people at once".
"It's been a spectacular weekend," she said. "It's been great to see the valley full again.
"Certainly it's been a hive of activity but the only hiccup is of course everyone can only have 50 people in at once.
"There was a lot of people wanting to do things but a lot of [businesses] were booked out before the weekend even started.
Only being able to have 50 isn't ideal, but from where we've come - it's a start.
- Christina Tulloch, Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association
Some operators the Newcastle Herald spoke to on Friday were concerned the weekend would be a "sugar hit" and the outlook for the next few months was bleak.
Ms Tulloch, who is president of the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association, said she could not speak for everyone but was "feeling positive moving forward".
"This long weekend was a bit of a test case, but we were able to have 50 people in the cellar door last weekend as well," she said.
"We're certainly seeing some good signs about people feeling confident about getting out and about.
"There's probably a lot of business owners wondering what is going to happen when JobKeeper runs out and whether or not we will see the bounce back enough before that happens.
"But I'm feeling optimistic based on what we've seen at cellar door over the last couple of weeks."
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Port Stephens council's holiday parks were close to booked out across the weekend. About 50 per cent of bookings were people who live in the Hunter or Central Coast regions, while 35 per cent were from Sydney.
Port Stephens Paddlesports owner Michael Hogg said his activity-hire business had its "busiest June long weekend ever".
Mr Hogg said he had all 12 of his kayaks continuously on the water on Saturday and it was a similar level of trade Sunday before the weather took a turn for Monday.
"This is the twelfth year I've operated. Over the years I've tried operating on the June long weekend probably on half a dozen occasions and it hasn't taken off all that well.
"The other half of them I haven't bothered to operate because of the weather, but in this case the weather forecast looked good and because of COVID-19, the situation there, I decided to just take a shot and open up.
"It was a boom and it was probably the busiest June long weekend I've seen around town in general."
After a five-week closure early in the pandemic, Mr Hogg said he had only been running a few kayaking tours before the weekend but would now consider keeping his business open into winter, a period which he traditionally closes down for.
"I've got a bit of a vibe that people are going to start spending a few weekends away," he said.
"A lot of Sydneysiders, even day-trippers from Newcastle - I noticed there was a few of them coming through.
"The vibe that I'm getting is that if the weather is there, I think it's going to be alright. There's an attitude change."
Lake Macquarie City Council's booked-out holiday parks attracted plenty of guests from Sydney that were eager to get out on the water for the first time in months.
Marine Rescue regional operations manager Steve Raymond said boaties flocked to the region's waterways Saturday and Sunday.
"There was a tremendous amount of boats on the water, but not too many jobs," he said. "We had a few people that had flat batteries or had run out of fuel, but no emergencies as such."
He added: "It was such nice weather Saturday, it was certainly busier than a normal [long weekend].
"Every man and his dog and boat were out. People certainly took advantage of the weather."