Thursday June 17
We booked a Luxury Escapes getaway just for a change of scene. Riverside Oaks is a golf resort about 1 hour from the Sydney CBD - just outside of Windsor.
We left Thursday around 11:30am - a bit earlier than planned as our usual Thursday morning tennis was cut short with 2 players away (Barb and Janette), one sick (Simon) one injured (Neil) and even the pinch-hitter (Avril) quit early with a sore arm. So after a very pleasant drive through the “Hills District” we arrived in time for lunch at the Bistro, which in fact is the only restaurant at the Oaks. We shared a surprisingly good pizza which made us feel more positive about having both breakfast and dinner there for 3 days running. Any alternative dining venue is a least 20-30 K’s away and then it would still be pub food or the ubiquitous Thai shop-front diner.
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving to Windsor village and walking around checking out some of the historic buildings - including the Macquarie Arms Hotel built in 1815 and the oldest hotel building in Australia (but without a continuous licence so the Lord Nelson’s title is secure). There are numerous historic buildings of similar vintage - the former Post Office built in 1828, and so on - most now operating as cafes, gelato shops, junk shops, and low end clothing shops - all looking like they could use a lick of paint and a general spruce up.
Back at the the Oaks - we rested, enjoyed half of our complimentary cheese plate and bottle of plonk before hitting the Bistro again for dinner - I had a peri-peri chicken burger and Dieter had lamb shanks (singular) - both pretty good, particularly for the price.
Friday June 19
We got up to a warm and sunny day (for winter): 8-18C. After an early Nespresso coffee watching breakfast TV news - we had breakfast at, you guessed it, the Bistro. A full a la carte brekkie was included in our package even with barista coffee - we both has eggs Benedict - yummy but filling.
The golf course was busy with golfers and 100’s if not 1000’s of kangaroos - sunning themselves and munching the green grass (the kangaroos that is) - what a life - why live in the outback and eat scrub.
We spent the day doing a roadie - up to St Albans via Wiseman’s ferry (we actually took the Webb Creek ferry about 1 KM up the river to avoid a gravel road on the other side). About the only thing of interest in St Albans is the Settlers Arms Inn built in 1836 - when posting this info on WhatsApp I found many of my Sydney friends are very familiar with the pub and the town - a popular weekend spot for petrol heads and bikers. See https://www.settlersarms.com.au
Since it was too early for lunch we drove back to Wiseman’s Ferry village and had lunch at another historic pub - Wiseman’s Inn Hotel - established in 1827 - see https://www.wisemansinnhotel.com.au
After lunch we drove to the Peninsula House and John Tebbutt’s Observatory at Windsor (as recommended by Judy) - however it is no longer open to the public. John Tebbutt was a famous Australian astronomer who discovered the “great comet of 1861". He and his observatory were pictured on the back side of the first Australian $100 note in 1984 and was only replaced when a polymer note was issued in 1996.
Then it was back to the Oaks for showers and dinner at the Bistro which was hip hop and happening, being locals' night. I had salmon (pretty good) and Dieter had steak (a bit tough).
Saturday June 20
It started as a clear sunny day (10-18C) but had clouded over by the time breakfast was finished. We drove to a lagoon for a walk but alas it was closed as it is part of the Cattai National Park which was closed due to recent floods. As it was quite a dreary day - we stopped at the local museum in Windsor which was small but interesting - there was even an original oil painting of our new hero, John Tebbutt and his observatory - unfortuantely the painting had been damaged in a flood (but not the recent one) - in fact the museum showcased some of the catastrophic floods in the Hawksbury region since the 1800’s. The museum covered the history of St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Windsor which is more than 200 years old and the oldest Anglican church building in Australia. So we stopped there too for a photo op.
From here we drove onto Kurrajong, up along the Old Bell’s Line Road. It’s a quaint small town so we had lunch at a nice looking cafe - where the food failed to impress us foodies.
Finally as it was quite cold and drizzly we headed back to the Oaks for a game of Scrabble (Dieter won - but he was assisted by a bingo) before dinner - salmon again for me and pizza for Dieter.
Sunday June 21
After breakfast we packed up and headed back to Sydney via a different route - avoiding freeways - very scenic in parts - by the time we hit Hornsby it was bucketing rain. We arrived home just after midday - the afternoon was spent unpacking and doing some grocery shopping.
The Covid outbreak has expanded to 9 cases - so we’re on tender hooks to see if Queensland close their border to all of Sydney not just Waverly Council area (eastern suburbs).
