Top Spot For Good Sports

Sun Herald

Sunday March 20, 2005

Tony Grantham ? The writer was a guest of Watersedge.

Watersedge is just the place for a bit of contemplation, writes Tony Grantham.

YOU DON'T have to be an Olympic athlete to appreciate Watersedge, a house built on stilts over a dam on the Oberon Plateau but you'd feel right at home if you were.

The house has been trucked from the much-acclaimed athletes' village at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and lovingly and imaginatively re-created in the high country.

The clue just about the only giveaway is in the height of the internal doors. They reach the eaves. There's no information on just which athletes might have used the accommodation but there's no doubt it would have suited the world's elite basketballers down to the ground or should that be up to the ceiling.

But you don't have to be a good sport to enjoy Watersedge and its facilities. There's a graded road around the property that can be used to give the legs and lungs a good workout. And there are canoes that you can take out on the dam to exercise as vigorously as you dare. For the more sedentary, there's a pedal boat.

There's no hunting or shooting (though the local graziers might appreciate fewer kangaroos around) but there's fishing in the dam (trout, perch and yabbies for sport only). If you prefer casting your aspirations a little more widely than the front yard, the Oberon area prides itself on several trout rivers and good fishing at Lake Oberon.

Watersedge is a fun place. There's an illuminated waterfall screen in the lounge room and glass panels in the floor that look down on the dam and on anyone who cares to paddle their canoe under the house.

The wraparound deck leads to the barbecue area that, with its roof, opening window and bench seat can only be described as sumptuous. Then on to the boatshed, which is spacious and well designed, even to the hanging rail for the lifejackets.

I turned to my wife and said: "Gee, wouldn't this be a great place for kids?" Her indulgent grin in reply revealed that the child within had already taken over.

An hour's drive west of Katoomba, Watersedge is just past the hamlet of Hampton and about 14 kilometres before Oberon. The 40-hectare property also houses the Bindo Creek Cabins, four other ex-Olympic athletes' homes that proprietors Chris and Janet McEwen have turned into a most appealing getaway.

The property has well-graded roads and the accommodation is very private the cabins are over the hill and out of sight from Watersedge and provides a stimulating 40-minute round walk that is a perfect heart-starter. You'll see plenty of wildlife, too. There are huge kangaroos, heading for the shelter of the trees as the early mist clears, and signs of wombats and foxes. There are flocks of eastern rosellas, a pair of crimson rosellas, king parrots and tiny, bright, swift wrens. And sulphur-crested cockatoos and magpies of course, which would probably have woken you a couple of hours earlier.

Watersedge is about enjoying the simple things that make country life so alluring to city dwellers.

There are plenty of activities near at hand, such as fishing (Riverlands Fly and Sportsfishing, phone 0418 435 410), horse riding (High Country Trail Rides, 6336 5115), golf on the foreshores of Lake Oberon, 6336 0262) or bike riding or walking in the Kanangra-Boyd National Park (for bike hire phone the Oberon Bicycle User Group, 6335 6249).

There are several cafes in Oberon but the choices for evening eating appear limited. Watersedge, however, is the sort of place you don't want to leave. The accommodation is self-catering, with a spacious, modern and well-equipped kitchen.

There's a wonderful wood-burning fire that warms the whole house, and back-up heaters in the lounge and dining areas and bedrooms, heated towel rails in the bathrooms and electric blankets on the very comfortable beds. Watersedge sleeps eight. Two bedrooms have queen-size beds and the third sleeps four a double bed with single bunk above, and a separate single bed.

It's a great place for contemplation and, to judge by the visitors' book, many families have found the isolation good for bonding and/or healing.

There's not much to beat sitting out on the deck with a glass of wine and watching the sun go down or, later, getting lost in the rapture of the sparkling night sky for which the bush is famous.

Address: Watersedge, 1543 Duckmaloi Road, Oberon, 2787.

Bookings: Phone 0419 010 250, fax 9594 4345, email janet@dot.net.au, seewww.watersedgeoberon.com.au.

Rates: Weekend two nights $1100, three nights $1500. Midweek two nights $850. Week $2200. Extra for school holidays, long weekends.

Character: 5/5

Facilities: 4.5/5

Service/amenities: 4.5/5

Value: 3.5/5

Rating: 17.5/20

© 2005 Sun Herald

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