Glamping Experience Near Sydney, Australia
I shout out the directions – “From Mogo, turn left into Tomakin Road and follow to the end (approx. 7 km). Turn right onto GB drive, cross the Tomago river, then Candalagan Creek” while my husband driving the car can’t make sense of my rambling directions. “Tomago where? And what was the creek name you said?” he asks me. Baffled, I stare at the printed map in my hand. I repeat “TOMAGO RIVER” and suddenly see our car crossing a bridge over a river-looking water body. “Think this is the Tomago River”, I shout out loud.
“Why doesn’t the GPS just work here?, says my husband. “Well it just doesn’t. That’s why we have this map with directions coz the GPS ain’t reliable on these roads” is my comeback. We soon find ourselves on George Bass drive, and whizz past a gate with the tiny signboard that seemed to be the place where we had to turn in. I scream “S**T, think we missed our turn”. Piqued by now, my husband can’t just jam the brakes and make a U-turn in the middle of a busy road. So we keep driving until we find a proper place to turn around and go back looking out for that tiny signboard. When we finally turn into the small gate, we are on a gravel path surrounded with tall trees in a forest like setting. It is eerily quiet except for the squish and crackle of the pebbles and dried leaves being smashed by our car’s tires. By now scenes from “I Know What You Did Last Summer” begin to play out in my mind. The car travels up an inclined off road track to reach a shack where a slightly old-ish looking man is standing and smiling at us. We park the car, get out and are warmly welcomed by this gentleman. He is Mark Berry, the owner of this acreage of forest land. The cordial greeting starts to make me feel a bit at ease.
This was the scene a few weeks ago when my husband and I decided to spend a couple of nights at “The Bower” on the south coast of NSW. Located at Broulee, near Batemans Bay the drive is about four hours south of Sydney. Being total newbies at camping but wanting to experience the outdoors in a natural and fun manner, we decided to opt for a “glamping” or glamour camping experience. This took away the hassles of planning and execution of camping which we were pretty clueless about and are still learning. Read figuring out what to pack, what sleeping bag to buy, how to protect ourselves from the rain/heat/mosquitoes, how to pitch a tent, what first aid kit to put together and where to buy lasting camping equipment. As most camping sites are in the outdoors surrounded by natural beauty, my other concern was not knowing how I would be able to manage shared shower and toilet facilities in the camp grounds. Other nuances to figure out included cooking and BBQ supplies like wood, gas, perishable food items, stove top, cutlery , cleaning supplies, etc.
So now after the initial formalities, Mark gets into his car and asks us to follow him in our car to our “Glamping” accommodation that we have booked in for the next 2 nights. As we move slowly through the narrow winding path, surrounded by the lush foliage there is a sense of clam embodying us. And then we see it – An American Airstream travel trailer, nicknamed “The Bambino” overlooking a small pond surrounded by the ancient Burrawang palms and spotted gum trees. This is where we will be living for the next 2 days. Mark starts giving us a tour of “The Bambi” as he calls it. There is a large queen sized bed with soft sheets, pillows and blankets. Clean towels and heart shaped chocolates are styled on the bed’s centre just like a bed in a hotel room. A self-sufficient kitchenette is fully stocked with cutlery, cooking utensils, an electric stove top and basic breakfast supplies. I like the foldable table around a compact diner style sofa. There is also a TV and DVD player but we won’t be watching any movies. A small side cabinet is fully stocked with a first-aid kit, torches and matches. There is an internal shower, toiletries and a composting toilet (OMG I have never used this before and wonder how the experience will be). Mark tells us that once a day a cleaner will come grab the toilet waste as the bin slides from underneath the trailer.
Moving outside, Mark shows us the BBQ grill where we are free to BBQ our own food (He also supplies marinated meats and veggies to guests pressed for time). The wood for the campfire is ready for us to light up. I am looking forward to sitting around the campfire with the sun setting in and the balmy summer breeze hitting my skin. Before leaving us on our own, we ask Mark if there is anything else we should be aware of (I am thinking snakes in my head). “Don’t feed a friendly possum that roams around this forest as it has bitten few guests in the past. And there is a long tailed yellow marsupial that makes a mating noise at night that sounds like a crying baby”. Other than that he tells us to just have fun and relax. So we get down to the business of lighting the campfire, eating our picnic food we have brought along for dinner and retire in early for the night. We leave the net windows of the Bambi open for the night for the air to circulate. We are tired after the long drive from Sydney. Although my husband falls asleep quickly, I do have trouble sleeping. Maybe it’s the new bed I think. Or it’s the crickets and other insect noises in the forest. After a few toss and turns, I do fall off to sleep awakened with the morning light streaming in from all the windows in the airstream.
A bit groggy with sleep, we gulp down some water and head to “The Mossy Café” at Mossy Point to get our caffeine fix and some brekkie. It is the best café in the area sourcing fresh local food serving great coffees and meals. We enjoy our time at the café and decide will return here the next morning as well. On our way back, we make a quick stop at an IGA to stock up on food supplies for the next 2 days. We spend a quiet morning lounging in the sun chairs feeling utterly submerged in nature. Mark has left a tin of bird feed in the Airstream, so we lay it out on the bird feeder perched on a tree outside. Much to our surprise, a pair of colourful parrot like birds come flying in and peck on all the bird food laid out. This is just fabulous. Mark and his wife also offer spa facilities onsite. They can further organize picnics for guests and have tons of information on bush walking in and around the Batemans bay area. We have not picked up any of these activities, rather decide to laze around and have a relaxed lunch. We drive around the south coast exploring the area, stopping over to pick up cheese and eat ice creams from the local ABC Cheese factory in Tilba. We get back to the Bambi in the evening , then light the campfire, whip up a quick dinner and sip on some wine. After this rest to get some sleep to get up next morning only to realize our trip is going to end and we will be heading home soon. So we get packing, say our goodbyes , thank Mark and his team and are on way on the highway driving towards Sydney.
So how did we feel about this experience? It has been one of the quietest and most peaceful getaway for us with complete privacy. I like the fact that Mark and his team have eco-friendly styles of accommodation that minimize a lot of waste. It took away all the hassles of planning and executing and still let us have all the fun of the outdoors. It was the first of many of our experiences – Our first experience at glamping. Our first experience living in the Australian bush. Our first experience at tiny living. It awed us. It left us wanting for more!
NOTE: This is NOT a sponsored post. All views expressed are my own. We paid for the trip, accommodation and food all on our own expenses.
