Rainforest retreat gives frazzled urbanites a place to escape the daily grind

“All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness, is a simple, frugal heart,” says our host softly, looking up from her journal. “That’s a quote from the Greek writer and philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis. I think his words just about cover it, don’t you?”

It’s a late summer morning, and I’m sitting in the shade of a giant eucalypt beside three other women in the Border Ranges National Park in northern New South Wales. Our host, Ruth Walker, one half of the outdoorsy British husband-and-wife duo who run this new Rest and Restore retreat through their company Bower Camp Co., is guiding us through a nature-based art class.

The bush camp at Bower in Border Ranges National Park, NSW.Credit: Kate Holmes

We’ve been sent on a short bushwalk to collect pieces of nature - fallen leaves and nuts, mosses and twigs - and have returned to camp to draw, paint or write about what we’ve collected.
The soothing exercise works well with the Walkers’ aim: to reconnect frazzled urbanites to the simplicity of nature.

Recognising that we’re all feeling the weight of this time of great geo-political and ecological turmoil, the cost of living crisis, the constant competition for our emotions and attention and the pressure to work harder and longer, their goal is to return us to our “simple, frugal hearts” via the earth. As Ruth puts it, “we’re challenging burnout culture by providing rest and restoration in immersive nature camp retreats, where all the work is done for you.”

Their offering doesn’t qualify as glamping (no bathtubs, bell tents, or bathrobes here), but it’s not regular camping either, since there’s none of the heavy lifting. Arriving at Sheepstation Creek campground the day before I found my spacious tent already set up in a clearing beneath towering gums, and kitted out with a proper mattress bed and cotton sheets.

Stop for a plunge in crisp waterholes.

Soon after settling in, dinner was called, with Walker’s husband Bob - who previously owned a food business and is ever-ready with daggy dad jokes - dishing up a rustic alfresco Greek feast including barbecued marinated lamb, homemade tzatziki and lemon infused rainbow chard, followed by a fire-baked banana split. It was all served by candlelight under the stars, and was delicious and simple in a way that works well with our bush setting.

Simplicity is key to the Bower Camp Co. experience. After our art class and a breathwork session run by Northern Rivers-based artist and breathwork teacher Mia Taninaka, we head off on a bushwalk through the Gondwana World Heritage-listed rainforest. We thread past fizzing waterfalls, blooms of wild mushrooms and ancient Antarctic Beech trees, stopping for plunges in crisp waterholes and a picnic lunch of caponata, homemade dips and cheese.

Camp dinner is a rustic alfresco Greek feast.

When we return to camp there’s a fresh pot of lemongrass tea brewing over the campfire, a nice accompaniment to an afternoon of reading on our camp verandahs and napping in our tents. Even though Bob has rigged up a hot shower, I opt to stay steeped in river water.

I’m certain it leads to one of the deepest sleeps I’ve had in months - although the fact that we’re out of phone reception, and the croak and hum of the bush wafting through the tent walls, surely helps too.

Take a bushwalk through the Gondwana World Heritage-listed rainforest

Our final sun-dappled morning brings a (surprisingly liberating) 80s dance class, a breakfast of crushed pumpkin seed and banana pancakes, and a good dose of sitting and watching the local bowerbirds, goannas and pademelons do their thing.

By the time I pull out of the campground, I’m convinced my heart does feel more simple and frugal - and that I’m much happier than I was before I arrived.

THE DETAILS

Bower Camp Co.’s Rest and Restore Retreat costs from $1150 a person for three nights, including all meals, drinks, workshops and guided activities, with single, double, twin and family tent setups available. They also run camps for corporate groups and for parents and children in the Border Ranges National Park, about two hours drive from Gold Coast airport, and other private locations. Phone [phone]; see bowercampco.com.au

The writer was a guest of Bower Camp.