'Glamping' it up in outdoor luxury

KICKING back on a queen-size bed in the heart of the New South Wales bush, Brad Watts discovers a tent with life's little luxuries.

FORGET conventional camping and welcome to the lap of outdoor luxury, located in the NSW bush near Jervis Bay.

Concealed within dense scrub and meandering mangroves, Paperbark Camp offers the ultimate eco-friendly retreat with opulent tents adorned with everything imagineable, including a bathroom sink and hairdryer.

Named after the dense native trees that encircle the tranquil campsite, Paperbark boasts a dozen elevated, safari-style tents that redefine the term "roughing it".

The top-shelf modern amenities including solar powered lighting, wooden decking, open-air ensuites, deep baths, queen-size beds with crisp cotton sheets and a mosquito net draped overhead.

The lavish and spacious tents – named after local marsupials including the sugar glider – have been carefully pitched in the lush surroundings, which come alive after dark with a unique soundtrack of cicadas, mozzies and inquisitive moths seduced by the lights of your room.

Once you've unpacked, you can enjoy bushwalking and canoeing along the nearby Currambene Creek before indulging in a mouth-watering feast at the campsite's Gunyah restaurant.

The tree-top restaurant's menu features gourmet organic local produce and contemporary bush tucker that you can enjoy in front of a roaring fireplace to escape the crisp night air.

Stars speckled across the night sky

After you've gorged yourself on these gastronomic goodies, grab your wind-up torch and complimentary hot-water bottle and tip-toe back through the whispering paperbarks to your palatial tent.

The deluxe version even has a lounge area of cane furniture day beds.

Under a blanket of stars speckled across the night sky, you can zip down the hatches of your tent-turned-bush palace and hop into the cosy bed where you will literally sleep "like a log".

After being awoken by nature's alarm clock of singing birds next morning, you can jump into the open-air shower or treat yourself to a deep and relaxing soak in the huge bathtub with hot water from the solar-powered heater.

You'll then be ready to enjoy a hot breakfast served in the tree-top restaurant where you can chat with other guests over a freshly brewed coffee.

Playful pods of bottlenose dolphin

Of course, the 40ha bush oasis near Huskisson, about 2.5 hours south of Sydney, is ideal for exploring Jervis Bay, which offers white sandy beaches, clear water and an abundance of marine life including dolphins and whales in the Jervis Bay Marine Park.

On board the Dolphin Explorer cruise you will be astonished by the inquisitive and playful pods of bottlenose dolphins that surf right underneath your cruiser.

As they barrel-roll in front the twin-hulled boat while hitching an underwater ride, the dolphins seem to give you a friendly wink hello before disappearing into the wild blue yonder.

The crew say you're virtually guaranteed to see dolphins frolicking in the picturesque bay and you may even be treated to one of the hyperactive mammals jumping out of the water.

For $25 you can enjoy the cruise, which includes afternoon tea.

You can also paddle in a canoe from the Paperbark campsite to Huskisson, where you can enjoy a cold drink at the pub or a famous Huski pie from the nearby bakery.

The writer was a guest of Shoalhaven Tourism.

The Sunday Telegraph