Wind-swept Aussie island retreat is a hidden gem

The main course arrives with a flourish: a picture-perfect, chiselled slab of King Island eye fillet, sous vide and presented medium rare, with criss-cross char and a sprinkling of oven-baked salt bush.

The artist behind this dish, the talented Aaron Suine – one half of the partnership behind Kittawa Lodge, with husband Nick Stead – smiles as I take in the artwork. It’s locally grown beef, he says, and the butcher it’s sourced from is a conglomerate of five local families. He plucked the salt bush from the land we’re residing on. The pumpkin in the puree and the charred leek alongside are Tasmanian. The woodfire is roaring and I’m delighting in every bite of this decadent four-course solo dinner served in my one-bedroom adults-only abode on King Island, 80 kilometres off the coast of Tasmania and a 50-minute flight from Melbourne.

My off-switch… an oversized concrete bath facing the ocean.Credit: Oscar Sloane

The petite, pearl-like Bass Strait scallop with native wild watercress and a chorizo reduction is similarly delicious, as are the pillowy clouds of Tasmanian potato gnocchi dressed with local sage, Australian walnuts and a burnt-butter sauce.

Aaron is not a trained chef and Nick is not a storied maitre d’, but the duo know what they’re doing. Since 2015, the pair – who live in a third lodge on the property – have painstakingly turned what was once a cattle agistment property into an exceptional two-lodge luxury offering that exemplifies the best of Australian hospitality.

“What we love about this island is that it is so untouched yet discovered, and you have a sense of genuine authenticity,” says Aaron. The pair haven’t planted a single thing in the regeneration process, instead giving nature the opportunity to restore her lush grasses, native cresses and billowing mosses in her own time. Wallabies saunter across undulating 12,000-year-old sand dunes and native scrubtits dance and dart between shrubs. The wildlife has returned, Aaron tells me. “I’ve never felt more proud of anything in my entire life.”

Exemplary produce, in the hands of Aaron Suine.Credit: Adam Gibson

My early-morning departure from Sydney felt unfathomable until my boots touched the ground on windy King Island by 10am. Black Angus cows tilted their heads only slightly as I slowly peeled around unsealed curves and wild peacocks feigned not even the slightest interest. It’s seven minutes to the nearest human, Aaron tells me later, but non-human visitors are never far away.

The 38 hectare property enjoys 750 metres of coastline and my off-grid lodge is tucked away at the end of a private gravelled driveway that dips and weaves over fuzzy hills.

Entry through a mud room – stocked with Merry People gumboots, coats and firewood – opens into a beautifully appointed living area, kitchen and separate bedroom. Floor-to-ceiling windows in every room overlook the roaring sea. Pitched ceilings create spaciousness, while black ironbark-panelled feature walls and luscious, oversized furniture provide room to luxuriate in stillness. Bright natural light illuminates art – all by local artists, on regular rotation – on the walls. Dusty blues and soft greens are offset with timber, playing off the earthly palette outside.

Cosy solitude… Kittawa Lodge’s beautifully appointed living room.Credit: Adam Gibson

A poised and graceful Nick welcomes me, then points out where I’ll find the boardgames, drinks cabinet, and provisions, from homemade sourdough and custom locally-made granola to pistachios and chilled champagne.

“Can I make you a cup of tea?” he asks, pulling a large handmade teapot from a drawer. As he finishes my tour, tea leaves from Tasmanian providore The Art of Tea brew and my baked brie lunch cools in the oven. It immediately feels like home.

Personalisation is at the core of KL, informed by the pair’s experiences at luxury accommodation around the world. Aaron and Nick are adamant about a relaxed approach, with itinerary recommendations advised once guests arrive.

Suddenly, plans to explore shipwrecks and wildlife hotspots are moot. My brain has suddenly caught up to my bones and the prevailing conversation between the two is a four-letter word: rest. My off-switch is located in the oversized concrete bath that overlooks the ocean; in the charcuterie board of local cheeses, meats and pickled Tasmanian walnuts that sits on the oak dining table alongside paper maps; in the babbling natural spring creek and the sponge-like greenery underfoot.

Only a few can reach me; I’ve taken out a different phone plan as my normal provider doesn’t service the island. The chance to fully immerse myself in the natural environment from the comfort of this disconnected shelter means I am utterly, completely, unapologetically present.

I take a short drive to Surprise Bay and am the only visitor at the Calcified Forest and pounding, raw Seal Rocks. When I return to the lodge, Nick’s masterful carrot cake – with a thick cream cheese frosting and camomile petals dried by a local friend – is waiting for me.

Kittawa Lodge encourages rituals, a seamless marriage of deeply conscious intentionality and unspoken, knowing methodology. It’s a balance that’s evident in the experiences KL enables – stoking a fire you start by your own efforts, cooking a meal with a selection of exemplary local produce or having a meal cooked for you, exploring the property’s shoreline with only your own thoughts for company, soaking in a bath while overlooking the edge of the world – as much as it is in how the team navigate the guest’s stay. (Soon, the property will expand to include an on-site restaurant, day spa and more lodges.) Handwritten notes, a rosemary-studded iced tea awaiting my return after a short jaunt to town, or an early morning text to inspire a new encounter: these little details are hugely impactful.

The lodge showcases local artists, on a regular rotation.Credit: Adam Gibson

Amid the meticulously designed lodge and the carefully maintained landscape, the finest luxury Nick and Aaron provide is time, space, quiet and stillness. I’ve disconnected from the unimportant and reconnected to the most fundamental elements of being. That’s arguably what makes travel so formative; without the expectations of daily life, we’re liberated to become the best version of ourselves. Sometimes it’s slow and smouldering, but sometimes – this time – it slaps me in the face like a crisp westerly wind, taking my breath away and leaving me intensely aware of my vulnerable, magnificent humanness all at once.

After dinner on my second night – DIY from a meal box Aaron crafts, with hand-crumbed Tasmanian flathead, a sweet potato I cut and bake, a leafy side salad and Nick’s signature sticky-date pudding for dessert – I pull on gumboots and wander the coastline, a glass of Tasmanian Clover Hill Vintage Riche in hand.

As the wind whips my hair across my face, I watch the feeding wallabies disperse with each sonic ripple my footsteps broadcast. The glowing orb pauses on the horizon before it continues on its way to Argentina, the next closest landmass. Crushing, foaming waves pound against ancient jagged rocks carpeted with rust-toned moss. The solitude is soul-quenching. Ahead of me, there is only brightness. The sun sets, and my soul settles.

Simple pleasures… tea in bed has never been so scenic.

The next morning, I nurse a cup of tea from bed as the sky blossoms into a pastel masterpiece. My fire crackles and hisses, the hardwood glowing brightly. The shadows of clouds hide and expose wallabies between tall grasses. The boundless, effervescent wilderness outside the window has reignited a wildness in my bones, and the softness of this sanctuary has reminded me that gentleness is something we choose to create. I’ve come home, via Kittawa, right back to myself.

THE DETAILS

Fly

The island is serviced by Rex Airlines (from Melbourne), Sharp Airlines (from Launceston) and King Island Airlines. See rex.com.au; sharpairlines.com; kingislandair.com.au

Stay

From $1650 a night per lodge including gourmet breakfast provisions, snacks and freshly prepared lunch daily.
See kittawalodge.com; discovertasmania.com.au

A stay at Kittawa Lodge costs from $1650 a night. See kittawalodge.com/rates-and-packages

The writer was a guest of Kittawa Lodge and Tourism Tasmania.