Four Great Glamping Getaways
Part bush camp, part Tales of the Arabian Nights: that’s the image Laurelle Grimley had in mind when she and her husband John were setting up their Tasmanian glamping retreat, Truffle Lodge. “I grew up watching black-and-white movies and you’d see these sheikhs rescuing damsels and taking them back to their fabulously romantic desert tents,” she says, adding, “Some years ago we did stay with Tuareg nomads in the Sahara desert and their tents were nothing like that!”
Truffle Lodge’s safari tents may be set on a riverfront instead of in the desert but any discerning sheikh would happily give them his seal of approval. There is silk drapery and Persian carpets, leather and canvas lounges, and furniture made of recycled wood, including a fantastic wooden bathtub set in an en suite that is a converted rainwater tank.
The lodgings may be luxurious, but Truffle Lodge also has a wonderful laidback feel. Head to the lounger and you’ll find not just daybeds to relax on but a record player with a vinyl LP collection and even a table tennis set. “We wanted to throw back to our days as kids growing up in the bush,” Laurelle says. “The food is comfort food – we do a roast lamb board where a couple can carve their own meat.”
It’s not just the set-up that is seductive. Truffle Lodge has also nailed the setting. Sit on your deck overlooking the Derwent River and gaze out over the rolling farmland to the mountains beyond, and you feel like you are miles away from civilisation – but Hobart is just 40 kilometres away. That makes Truffle Lodge one of the few places where you can easily take in a world-class museum in the morning – MONA is just a short drive away – and then head out in a kayak later the same day to spy on the wild platypus that live in these waters.
Other popular activities including visiting the magnificent Russell Falls, hiking or mountain biking, farmgate tours or helicopter tours (the lodge has its own helipad.) Or you may find that the sweetest pleasure of all is just kicking back on your deck enjoying the serenity.
THREE MORE GLAMPING EXPERIENCES …
Source_ facebook/WanderingSoulsAUS
WANDERING SOULS | Kangaroo Island, SA
Whether you head here for the wildlife spotting (expect to see not just the titular ’roos but also koala, echidnas and fur seals) or the food and wine scene (both Kangaroo Island Spirits and The Islander Estate Vineyards are recommended), stay in style with Wandering Souls. Its tents are set in a range of well-chosen locations – by a beach, above a vineyard – and each one has its own character, from tropical flair to boho chic.
Source_ facebook/sierraescape, @ryannarex
SIERRA ESCAPE | Mudgee, NSW
With a wealth of fine restaurants and no fewer than 35 wineries scattered around town, Mudgee has quickly become a favourite destination for lovers of fine food and wine. What fewer visitors realise is that the nearby Wollemi National Park offers a wonderful slice of wilderness with its sandstone canyons, its waterways and its Aboriginal rock art sites. Book yourself into the adults-only Sierra Escape and you can finish the day cooking up a storm in the designer kitchen or simply roasting marshmallows in the firepit, before relaxing in the outdoor bathtub.
Source_ Instagram @wilsonisland_
WILSON ISLAND | Queensland
If your idea of the perfect tropical getaway is less glam and more Gilligan, then Wilson Island may be your personal slice of heaven. There’s no phone, no Wi-Fi – and did we mention no children? A 40-minute boat ride from Heron Island, this Great Barrier Reef getaway offers world-class snorkelling on uncrowded reefs – there are just nine glamping tents with shared bathing facilities and a central dining venue.
Words_ Ute Junker
Photos_ Sourced