A ridiculous number of moons ago, I spent half a gap year backpacking around Australia yet failed to spot a single kangaroo. There was plenty of other wildlife on my amazing adventure: rainbow-coloured shoals of fish darting around the Great Barrier Reef; kookaburras cackling in the outback; and penguins waddling up the beach like pot-bellied drunks. And let’s not forget the sharks. Yet while I saw protective “roo bars” aplenty on four-wheel drives in the Red Centre, and was even offered kangaroo steaks from the barbie, there were no roos. Not a single one.
“You should have gone to Kangaroo Island,” everyone said. “Loads of them there.” Even now, on a fleeting holiday to Oz with my son, where we buzz around rock, reef and rainforest (plus a sprinkling of relatives), there’s no time to include Kangaroo Island, with an additional flight to Adelaide and thence to the island.
Instead we’re making the three-hour road trip from Sydney into the Blue Mountains, where, I’m told, I’ll be able to tick this elusive marsupial off my must-see list. It’s not looking good. Despite the preponderance of signs warning us of kangaroos and wombats on the road (makes a change from ducks or deer) as we descend into the depths of Wolgan Valley, Skippy is still proving hard to find. “This is the first time I haven’t seen any kangaroos here,” says our driver as we enter a mesmerising world of ridges and ravines. Hmm.
Reassurance is on hand when we settle into the exceedingly comfortable sofas in the main homestead at Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, where even the delicious hot chocolates come topped with a chocolate-powder kangaroo. “If you don’t see any here, I’ll pay for your trip — for the entire holiday,” the general manager, James Wyndham, tells us. That’s quite an offer considering that a night at Wolgan will set you back a cool £1,100 for two. No, that’s not a typo with an extra zero, although Wyndham points out that the price does include all food and drinks (unless you go off-piste and order a premium wine), as well as some of the activities.
Can any hotel be worth more than a grand a night? Yes, if your definition of luxury is a remote wilderness of tree-clad sandstone plateaux whose sides are as steep as the room rate. You could stay on this 7,000-acre property wedged between two national parks for days and do nothing but drink in the fabulous views (while sipping the local Hunter Valley wines).
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Charles Darwin, who visited the original homestead in 1836, was taken aback by its beauty. And look, here in our villa — one of 40 lining the fecund valley floor — is a book detailing his adventures in Australia, with a page dedicated to Wolgan Valley.
Not that it holds our attention for long, because this villa is too exquisite not to be revelled in, satisfying my inner Laura Ingalls and my lust for luxe. The acres of wood and stone, along with traditional metal roofs, provide a rustic framework for huge dollops of opulence in the shape of an enormous four-poster, a double-sided fireplace that springs to life with the flick of a switch, a walk-in cupboard that I’d kill to have at home and a 2.5m by 7m pool built into the deck. Pathetic plunge pool it ain’t. While it’s an indoor pool at the moment — there’s still a slight nip in the air — should we prefer the outdoor feel we can call one of the obliging staff to throw back the bifold windows and open it up.
There’s no time for a dip now, though — we’re off kangaroo spotting. So, pausing only to encourage my surprised son to raid the mini bar (it’s free), we stash the excellent selection of posh chocolate and nuts into the provided backpack, mount the bicycles thoughtfully provided outside our villa and head off.
Along Carne Creek we pedal, past the restored original homestead of the European sheep farmer William Walker, who settled here in 1832. After negotiating some stepping stones across the water, we follow the Southern Track — one of the easier hiking and biking trails on our map — which marks the southern boundary of the park with the Gardens of Stone National Park.
We’ve hardly started down this bumpity-bump track when we hit the jackpot. Not a lone kangaroo, though — a mob of them. They’re everywhere: lying under trees, hunkered down on their enormous feet, springing into life if we get too close (although we can still get near enough for some decent photographs and even spot a mum with a joey overflowing from her pouch). As if the kangaroos weren’t enough, there are smaller wallabies and wallaroos too.
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Of course, I need pictures of them all, so it takes us much longer than it should to reach our destination of Panorama Deck. And how lovely is this? There’s a gourmet spread waiting for us in a wicker basket: a picnic with a view, munching with marsupials. Once body and soul are refuelled, we cycle through a grove of rare Wollemi pine, a tree that was considered extinct until it was rediscovered in the Wollemi National Park in 1994.
Planting these young trees is one of the many conservation-friendly activities in carbon-neutral Wolgan Valley, which was constructed without a single tree being cut down. While there are solar panels, rainwater collection and recycling, there’s nothing too hair-shirty about it.
You certainly don’t get a whiff of responsible travel as you lounge by the 25m main infinity pool, where sunscreen for adults and children has been left out. Nor do you in the indulgent spa, where with the view of those epic escarpments you can’t help feeling relaxed and where indigenous ingredients are used for treatments such as the Australian mineral facial and Wattleseed Body Renewal.
Instead Wolgan has the feel of a luxury American ranch, so it’s no surprise to find horses here, 20 of them in the stables waiting for you to jump in the saddle for some seriously scenic riding. There’s archery too, as well as bird-watching, heritage trips and countless hike-and-bike tours.
When you need a breather, you retire to your stunning villa to wallow in the bath, which to my delight looks out over yet another mob of kangaroos. They are still there, boinging up and down in front of our wraparound veranda, when I emerge with another drink to sit on the rocking chair and enjoy the glow of the dying day over kangaroos and scenery. It’s the quintessential outback experience — yet only three hours’ drive from Sydney.
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When night falls we arm ourselves with torches and set off in a safari bus to catch wombats in our rays of light. We tick off half a dozen or so as we rattle over the dirt tracks and learn a fact that I’m going to hold on to for a long time: that there is a use for big bums. Apparently wombats use their nether regions for defence by running into a hole and wedging themselves in tight — the bigger the bum the better. If need be they can squeeze an attacking predator against the side of the hole and asphyxiate them. Nice.
I’m feeling quite chipper as we get off the bus at the old homestead, where we spot cute possums in the trees, all wide-eyed as they gaze down on us. Then we enjoy mugs of hot chocolate and pick out the sparkling Southern Cross in the night sky.
By the time we return, Wolgan’s enormous main hall, with its wooden floor and beamed ceiling, has been transformed with white tablecloths and a crackling fire. It feels a bit like sitting to eat in a Scottish country estate. They take their food seriously here, with their own organic kitchen garden and all other produce sourced from within a 160km radius. Pick from the five-course tasting menu or a shorter three-course menu matched with wine. Whatever you do, be sure to try the steak — the most tender and delicious cut of meat I’ve tasted.
There is one overwhelming problem with Wolgan Valley, apart from the serious dent it leaves in your wallet: you really, really won’t want to leave. When we do, with heavy hearts, it’s before dawn, fingers of mist curling through the valley floor. “You won’t see any more kangaroos in this,” our driver says as I scramble into the seat beside him on look-out duty, but what do you know?
Through all that swirling white stuff, something bounds along at our side and disappears into the undergrowth — one final kangaroo as we head on our way.
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Need to know
Jane Knight was a guest of Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley (oneandonlyresorts.com) and of Bridge & Wickers (020 3642 8551, bridgeandwickers.co.uk), which has a seven-night stay at Wolgan Valley from £6,545pp, including international flights and transfers. A one-night stay costs from £1,098 per villa, full board, with most drinks and two daily nature-based activities. Flights with Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific.com) from London to Sydney cost from £990 return in economy and £4,650 in business class.
More information: tourism.australia.com