Australia’s first ‘glamping’ site still reigns supreme in the bush

Lamb carcasses hang splayed and suspended over hot coals as cooks in long leather aprons baste the beasts and tend the embers. Lanterns glow and wood smoke infused with lemony eucalyptus curls into the air.

The magic faraway birthday table.

Overhead, sheet-sized painted curtains usher guests into the theatre of an endless white-clothed banquet table beyond. Somehow, we have emerged from our bush tent, past giant paperbark and scruffy sheoak trees, and slipped onto the time-warped canvas of a medieval painting. One thing is clear, the owners of Paperbark Camp, Australia’s first “glamping” enterprise near Huskisson on the NSW South Coast, don’t do things by halves.

The occasion is Paperbark Camp’s 25th birthday, where friends, family and new and returning guests gather to celebrate this milestone created by Sydney couple Jeremy and Irena Hutchings, who opened it in 1999 after being inspired by safari-type accommodation during a trip to South Africa.

While the dinner could have been held in the camp’s destination restaurant, The Gunyah, with its soaring roof and chef’s kitchen, Paperbark Camp is all about embracing the land it sits upon, so kingfish ceviche, roast lamb and local cod are enjoyed on Wanda Wandian country under starry skies.

The night begins with a local Indigenous smoking ceremony followed by a dance performance, including a seemingly simple representation of a kangaroo that’s so uncanny we are talking about it hours later. Whether it be the wood smoke, the fire-light, a spooky split in the time-space realm or just the magic of the bush on a starry night, we are again transported, though this time we are delivered onto a much older canvas.

Things that go bump in the night

Nature’s calling … a deluxe safari tent.

Stay in a deluxe safari tent at Paperbark Camp (smack bang on a kangaroo highway) and you’re presented with a king bed, luxury linen and robes, polished hardwood floors, an open-air, yet private ensuite with freestanding bath (candles and a bush view supplied), a verandah with deck chairs – and a warning. Intruders, in the form of brush-tailed possums, have been known to sniff out chocolates, toothpaste, unattended wine – even lipstick – and we’re asked not to take food into our tent and to pack away toiletries at night.

This is no hardship, considering guests can wander up to the nearby The Gunyah Restaurant in the treetops at any time of day or night, plonk on a comfy lounge in front of the fire and help themselves to Wi-Fi, a hot drink, a snack (a freshly baked carrot cake materialises when we are there), or something stronger if thoughts of a possum with siren-red lips keep you awake.

Bathing beauty … the deluxe king tent that sleeps six.

We have no such problems. The beds are supremely comfortable and the 13 above-ground, solar-powered tents which are fully screened yet designed to capture a sea breeze, manage to package all the good things about camping (fresh air, complete relaxation, a break from shopping, cars and phones) with none of the annoyances (putting up tents and mattresses, putting down tents and mattresses, forgetting essentials, uncomfortable beds, average food, pesky insects.)

Our plan is to head out for a bush walk as soon as we arrive, but the sun-trap that is our deck proves impossible to leave. So we sit, read, snooze and watch tiny finches and willie wagtails dart between tree branches, while magpies warble and cockatoos hoon through the bush.

Bush foods

The Gunyah Restaurant.

A flask of boiling water is discreetly delivered to tent decks at 7am, so you can make that essential pre-breakfast cuppa of tea or coffee (from a bag infuser) before wandering over to The Gunyah Restaurant at 8am for breakfast.

While this impressive architect-designed space with its sweeping views among the treetops is the go-to spot for meals, it’s also a gathering place, with suggested walks and activities noted on a blackboard; a chill-out area to play cards or chess, an indoor-outdoor cocktail bar and so much more. Word is out about how good the breakfasts are here (fresh fruit, juices, barista coffee, homemade granola, berries and yoghurt; eggs on locally made sourdough and butter, with a choice of spinach, salmon, tomatoes, fetta, smoked bacon and mushrooms) and several tables are filled with non-staying guests. We choose the overly generous special, shakshuka, that keeps us going until dinner – this time a candlelit showstopper highlighting local, seasonal ingredients.

Nothing ventured…

Jervis Bay is a 10-minute drive away.

Relaxing can be exhausting, but by day two we are keen to explore. A short bush trail leads us to Currambene Creek. Here you can try stand-up paddleboarding or take a canoe or take a camp bike into Jervis Bay (a 15-minute pedal away). This area is home to white-sand beaches, national parks, a famed pub, breweries and cafes. But after a long walk encountering a bleary-eyed possum and a red streak of rosellas, we decide to venture further by car.

Bundanon, artist Arthur Boyd’s famed home and gift to the Australian people, is a winding 50-kilometre drive away through farmland and forest. This legacy property includes an art museum, the acclaimed architect-designed accommodation at the Bridge and the Boyds’ historic sandstone homestead and art studio, full of the large family’s paintings and possessions.

The buildings are striking, the art incredible, but the things that stay with us are the poignant family snippets offered by the passionate volunteer guides; the fact that every Lucy in the Boyd family will inherit the elaborate Chinese writing desk in the front room; that the sculpted baby face in a cabinet is Arthur as a child; how works by the teenage Arthur pointed to his brilliance; tales of the rush to move paintings out of harm’s way during the 2019 bushfires, and of course, the sight of the artist’s paint-splattered jumper and never-finished canvas in his art studio.

THE DETAILS

DRIVE
Paperbark Camp is a 2 ½ hour drive south of Sydney and a 10-minute drive from Huskisson.

STAY
Choose from deluxe or deluxe-plus tents or bring others to share the 102-square-metre king deluxe that sleeps six. Winter mid-week stays from $550 a night for two, including breakfast, three-course dinner and use of canoes. Weekends from $650 a double a night. 571 Woollamia Rd, Woollamia, NSW. Phone [phone]. See paperbarkcamp.com.au

VISIT
Bundanon Art Museum and Boyd Collection Display is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-5pm; The Homestead & Arthur Boyd’s Studio open on weekends, 10am-5pm; adults $18 and concession $12. See bundanon.com.au

The writer stayed as a guest of Paperbark Camp.