Calabash Bay Lodge is more luxurious, peaceful and compelling than ever

With fresh interiors to make that water view all the more tantalising, Calabash Bay Lodge is better – and more hypnotising than ever

‘Boat access only’: Three words to make even the most content of souls green with envy. Calabash Bay Lodge, at Berowra Waters on New South Wales’ Hawkesbury River, is one such place that can boast a car-free location. And the best part is, it can be all yours for a weekend, week or month. My recommendation? Simply, to stay as long as possible. The longer you spend ensconced in Calabash Bay Lodge’s luxurious interiors, deliciously removed from the “normal” daily grind (read: commuting, driving and errand-running), the more you’ll depart this unique holiday rental feeling like you’ve just been on sabbatical, or on a health retreat, or both.

“One of the things we consistently hear in feedback from our guests is how soporific a stay at Calabash Bay Lodge can be,” founder Kim Ellis says. “There is something so unique about arriving by boat somewhere. City stress seems to slough off on the drive across, and after arriving, the memorising view starts to work its magic and slow down heart rates.”

Indeed, there is something deeply restorative about staying at a place where you can not simply duck up to the supermarket for some milk on a whim, or duck anywhere, in fact – unless it’s by boat, of course. The car-free lifestyle on offer at Calabash Bay Lodge has the effect of forcing you to stop filling the time with things that ‘need to be done’ – a modern crutch, and instead, invites you to stop and smell the roses in this incredibly beautiful part of the world.

A heart-warming return

This is my second time to Calabash Bay Lodge in five years, and it’s not until I’m zipping across the water on the short boat ride to the lodge that I remember how much I loved visiting Berowra Waters the first time around. The arrival at the Lodge is just as impactful as I recall. As we approach, I’m drawn to the tall jacaranda tree framing the house, its vivid purple just starting to fade after the height of its spring bloom. A dreamy weekend has begun.

Ah yes, there’s the trusty runabout boat, ours to use as we like during the stay to explore the river. Inside, though, things have changed – for the better – since my last visit. The knock-your-socks-off water view, visible from every room in the house, is even more prominent, thanks to a renovation that included replacing the windows and installing bifold doors that open up so that you feel like you’re practically walking on water. The kitchen is new and reconfigured; and more luxurious, modern furniture peppers the living room.

Knowing full well how blissfully cut-off from our normal routine we would be at Calabash Bay Lodge, and so embedded in a breathtaking natural setting, we have vowed to use the opportunity to disconnect from our phones. It is the right move. Within hours of drinking up that water view (and a few glasses of champagne, to be fair) I feel the weight of modern demands start to melt away. Even though the lodge has WiFi, cell service and we’re only a ten-minute boat ride from where our car is parked (and a mere 45 minutes from where I live in Sydney), secluding ourselves in this peaceful four-bedroom bolthole has the effect of making us feel as though we’ve journeyed hours away to the countryside.

We’ve brought groceries to tide us over for the weekend, and our first dinner is taken care of thanks to a (chargeable) pre-prepared meal waiting in the fridge that we just need to reheat. With nothing pressing to distract us, we can kick off our shoes, take a seat on the enchanting balcony and settle into the bliss of having no to-do list for a few days. 

Choose your own adventure

There are plenty of ways to be entertained, too, in the unlikely event that you tire of relaxing in the lodge. For starters, by taking the boat to explore the river and its calm, crescent beaches; swimming off the house’s private pontoon or kayaking the local waterways (water toys are provided) as you take in the majesty of the ancient sandstone cliffs. 

If you are at Calabash Bay Lodge to celebrate a special occasion, or simply enjoying some precious time with your other half, don’t miss a memorable, indulgent degustation lunch at fine dining restaurant, Berowra Waters Inn, a few minutes up the river. This iconic water-access-only establishment, now in its 41st year, holds the record for the longest-awarded Chef Hat in the Australian Good Food Guide (AGFG). Few restaurant arrivals can rival the one you will have at this lauded restaurant, where the food is just as impressive as the location.

For something more interactive (and educational), there’s the half-day Broken Bay Pearl Farm experience, which features a guided boat tour from Calabash Bay Lodge’s pontoon up Berowra Creek to Broken Bay’s Marramarra oyster lease. There, you’ll learn about the intricate lifecycle of oysters from seafood to pearl production, and taste oysters freshly plucked and shucked from the farm. You’ll even learn the secrets of pearl cultivation and get hands-on at a pearl grading session at the Brooklyn ‘Shellar Door’, before rounding out the experience with a grazing lunch of local ingredients, including oysters and sparkling wine, served by the river.

A little further afield, and worth hiring a water taxi for, is the elevated restaurant and accommodation, Peats Bite. With its waterfront position, architecturally built restaurant and picture-perfect lawns that sweep down to the boat-dotted berth, this might just be the ultimate long lunch destination.

But no matter how you choose to spend your days at Calabash Bay Lodge, the sweetest part is knowing that at the end of it you’ll be falling asleep in the peaceful sanctuary that is this breathtaking pocket of New South Wales. To me, Calabash Bay Lodge encapsulates much of what is unique about the Australian landscape, and the special breed of luxurious yet nature-led hospitality to be experienced in this country. It seems to say: You’ve arrived. There is beauty all around. Now, please, leave your worries at the door.

And I do.

wildluxury.co/calabash-bay-lodge

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The Ultimate Hawkesbury Pearler’s Package is priced from $930 per person for six guests (AU$5580 total for two nights), including two nights at Wild Luxury’s secluded Hawkesbury River property, Calabash Bay Lodge, a private tour of Broken Bay Pearl Farm’s local oyster leases and ‘shellar door’, a three-course private chef meal at the Lodge, a bottle of Oakridge sparkling on arrival, exclusive use of the Lodge’s guest boat to explore the river (with a full tank of fuel included) and water toys such as kayaks, paddleboards, a Canadian style double canoe and fishing rods.