Mudgee has become one of NSW’s most exciting holiday and tree changer destinations post COVID, with groups of travellers making the three and a half hour drive from Sydney to enjoy the area’s diverse range of attractions, including the chance to sleep in a luxurious Orient-Express style railway car.
Groups of up to 12 people can stay at the Ruwenzori Retreat for just $1,500 a night and enjoy the cooler nights by the fire, sip the latest Mudgee award-winning vintage wine, taste top quality local cuisine and bushwalk in the grounds of what is one of Australia’s most unusual tourist destinations. With the resort’s single hire policy, groups have the whole place to themselves.
Named after a mountain range in Africa, Ruwenzori (pronounced roo-wen-zor-ee) is the product of 40 years of painstaking restoration and renovations of vintage railway cars by well-known TV actor, presenter and avid rail enthusiast Scott McGregor and his team of artisans.
Scott has created the luxurious railway-themed weekend hideaway just outside the food and wine-lover’s paradise of Mudgee, set in picturesque, dramatic country perched high on the Great Dividing Range with activities for all the family and groups of friends.
Guests stay in four magnificent, self-contained and fully renovated antique railway carriages dating back to 1890, complete with both King and Queen sized beds, marble bathrooms, original sleeping bunks for children, indoor and outdoor lounge areas, as well as a fully equipped kitchen and dining carriage.
Each of the magnificent carriages enjoys panoramic views of the foothills and valleys surrounding Mudgee, which has become a popular tourist destination for local and overseas visitors. Other features of the retreat include under-floor heating, DVD and CD players, TV’s, dishwasher, microwave, espresso machine and full-sized Belling stovetop and oven, as well as wood fires, telescopes and even hairdryers!
The retreat’s more than century old, fully renovated carriages still have many of their original features like polished cedar paneling, pressed metal ceilings, brass and silver fittings, while outside there is an array of railway memorabilia, cottage style gardens and 25 hectares of bushland where adults can relax and children can play and explore.
Energetic guests can enjoy a number of bushwalking trails around the property, as well as visits to the nearby historic gold town of Gulgong, wine tasting in the area’s 35 family-owned cellar doors, a distillery and three breweries in Mudgee.
Tours can be arranged of the award-winning local wineries and farms, historic villages, art and craft galleries, restaurants, cafes, golf courses and tennis courts in the area.
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