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Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley

Thousands of kangaroos and a magical retreat three hours away from Sydney

By Aurimas Adomavicius

July 8^th, 2019

The last leg of our introductory Australian voyage took place in Wolgan Valley - a depression within the Blue Mountains National Park. Blue Mountains are roughly three hours’ drive from Sydney, so we picked up our rental Subaru Forester and snaked through scenic mountain passes, shimmering blue forests, local apple orchards, bakeries, and roadside cafe’s en route to a resort that seemed to be to good to be true.

For the record, the Blue Mountains are technically not mountains at all… they’re elevated planes. The family and I, however, live in Chicago, a city located in the midwest of the continental US. The last ice age and its pesky glaciers completely wiped all topographical evidence from our neighborhood, so we wholeheartedly agreed that Blue Mountains should retain their name, even if it is slightly inflated.

I later discovered two theories behind the “blue” of the mountains. The first theory is that ancient people of Australia used to call all distant things “blue”… which I guess makes sense. The second one, and the one I tend to agree with, is related to local eucalyptus trees secreting eucalyptus oil. The oil, evaporated by the scorching sun, shimmers upwards and introduces a deep blue tinge to the air (not to mention the wonderful smell). I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Anyway, the Wolgan Valley was historically used as a homestead (circa 1832) and a massive cattle herd grazed in the area. It can, to this day, only be entered through a single trail and so the valley would easily contain the animals, allowing them to freely wonder and graze the seven thousand acres within. That, unfortunately, led to overgrazing and caused significant ecological damage: eroding rivers, local fauna emigrating out of the area, and so on.

Fast forward to more recent times. The resort that is set up in the valley is none other but the Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley. It’s a luxurious, serene, and magical experience, one I can barely scratch to describe in this post and the attached images. But more on that in just a moment. What really strikes one visiting the valley is just how eco friendly and integrated the experience is. Emirates not only built an exquisite retreat, but also invested in fixing the damage caused by years and years of overgrazing. Replanting, river bank restoration, and other investments have resulted in the return of local fauna that has been missing for years. The valley is now home to thousands of kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, wild eagles, and other critters that are rather surprised when a human intrudes on their finely preserved and gated five-star mountain community.

Perhaps more myth of origin than reality, I was told that Emirates was looking to open a flight hub out of Sydney. To justify the mutual expense, the Australian government negotiated with Emirates and asked them to invest in a luxury property, close to the hub, that would increase tourist traffic to Australia, as well as the aforementioned resort. Some hundred and forty million dollars later we have the One & Only Wolgan Valley.

With a total of just over thirty villa’s, the stay never feels crowded or busy. The resort takes up only a single percent of the total park area, leaving the remaining miles of trails for exploration on bike, foot, or stylish and restored Defenders (the only type of vehicle permitted on the grounds, very Jurassic-Park-like). The wildlife is everywhere - kangaroos within meters of your own deck, wombats popping out of their dig holes the moment the sun sets behind the horizon…

The Emirates live up to their name and provide an unforgettable experience. Each day includes two resort activities included in the villa rate, all food and drinks (each evening offers a rotating five course tasting menu from a five star chef), bicycles, a private pool, feisty kangaroos, turndown service, friendly staff, and a feeling of isolation and remoteness that is hard to explain.

This place should be a bucket-list item. There’s no other way to describe it. I’m not sure if we’ll ever be back in Sydney simply due to the distance, but now I certainly want to experience other properties managed by the One & Only.