Driving Directions to The Retreat Bushland Lodge at Eaglereach Highland Park

In Brief
Take the Sydney - Newcastle (F3) expressway north to Maitland, then Paterson, Vacy - turn left immediately after Vacy Bridge into Summer Hill Road – go a few kilometres - then left at large Eaglereach sign.

Eaglereach Highland Park (“The Park”) is located about 35 minutes drive north of Maitland. Driving to the Park generally takes two hours from Wahroonga, not counting stops, provided you are not travelling in “peak hour” on Friday night, or on one of the busy days such as Good Friday or Boxing Day.

Expressway Stops
There is a major Caltex service station and food stop at Wyong on both the north and south bound sides of the expressway.

The Tuggerah Westfield shopping centre is also just off the expressway at Wyong. It has restaurants, coffee shops and fast food outlets as well as department and specialty stores. This is a good place for a break if you’re not in a hurry.

At the end of the expressway (just on the Hexham side of the large roundabout) there is a new BP / Hungry Jacks / Stockland service station and food centre. Just turn right at the roundabout (towards Hexham and Brisbane via the Pacific Highway) and you will see the centre. Use the short side road through the industrial area (exit past the petrol pumps to the right or else head toward Hexham and turn left) to get back to the main road to Maitland.

Maitland
Maitland is a significant centre with good shopping, restaurants, historical sites, as well as two 18 hole golf courses and two Olympic swimming pools (the main one in the park on the southern side of the railway station).

For further information about places to go and events to attend in Maitland, ring the Visitor Information Centre on (02) 4931 2800 (or fax 4931 2811).

When you reach Maitland you may like to pick up provisions or refuel with a meal.

As you enter East Maitland, when travelling from Sydney or Newcastle, you may notice a large sign imploring you to “hang a left” to McDonald’s. Even if you miss the sign, you can’t miss the large McDonald's (eat in and drive through) and KFC on the left at the intersection with Buchanan Road. A Pizza Hut is a little further along from the KFC .

There is a Woolworths (02 4936 6833) in the Green Hills Shopping Centre at East Maitland for provisions. This is open until 10pm weeknights, 9pm on Saturday and 8pm on Sunday. Turn left off the highway at the corner with the new hospital and Molly Morgan’s Motel. This is just before the main intersection with Buchanan Road. Go down to the roundabout where there is a grammar school and then take a right. You will see Woolworths up the road.

There is also an IGA/Clancy’s supermarket in Lorn just over the Hunter River bridge outside Maitland on the road to Paterson. This is open until 8.00pm each evening. (And there are other supermarkets in Maitland’s CBD.)

East Maitland also has the top class, famous (and expensive) "Old George and Dragon" Restaurant which has won many NSW country awards for excellence (best country restaurant in NSW). Reservations are essential. Phone 02 4933 7272.

The Morpeth Village with antiques and crafts a few kilometres along from East Maitland is worth a visit en route to or from the Park or as an outing. Morpeth has lots of cafes.

To get to the Park after passing through East Maitland, don't turn right to the Maitland shopping center, but travel further until you reach the large roundabout near Maitland railway station. Turn right, over the railway lines and immediately left, in the direction of Lorn and Paterson. You go through a small roundabout in this bypass road.

When you get to the set of traffic lights (and just before you cross the Hunter River heading to Lorn) there is a good Thai restaurant, the Maneeya, just to the right in High Street (opposite the pub). Reservations are probably not necessary (02 4933 1717).

Lorn
There is a little restaurant in Lorn which changes it’s name with new owners (the last shop on the right) but is fine for meals and snacks. Probably no need to book here.

If you are travelling in of an evening this may be the last village at which you can stop for provisions. The little IGA supermarket noted above is open till about 8.00pm. It has supermarket food, but very little in the way of fresh veggies and no packaged meat except deli style.

Lorn itself is a delightful settlement with some magnificent examples of colonial architecture.

Paterson
A few kilometres north of Paterson is the tiny village of Vacy. The village has a church, school, a mechanics institute, a pub, a fire station, a motel, and a general store/post office with a petrol pump. You can purchase most consumables from Nicole Coleman and her staff at the general store which is the closest "shop" to the Park (02 4938 8138). The general store opens at 7.30am and closes at 6.00pm. During the Christmas period it is usually open from 7.30am to 12 midday on the public holidays. The Farmers Hotel is owned by Karen Christe. Karen and her team serve lunch and dinner on Saturdays, lunch on Sunday and dinner on Fridays. The fare is typical pub bistro: (02 4938 8106).

On to the Park
Just across the one-lane timber bridge going north out of Vacy (towards Gresford) there is a sign to "Eaglereach" on the left (Summer Hill Road). Take Summer Hill Road bearing left all the way (there is turn off to the right along the way to Fishers Hill - do not take that road). If driving at dusk or in the evening, please keep an eye out for kangaroos.

After a few kilometres you will come to a one lane wooden bridge over the Paterson River. In very heavy rains this bridge becomes flooded. In the unlikely event this is the case, you will need to go back through Vacy to use the alternative route to the Park via Lennoxton Road, which commences on the Paterson to Vacy road, south of Vacy village. It meets Summer Hill Road just on the other side of the bridge over the Paterson River. The river at the bridge is a popular swimming spot in summer.

After you have crossed the Paterson River Bridge it will only be a minute or two and you will see a large sign for "Eaglereach" on the left. Turn left at the sign onto Moonabung Road. The road will take you over a cattle grid, first through pasture and then up the mountain to the Park.

Keep following the bitumen road and keep a good look out as cars do travel up and down and passing requires a some cooperation between drivers. There is one mirror on a blind corner and most drivers toot their horn coming up to the corner. Again, please watch out for kangaroos as are often active and can be unpredictable. They may be mesmerised by your car headlights and fail to move out of your way or suddenly jump out onto the road.

You will pass some of the lodges built outside the main Park entrance, and eventually reach a junction (virtually at the top of the hill) where the bitumen road goes to the right, up a steep hill, and a dirt road to the left beyond a boom-gate (which is the main entrance).

As you will have your own key to the boom-gate, you turn left and use the blue boom-gate access key to lift the boom-gate and enter the Park.

The road through the Park is gravel, and you should travel along at the recommended slow speed.

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