Riverside Retreats

Sun Herald

Sunday September 6, 1998

John Borthwick

There's nothing quite like messing about by the river. John Borthwick seeks out NSW's best waterside accommodation.

1 Noah's on the Beach

The name may suggest beach, rather than riverside, but the hotel's views are book-ended by water, with Newcastle Beach right in front and the Hunter River two blocks to the rear. Things have improved in Newcastle. In 1895, Mark Twain dismissed the place as "a very long street with, at one end, a cemetery with no bodies in it and, at the other, a gentlemen's club with no gentlemen in it". At the top end of town these days, there are both gentlemen and ladies and Noah's (above). Endless promenades run beside and between the beach and the Hunter River, so that when you peel yourself away from your room's view, there are waves, bistros, bars, tugboats and Novocastrians galore to encounter. Noah's own Seaspray Restaurant has the best dining view in town, with the whole Pacific Ocean, and perhaps a few cetaceans, to fill any gaps in the conversation.

Value weekend packages (minimum two-night stay) start from $76 per night per room; standard room rate is $105 per night. Noah's on the Beach, Shortland Esplanade, Newcastle, (049) 295 181.

2 Wisemans Ferry Country Retreat

Solomon Wiseman's name lives on at a bend in the Hawkesbury River, where he started what is the longest established ferry service in Australia. Escaping the noose in England, the remarkable Wiseman arrived in Sydney in chains in 1806; when he died 32 years later, he was known as King of the Hawkesbury. His hamlet of Wisemans Ferry today remains a snoozy enclave of water, sandstone and history. With a ringside (or waterfront) seat on all this, Wisemans Ferry Country Retreat (above), next to the Dharug National Park, offers you distractions that old Solomon never enjoyed, such as golf, swimming and tennis. Hop across the river on Solomon's ferry to view the massive sandstones of the Great North Road, an extraordinary work of 1820s convict engineering.

Two-night packages, including breakfast and dinner, start from $195 (mid-week) per couple and $420 (weekend). Room only from $90. Wisemans Ferry Country Retreat, Old Northern Road, Wisemans Ferry, (045) 66 422.

3 Sails Resort, Port Macquarie

Historic Port Macquarie resisted becoming a mall sprawl stop on the Costa del Motels and, today, its Hasting River still has more pelicans than power boats. In fact, Sails Resort is tucked into a river bend that's called Pelican Bay. Each afternoon the big birds cruise in for a feeding session in front of the resort. For your own waterfront dining, try Sails' Spinnakers Restaurant, or if you're in one of the studios, fry your catch in your own kitchenette. Port Macquarie, 410 kilometres from Sydney, retains a smattering of colonial buildings, plus plenty of forest walks and waterways. The river is good for canoeing, sailing and sailboarding, while the local beaches have uncrowded surf.

Sails packages start from $66.50 per person per night (twin share). Sails Resort, Park Street, Port Macquarie, (02) 6583 3999.

4 Star Hotel, Macksville

Few pubs anywhere can compete with the dawn vista from the Star Hotel's balcony. Framed by an old wrought-iron railing, the Nambucca River glides below you, airbrushed in mist. The Star (above) is a rough gem of a place, an unreconstructed North Coast rubbidy. Built of cedar at the end of last century, it sits beside the Nambucca, remembering a long-gone glory as one of the finest inns on the coast. Today the Star remains a "wet-your-whistle" stop for pilgrims on that northerly track of dreams we simply call "heading up the coast". The upstairs accommodation is basic: the rates - $15 for a single and $25 a double - say it all. The rooms with river views are the ones to go for.

Star Hotel, 16 River Street, Macksville, (02) 6568 1008.

5 Turon Gates

To really get away from it all, you need first to find "lost" on the map. The seven cabins, sundry horses and countless trout of Turon Gates (above), beside the Turon River, almost fit this description, being tucked away 13km past Capertee (some 30km north-west of Lithgow). It's about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney. Your fully furnished, self-contained cabin is appointed with everything but food and linen. As well as these, bring along your fishing rod and/or a great novel, for this is the place to fish, read, horse-ride or do zip. The property has 10km of river frontage (canoes are available) that also allow swimming and gold panning, as well as bushwalks and picnics. While you're here, visit the historic Chinese gold workings and, about 70km away, the old mining town of Sofala.

Rates vary according to the size of your party; weeknights start from $75, weekends (three nights) from $295, and a full week (seven nights) from $510. Turon Gates, Capertee, via Lithgow, (02) 9281 4211. n

BEST OF THE REST...

Commercial Hotel, Ulmarra (north of Grafton): this classic country pub with standard accommodation contemplates the Clarence River, as it has done for a century.

Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat: north of Murwillumbah and just south of the border, six exclusive cabins wrapped in rainforest.

Hotel Coopernook, Lansdowne River: Taree is 15 minutes' drive to the south, the beer is cool and the river is at your doorstep.

Netherby House, Kempsey: a little guest house with front row stalls on the Hastings River. Step across the bridge to town, or drive 20 kilometres to the waves at Crescent Head.

© 1998 Sun Herald

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