East Kunderang Homestead Holiday House – Armidale

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes Nestled in the bottom of a valley and beside the Macleay river in Australia’s Grand Canyon Country – the New England gorges of NSW – this restored Australian red cedar homestead is a magnificent find, and more “old regret” than anything in the Snowy Mountains. It’s accessed via a rough 4WD-only dirt track that traverses the Oxley Wild River National Park, making it isolated, serene and a great place for escaping to wilderness.

Inside the restored heritage-listed homestead, an incredibly well stocked modern kitchen doubles as a massive communal dining room, while the fireplace is so cosy you cannot avoid dozing on the couch with a good book. Its five bedrooms sleep up to 14 very comfortably, and while most guests think they’ll walk, fish, canoe or horse ride, most laze on the stunning verandah and meditate on the tame red neck wallabies, or on how such stunning surrounds could possibly come to be.

Details // Oxley Wild Rivers NP, via Wollmbi, NSW. From $165 per night for Homestead, from $82.50 per night for staff quarters. www.environment.nsw.gov.au, 02 6738 9100.