From little things …
The tiny-house movement has found a new home, nestled in the bush in NSW.
A guy at a party once quizzed me about my skills. “Can you cook?” he asked hopefully. “Can you sing?” No and no but I can touch-type and make small talk until the cows come home. I should have added that I can also build a roaring fire with a single match, thanks to a childhood chore of lighting our family’s combustion stove each night in winter.
This skill comes in handy when I lob at Cabn’s dog-friendly, off-grid tiny house, known as Arabella, parked on a 56ha former dairy farm near the village of Kangaroo Valley. It comes with a two-burner stove, microwave and outdoor gas barbecue, but the sight of a ripe beetroot bursting forth from the enviable herb garden inspires other thoughts. I want to roast that beet, along with the snags I’ve brought along, over the fire pit. Of course there’s more than one match to hand among the objects in the multiple discreet handle-less cupboards but it’s a matter of personal pride to strike only the one.
I’ve just devoured John Marsden’s Tomorrow, When the War Began, a novel about a group of teens who must survive in the bush when Australia is invaded by a foreign power. The tale is still fresh in my mind as I bustle about working out how to cook dinner over hot coals without long barbecue tools. Mustering all my resourcefulness, I balance the barbecue’s wire grill on the fire pit’s lip, sizzle the snags and nudge the foil-wrapped beet cubes in and out of the heat. No one is witness to this making of a smoke-infused feast bar my dog, whose nose twitches at the aromas wafting in and around our bush retreat. I also rustle up a long stick to toast the marshmallows found tucked away on a high kitchen shelf.
The pooch and I have popped out of Sydney for a taste of country life 150km south. After the rigours of the M5 and sat-nav directions that send me along bumpy rural lanes, I wistfully zip past the turn-off for Fitzroy Falls in Morton National Park. Dogs can’t visit national parks but no matter; we’re corkscrewing down into the ridiculously scenic valley for early lunch at the dog-friendly General Cafe. We pile out of the car and Stella the schipperke attracts admiring comments from every passer-by.
We can sit on the porch or on the shaded deck out back, and Stella is fussed over a little more as I tuck into egg foo yung — a pile of Korean-style, wok-fried eggs over rice and white kim chi on a glazed pottery plate — and slurp an iced latte. The waitress tells me practically every valley eatery is dog-friendly, including The Pantry nearby and Betty’s Bar on the other side of Hampden Bridge.
With time to kill before heading to our accommodation, we park near the striking timber-decked suspension bridge, with its gothic sandstone towers, to take a dip in the Kangaroo River. Nearly every frolicker is drawn to the weir over which the tannin-coloured water flows. Some lie prone in the gushing stream, kids run through it, others take selfies. The dog and I stand in the current cooling our tootsies. I can’t help wondering why we don’t do this more often. As we head back to the car, a trio of teens dive-bombs off the sheer sandstone cliffs shading the river. It feels like the Australian summers of my childhood.
We’re among the first guests to stay at Cabn, which opened last month. First, the pros: it’s fascinating to poke around a tiny house and admire all its clever design features. Almost every wooden panel is a cupboard door. It takes time to discover them all and explore the contents, which include board games, a head torch, random food supplies, toothpaste, roll-on deodorant and, strangest of all, three unwrapped toothbrushes. Note to Cabn: it’s a well-meaning gesture but toothbrushes should always be packaged.
On the mezzanine level is a king-sized mattress; the ground level comprises a shower, kitchen, wood stove and a lofty king single daybed that requires steps. Once you’ve clambered up, it provides easy access to shelves lined with classic novels, a harmonica and boxes of conversation-starters (if you’re a solo guest like me, browse the self-awareness set). Outside is a metal trunk holding a croquet set and sleeping bags. Roll these out on the two camp beds provided and you can sleep on the deck under the gumtree-framed canopy of stars.
The bathroom and toilet are contained within an avant-garde mirrored cube a hop and a skip from the cabin. Depending on where you stand, the reflective cube can be hard to discern from the surrounding bushland, which makes it seem invisible.
Once the day cools (it’s warm inside the cube with the sun on it), it feels super-luxe to light the candles, sink into the deep tub and admire the Zen surrounds.
Now, the cons. While the cabin includes an overhead fan, the airconditioning needs to work in warmer months. I delay my visit hoping it will be fixed but, shortly after arrival, my phone buzzes with a message saying it’s still being temperamental.
The showpiece bathroom’s mirrored door is cracked. Maintenance bits and bobs should also be packed away. I arrive to find garden nozzles on the deck, and a squeegee and vinyl panel from the shower recess on the outdoor table.
Cabn will find its groove as time rolls on. Its intentions are good — to foster reconnection without 21st-century distractions. It feels like a warm-hearted bush retreat with a touch of quirk; for dog owners, it’s a welcome getaway option.
Mind you, it’s never quiet. Cicadas and bird calls provide a constant soundtrack but, if they wake you early, you just might catch sight of a resident wombat waddling and nibbling its way across the lawn.
Katrina Lobley was a guest of Cabn.
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More to the Story
Cabn neatly embodies two booms: a surge of interest in the concept of tiny houses and a global rise in wellness tourism. The first Cabn, named Jude, opened on a 72ha Adelaide Hills property in 2017. Cabn founder, Adelaide-based Michael Lamprell, plans to establish more Cabns around Australia, including a second one on the Kangaroo Valley property. Interest has been widespread, from as far as China to local wineries keen to provide this kind of on-site, off-grid accommodation. Lamprell, who worked in sales and marketing before he found himself wanting “to do something that gave me more meaning”, says his light-bulb moment came during a study trip in the US where so many people are embracing the tiny-house movement it’s inspired several television series. He started out building tiny houses for customers, before branching into joint ventures such as the Kangaroo Valley Cabn. “The plan is to have them all around Australia in really unique places so people can escape and disconnect from the stresses of life,” he says.
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In the Know
Cabn is 10km from the NSW village of Kangaroo Valley (with the final few kilometres on the farm’s multi-gated road). Stays start from $390 a night twin share, with a minimum two-night stay.
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