Steve and Sharon’s long connection with the Clarence River began in 1978 on their first date at the Pacific Yamba Hotel, located at the mouth of the Clarence River.
It was love at first sight for each other … and for the Clarence River!
Although Steve was travelling around Australia and Sharon was on a surfing holiday, they both instantly knew that the incredible Clarence River was the place where they would eventually settle down.
In 1982, after living in Brisbane and with a new baby in tow, Steve and Sharon moved to the headwaters of the Clarence River, a place that has now been their home for more than 40 years.
“At the time we were part of a wave of young people who moved to the bush,” says Steve and Sharon. “We were looking for an alternative to the suburban dream and also attracted to the affordability of the land.
“We grew organic peaches and kiwifruit for 14 years before we decided to create a unique style of accommodation and camping area that is entirely off grid and in harmony with the surrounding bush setting.”
“Driven by our commitment to environmental values and our limited financial resources, we decided to rebirth some existing buildings on the site. Our travels around Australia had given us both a taste of all different types of accommodation and we knew that we wanted to give our accommodation a very Australian style.”
“One of the cabins started life as ‘tickies’ accommodation on the Mt Lindsay border gate, the other cabin was Main Roads workers’ accommodation. We refurbished both these cabins in a rustic style, using timber that we had felled and milled on the property.”
“After rebirthing these cabins, we finally realised our dream and opened the Clarence River Wilderness Lodge in 1991.”
Located in a stunning setting with 10 km river frontage, surrounded by a National Park, State Forests and in the middle of the rugged Great Dividing Range, the Clarence River Wilderness Lodge is indeed a very special place.
Clarence River Wilderness Lodge has only ever had the small river-flats cleared, leaving the remaining 90 percent of the property as old growth forest, which is made up of some rainforest, wet and dry sclerophyll forest. This area has also been protected as a wildlife refuge since the purchase of the property in 1982.
“We started this business as a way to allow us to live a country lifestyle while earning a living, but it has turned into much more than that.
“We have created a lodge that brings people closer to nature and away from technology, providing them with an unforgettable unique tourism experience.”
