Blue Mountains and Beyond - April 2013

Elaine Simpson on 11 February 2017
8 Aussie specialists arrived very early in Sydney. We were whisked off by bus via the Coathanger - Sydney Harbour Bridge, raising a huge cheer from the group!

In the Blue Mountains we travelled to Leura, a little village with interesting shops including Bygone Beauties Teapot Museum - the largest private collection of teapots in the world. There were over 3,500 spanning three centuries in a wonderfully packed curio shop which is also a tea-room. Their homemade Devonshire Tea was yummy!

At Echo Point is Waradah Aboriginal Centre: an excellent show with explanations of weapons and artefacts, then a superb dance demonstration with audience participation: I make a fairly good emu I'm told!

Lunch is at Lilianfels Resort & Spa: a great favourite with British visitors. In a heritage building overlooking the beautiful garden, each unique bedroom is cottage style and the whole house has a cosy, homely ambience. Adjoining is Echoes Boutique a small, beautifully intimate hotel: only 14 guest rooms all with fabulous views over the Jamieson Valley. It's a great place for that special holiday – honeymoons and anniversaries are understandably popular here.

Next stop is Scenic World, one of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions. with Skyway – a huge cable-car that goes right across the valley offering amazing photo-opportunities. There are walks through the Jurassic rainforest, a cableway going right down into the valley plus the steepest railway in the Southern Hemisphere. This is seriously scary, too scary to get the camera out – kids love it! The Blue Mountains can be done as a day trip from Sydney, but I’d recommend staying over at least one night.

After an action-packed first day in Australia we arrive at the Fairmont Resort: a family-friendly resort which is attached to a championship golf-course. Finally, a long, deep, satisfying sleep - I certainly need it after around 48 hours since I last awoke at home!

Deeper into the Blue Mountains, in a secluded private valley is Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort. It is one of the most exclusive and luxurious hotels in Australia and proudly 100% carbon neutral with staff who are passionate about maintaining that balance. We are all impressed by the villas with private plunge pools which open up to the elements, the beautiful spa treatment rooms and the very elegant but understated public areas. All rates are fully inclusive and it’s such a fabulous, relaxing, beautiful place that it’s great value for people with busy, hectic lives to retreat, relax, recharge and revive.

Beyond the Blue Mountains is Orange: a beautiful region which is enjoying a growing reputation for rare and exotic food and wine, thanks to its cool climate and rich volcanic soils.

At Mandagery Creek Deer Farm we enjoyed a lovely lunch of local produce cooked by our hosts in their farm kitchen, accompanied by a variety of Philip Shaw wines grown on the highest vineyard in Australia and presented to us by Philip’s son Daniel who has purple hands from handling the grapes! It’s a real hands-on business! Before leaving we meet ‘the girls’ – some of the does from the herd including Stephanie, who was hand-reared and loves to be petted!

Arriving after dark at the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo we check into our Zoofari accommodation: well-appointed canvas-sided lodges with under-floor heating! An alternative for families is Billabong Camp.

I wake to the sound of lions roaring! Up early to hand-feed the giraffes and white rhino, then a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo where passionate and dedicated staff and volunteers do valuable work on captive breeding programmes to improve the chances for endangered species. The zoo covers a huge area: visitors can self-drive or hire golf buggies or bikes. Zoofari is a super experience that I’d be happy to recommend to visitors.

We visit the Western Plains Cultural Centre – a purpose-built arts centre where I spend a happy hour looking at very varied exhibitions: light installations; portrait collages, botanical drawings and aboriginal artworks; on site too is a theatre plus a museum of Dubbo life. All very impressive - there’s more to Dubbo than I thought!

Anzac Day and we’re off to the pub to play Two Up! Lunch at the Macquarie Inn – like in the UK, pub grub is great value, and this being a public holiday the place is buzzing! Out back the Two Up square is in action – this gambling game dates back to WW1 and is illegal every day other than Anzac Day, so they make the most of it. It’s loud, very good-natured and the Brits get a big cheer when 2 of our party take a turn as spinner.

Back at the Zoo more treats await us – cheetahs, lions, Galapagos turtles (with a tiny baby just 4 inches long), Przewalski's horses, meerkats and more, followed by a nocturnal tour of the grounds.

I often recommend clients to visit the Blue Mountains but hadn’t realised what great experiences lie beyond: Orange and Dubbo are places worth visiting, to see the real Australia and meet real Australians.