Here's a beautiful article on Newnes

https://lithgowlocalnews.com/newnes-an-unforgettable-place/Newnes: An Unforgettable Place

Yes we are open and it works ok.

…just a bit more complicated with a gate and a traffic light at Donkey Steps, Wolgan Gap. This means we have to meet you at the top and also escort you out at the end of your stay.

But Newnes is so much more beautiful without the crowds. ‘The Australian’ newspaper called us “the most remote location in Australia, three hours from Sydney” .

We are open again !

We have had no guests since October last year and we are very happy to announce our opening again.

LCC have opened the temporary ‘Donkey Steps' road for residents and their guests only. This is not a public road because it is dangerous and fragile. So, car movements and use have to be restricted.

We pick up our guests at the top and escort them to Newnes and back. 4WDs and All Wheel, low range cars can drive down in their car. Two wheel drives park their car on a privete property at the top and transfer into one of our cars.

This applies to both camping (sorry no caravans and camper trailers) and cabin guests.

Wolgan Road will probably not open again.

Some good News from Newnes

LCC has announced the opening of the Donkey Steps access road from 1st February. This will not be a public road. It’s a one-way system and only for the use of residents. Driving will occur in an LCC assisted convoy. There will be no more camping at Newnes until a new Wolgan Road is constructed.

We have organized a transfer service for our cabin guests. You (up to six passengers) will be picked up at the top where you can park your car on a private property.  We will bring you back to your car at the end of your visit. The transfer charge for the return trip will be $280.

We have not changed our rates but this extra transfer cost will make Newnes a very ‘exclusive’ destination. You get the beautiful Wolgan Valley and Newnes in all its magic and peace and quiet.

We hope you will come back and we look forward to be your host again.

Wolgan Road Update

28 December 2023

The Donkey Steps are operating with a locked gate and a traffic light. The road is for residents and their guests only, restricted to 4WD or All Wheel Drives only and no caravans or camper trailers are allowed. We can transfer guests with normal cars in and out with safe parking available at the top. We are still hoping for a new Wolgan Road but this ‘temporary’ access into the valley might become the ‘permanent’ solution for the Wolgan Valley and Newnes.

Wolgan Road Closure

Wolgan Road is closed after a major landslip on the 8th of November. It will remain closed for a long time. Lithgow Council is building a new road following the Donkey Steps, on the eastern side of The Gap and they are trying to get this open before Christmas. Initially it will be restricted 4WD access only and that’s not really an option for our guests.

So, sorry folks, we have to cancel all bookings until 10th of January now. We might open again for 4WDs after the 10th but realistically, we hope to be fully operating again when The Gap road is fixed - by Christmas 2023 ??

Almost one Year since our last post

It was a strange year since lock-down finished in 2021. It rained a lot which meant the forest has come back from the devastation of the Dec 2019 fires. But it also affected Wolgan Road which now has landslides at Wolgan Gap and big potholes along the gravel section before you come to Newnes. People still come but with the resurging Covid and flue epidemic, the fuel prices and the increasing worries of the greater world it has become a lot quieter at Newnes. It’s still a good place to switch off.

The Wattle season is approaching and the buds look promising

We finally completed the memorial to Allan Watson, who run the Newnes Hotel Kiosk for many decades. Allan passed away in 2017.

Allan as many would remember him in the Kiosk and his railway wagons, now finally sitting on proper rails.

Freedom Day

We hope you have survived the three months of Lock Down and you look forward to some time in nature.

On 15 October we will be allowed to roam again. At Newnes Hotel Cabins camping will be allowed again from that day onwards. Please remember that you need to book a site. The cabins will open again from 1 November. The Hotel and Museum will remain closed but the Kiosk will operate as take away only.

We expect a very busy time post 15th October. May be it’s better to wait a little bit longer with your visit to Newnes.

Lock - Down

Newnes has become very quiet.

We kept busy with work on the Hotel and on the land. The garden is ready for spring, the Philosopher’s Walk is open again and the manager’s residence in the Hotel is making progress.

Council is grading the road and National Parks has gained $2.7mio funding for upgrades (boardwalk, toilets and parking) at the Glow Worm Tunnel.

So, we are still here. Newnes is beautiful as ever. Come and have a break when you can.

With all best wishes from Newnes.

Easter 2021

We’ve been open again since September and it’s been very busy. Newnes has become a lot more busy due to the Covid travel restrictions and - of course - because we are such a fabulous place three hours from Sydney.

We had six days of steady rain which soaked the place. The Wolgan River has come up but there’s been no flood damage. Nature has come back vigorously one year after the fire, the wombats and wallabies are back and new birds seem to have moved in.

Next weekend is Easter and we are totally booked out. Lithgow council are grading the road but they got delayed with all the rain and will not finish before Easter. So take it slowly, the ungraded part of the road is terrible. But you don’t need a 4WD to get here.

Newnes is always beautiful.

We will open again

.. but we are still closed at the moment. While things are getting back to ‘normal’ again we believe we need to do this very slowly.

So, we decided to take limited bookings for camping and cabins from September on only.

We will be closed for the June long weekend and also for the Glow Worm Marathon should they still decide to run.

We hope you understand and we will see you again towards the end of the year.

Please stay safe.

Fire at Newnes

On Saturday 21st December, 2019 the entire Wolgan Valley burnt. All our buildings are fine. We only lost our water supply from Red Cliffs. We now live on Wolgan river water. It’s surprising how many weekenders have actually escaped the inferno. Only Glen Day’s and Stan Philips Senior’s homes were destroyed. It was the most horrific day of my life.

Some of us are still here !

Please have a look at the video on :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B1NL6ICxz8&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1S8uIr7fbA1KcN5T63oAn1LCcX0czGwipMY6lUNXNj3MPLtIW5jWfPJ5c

The Hotel has a new roof and verandah, completed for Christmas 2018.

Here it is, the new roof and front verandah was finally finished on 17 May 2019. Chris and Andy have done a wonderful job. The verandah is a vast expanse of plantation grown Victorian Silver Ash. The roof is still shiny galvanized iron. I would have preferred the more subtle Jasper Colourbond of all our other buildings but the consensus of many different minds was that a historic building should have ‘gal’, simply because they didn’t have Colourbond 100 years ago. We are promised that the glaring shinyness will fade.

We now have a big paint job to do and then replace the south wall.

The new verandah roof

The north wall before re-cladding

Back roof in progress

The back roof done

The finished product