If you need a short break why not visit The Blue Mountains? Stay at
The Fairmont Resort or any of the many country retreats and enjoy a relaxing few days. Winter is beautiful in the mountains and if you're lucky, it may snow. We had a couple of days away and at only an hour's drive from Sydney, it is a beautiful way to escape the city. Rug up and enjoy the scenery.
View from The Fairmont Resort Embers Restaurant
On the day we arrived, after checking in, we went for a drive to
Mt Victoria because I wanted to have scones and tea. Unfortunately, due to the bushfires and now the pandemic, the lovely village of Mt Victoria has suffered with many businesses closed or only open a couple of days a week. It is sad and the locals want to see tourists back again, but it will take some years before everything in The Blue Mountains recovers.
August has been a busy time for us with significant birthdays and one of them we celebrated at the amazing
Wolgan Valley Resort. We decided to spend two nights at
The Fairmont Resort and drive to the lunch event, it is an hour and fifteen minutes from Leura. The two days were cold and windy with some showers but this didn't dampen our fun.
Espresso Martini, a great way to end a day of sight seeing.
After a day of sightseeing, or in our case, eating a fabulous bbq lunch at Wolgan Valley, I chilled out before dinner with a cocktail. With the coronavirus restrictions, the resorts are not at capacity and they are all in full social distancing mode. You have to book to use the gym and pool, and breakfast and dinner bookings are essential. Even in the rooms at The Fairmont, there are only disposable cups and spoons. I have to say, I'm not a fan of tea in a disposable, so I asked housekeeping for a proper teacup. They obliged, of course.
The Fairmont is a golf resort, it is family-friendly and there is parking available on-site. The staff is polite and helpful and the food is great. The dinner we had at Embers was delicious and reasonably priced.
Wolgan Valley Resort on the other hand, is a 5-star eco-friendly property, and it has a price tag to match. Set on 2,800 acres in a valley of wild country, the property has a real country feel, both relaxed and luxurious. The lunch we were invited to was outside at the Country Kitchen, which was fabulous despite the cold and wind. It was great sitting at the table near the open fire and bbq with a glass of red watching the kangaroos bound by.
The road to Wolgan Valley Resort has a few hairpin bends.
This resort is owned by Emirates, and now that overseas travel is banned, then this is a great place to spoil yourself, if your budget permits. Getting there is easy because it is one road in, although there are a few hairpin bends, which I found a bit scary due to no barriers. You have to stay or be invited to a function to see the resort, which I recommend you do if you like luxury country retreats.
Echo Point put on a spectacular display.
Another place we saw affected by lack of people like Mt Victoria is
Echo Point Lookout and
Scenic World. In fact, the latter was closed. Check opening times when you visit, this is something we neglected to do. Still, we managed to walk to Katoomba Falls before it rained.
Echo Point was windy but spectacular with clear views throughout. They are doing upgrades at the moment, which are scheduled to finish by end of August 2020. Again, it started to rain but I managed to take a shot of the colourful rainbow.
This mother and joey was right outside a cabin at Wolgan Valley Resort.
Wolgan Valley Resort has ultra-luxurious cabins set in a nature reserve in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area. This area was also affected by the bushfires of 2019 and some areas will need replanting due to the massive devastation. Luckily, the resort was not affected, and is now open but not to full capacity due to the pandemic. We had the pleasure of walking around the resort before lunch and watched the kangaroos and wombats enjoying their conversation setting.
The Blue Mountains has so much to offer for short breaks, so check out the deals available and help the area to recover. To book click on these links -
Check where to stay on Visit NSW.
The Fairmont Resort & Spa.
Wolgan Valley Resort.
