Waltzing Matilda: Eco-conscious Banjos Bushland Retreat for sale

Lisa Calautti

First published 25 February 2025, 12:00pm

A luxury eco-conscious Hunter Valley bushland retreat with a name inspired by one of Australia’s most celebrated poets, has hit the market with price hopes of $2 million plus.

Spanning three land titles and more than 8ha, Banjos Bushland Retreat, located at 588, 590 and 592 Moonabung Road, Vacy, includes three architecturally designed lodges with an Australian theme honouring poet, Banjo Paterson.

Banjos Bushland Retreat, located at 588, 590 and 592 Moonabung Road, Vacy. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

“The owner’s nickname was ‘Banjo’, because his surname is Patterson, so it’s just a private, personal connection to Banjo Paterson and each of the buildings that they’ve built themselves, are named after the poems,” sales agent Michael Chapman from Colliers Newcastle said.

Surrounded by a 400ha of nature reserve at the peak of the Moonabung Mountain Range, the retreat includes the two bedroom ‘Swagman’s Rest Lodge’, the three bedroom ‘Clancy’s Lodge’ and the four bedroom, ‘Brumby’s Run Lodge’.

“They’re obviously about 12-years old, but they were architecturally designed back then and built really, really well and have stood the test of time, so minimal capital expenditure is required,” Mr Chapman said.

Banjos Bushland Retreat includes a playground and mini golf course. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

The property includes a tennis court. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

Guest facilities include a tennis court, a nine hole mini golf course with each hole named after one of the retreat’s local wildlife species, an indoor spa, sauna and a playground.

There are also plenty of bushwalk trails, rivers, and it is also a short drive to a yabby pond for fishing, rainforest walks and walking trails.

The retreat includes the two bedroom ‘Swagman’s Rest Lodge’, the three bedroom ‘Clancy’s Lodge’ and the four bedroom, ‘Brumby’s Run Lodge’. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

The carbon-neutral and self-sufficient retreat has a grid-fed solar power system with 50 solar panels and all water is sourced naturally, from rainwater tanks and piped underground to the lodges and the recreation facility.

Located two hours from Sydney, the retreat is a stone’s throw from the Hunter Valley wine country, Port Stephens and Newcastle.

The carbon-neutral and self-sufficient retreat has a grid-fed solar power system. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

Mr Chapman said a range of potential buyers have expressed interest.

“It’s been pretty good over the last couple of weeks with a reasonable level of inquiry,” he said.

“There’s been a bit of a range of private interests and operational interest, so people looking at actually running it and continuing that accommodation offering themselves, which is fairly broad at this point.”

A range of potential buyers have expressed interest in the property. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

Located two hours from Sydney, the retreat is a stone’s throw from the Hunter Valley wine country. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

There was nothing quite like the four and half star rated Bushland Retreat within the region, Mr Chapman said.

“They’ve got a really strong occupancy rate in their booking history,” he said.

“They’ve got customers that come back every year and just have a recurring booking for a weekend or a week, or two weeks. So they’ve built a very loyal customer base over the years running it.”

There was nothing quite like the four and half star rated Bushland Retreat within the region, Mr Chapman said. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

All water for the property is sourced naturally, from rainwater tanks and piped underground to the lodges and the recreation facility. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

Like many regional areas across Australia, the Hunter Valley region saw local tourism benefit during the pandemic, and Mr Chapman said smaller towns including Vacy were popular.

“There is lots happening up there. There is lots of residential subdivisions, which they haven’t previously seen and a lot of the buyers are coming from out of town like Sydney, or the Central Coast,” he said.