Camping on easy street

Feeling rather decadent, Megan Johnston indulges in a spot of glamping - and it's all just a hop, skip and a jump from the CBD.

I SWEAR I was meant to be camping. At least, that's what I've told family and friends. Why, then, am I sipping on organic wine and lounging on my own private deck, all while cocooned in plush bathrobes and slippers?

It must have something to do with the trend towards glamorous camping, or glamping for short. Only a short jaunt from the CBD, Lane Cove River Tourist Park has branched into lavish lodgings with Tandara, its "luxury camping experience" and the winner of best new tourism development.

Strictly speaking, you could consider Tandara a tent, though a pavilion might be a better way to describe it. Fenced off in a secluded nook, the venue combines the beauty and tranquillity of nature with the convenience of a fancy hotel room, complete with bath tub, twin showers, electric blankets and a king-sized bed (draped, of course, in a delightfully romantic mosquito net). There's wi-fi and cable television, too, in case you aren't completely entranced by the valley views towards Lane Cove River.

For just enough eco-cred, there are also organic toiletries and native landscaping, which is home to a bandicoot or two. I arrive after a rainy morning, when the air smells sweet with the scent of the bush. One peek around my new lodgings reveals a sleek interior fitted out in luxury safari style, with polished floorboards, timber furniture and stone surfaces. Outside, sun lounges, couches and shade-cloths scatter the deck.

My stay begins with an easy roll down to the river. I strap on a helmet, grab one of the complimentary bicycles and push off into the bush. It's not the fanciest bike, but it's comfortable and I'm hardly in the mood for strenuous activity.

I lazily explore the riverbank then make my way back to the tent where I try a glass of the complimentary wine and spend a languid afternoon reading and relaxing.

My companion arrives in the evening, just in time to grill some fat king prawns we brought to cook on the private gourmet barbecue. We munch through the tangy flesh as we watch the evening entertainment: possums clambering over trees.

Wrapped up in swathes of mosquito netting, we're lulled to sleep by chirping insects and awoken the next morning by cackling kookaburras. Breakfast is extravagant - pastries and croissants on a shiny platter - with a pot of loose-leaf tea. The rest of the morning is spent soaking in a mountain of bubbles. We're hardly roughing it, but who needs to know?

The writer was a guest of Lane Cove River Tourist Park

Trip notes

Where Tandara Luxury at Lane Cove River Tourist Park, Plassey Road, North Ryde/Macquarie Park. 1300 729 133, www.lcrtp.com.au.

Getting there From Sydney's central business district, drive north of the Harbour Bridge along the freeway to Epping Road. Turn right on to Delhi Road, then left on to Plassey Road.

How much Sunday to Thursday, $390 a night for two people; Friday or Saturday $450 a night. Price includes two bottles of organic wine, breakfast basket, tea and coffee facilities, mini-bar of soft drinks, cable TV, parking, bicycles and vehicle entry to the national park.