There’s something about Calabash Bay Lodge that makes you feel as though you’re constantly immersed in nature – while simultaneously suspended in a glittering, fantastical bubble, entirely untouchable. When the mist sets in, you’re caught in a cloud that's thick with fairytale mystery – but you're dry and comfortable, and likely holding a glass of good wine.
When the sky clears, the sunlight throws shafts of gold through the windows and wraps the rooms in an easy warmth. Always, the river dominates the space: sitting quietly beautiful through the floor-to-ceiling windows like an antique mirror, inviting a sense of deep, transporting peace.
We arrive in this Berowra Waters lodge, in Sydney's north, on a misty Saturday at the end of November, and the sense of springtime anticipation – ripe with the promise of summer – casts a spell across the valley.
We were the only people at the wharf, and the waterside neighbourhood was entirely still aside from the gentle undulation of the river. From across the bay, the lodge’s host appeared by boat, helping us load aboard our bags and groaning boxes of groceries. The lodge appeared tucked between cabbage gums on the hillside that tumbles down to the water, a jacaranda on the riverbank shrouding a corner of the garden in a cloud of purple.
In a parallel universe, we might have arrived by seaplane from Rose Bay. The sun might have been shining and we might have sprawled onto the lawn for an afternoon of boules and a meal prepared by the host. As it was, we spent the day exploring the river on the lodge’s fleet of kayaks and paddle boards, made lunch at 4pm and spent the evening watching movies and walking the sandstone track behind the house, guided by moonlight.
Wild Luxury describes its offering as “somewhere between a holiday rental and a luxury hotel”, and it’s that sense of extravagance paired with boundless independence that defines a stay here. All of the best elements of a luxury hotel stay are there – organic cotton robes, high-end skincare products, a chef available for hand-prepared meals – but nothing is forced or unnecessarily structured.
We only met our host twice: once on the morning that he ferried us across to the house, and again the following day when he took us (and most of our unconsumed groceries) back across the bay. Had we fancied a hand-prepared meal, a ride to a nearby restaurant or a top-up of supplies, he would have been just a call away.
Set across three floors (four if you count the rooftop yoga space), the lodge itself is a feat of design – with interiors by award-winning interior designer Carole Whiting complementing the light-filled space. Art from Aboriginal artists lines the walls, and the marble-trimmed kitchen is home to stacks of handmade crockery and designer glassware. It’s a space that you never want to leave.
Calabash Bay Lodge is one of two properties owned by husband and wife team Kim and Derek Ellis, who founded Wild Luxury with a mission to create a new breed of luxury accommodation. The aim is to combine immersion in “some of Sydney’s most pristine natural environments” with “exquisite design, local art and culture”. At this waterside home, they’ve done exactly that.
You can learn more about Calabash Bay Lodge over here.
