Lupine Adventures - Currawong Beach Cottages

AKA Travelling in a Pack


By Lydia C Lee.

Every year we get a group together of ten families, 42 of us in all. We pack ourselves up, board a boat and head over to Currawong. Where, you say?  Sydneysiders, this place is an island paradise only 40 kilometres from the centre of our beautiful city. Well, it’s not actually an island but it feels like it. Let me explain this little piece of heaven with simple pleasures of a bygone summer.

To get there you take a short ferry ride or water taxi from Palm Beach Wharf (Barrenjoey Road), it’s the stop nestled in between The Basin and Mackerel Beach. Technically it backs onto the National Park at West Head.  Currawong Beach Cottages can be hired out by the week or weekend (or even a few nights if not in school holidays). There are 9 cottages (that sleep 5) or the large Homestead that sleeps 15. For one weekend a year, we try to hire out the whole place. Families in cabins descend on the homestead for meals and post dinner drinks and games (Bananagrams, anyone?). Our inner city kids roam open spaces in a beautiful beach and bush setting.

The cottages are fairly rustic, built in the 1950s, and each has their own bush garden, though you will find you are barely in them.  There is a lot on offer at Currawong, but more on that later. The Homestead, Midholme, was built in 1911 and has a fireplace in the main lounge room, a large indoor dining table that seats about 20, a fire pit outside as well as a huge dining table under cover on the back deck.  The thing I love most though, is the huge sweeping verandah with sofas (and a smaller dining table), where you can lounge in the shade and watch the kids play on the expanse of lawn while the boats sail by.

Meals for this big group are easy – Everyone brings their own meat to BBQ, and a salad or dessert to share. The cabins and homestead are well stocked with kitchenware, so there are plenty of plates and glasses to go round (just make sure you return anything from a cabin back to the cabin it came from). Breakfasts are ‘every man for himself’.  Just remember the left overs are for the lunch on the last day (Midholme’s check out is usually around 3pm, the cabins are noon).

The leisure facilities are fantastic, for both adults and kids. There is 300 metres of what seems like a private beach, lying directly in front of the Homestead. Swim, fish, or play in the sand. This year we are turning up with 25 lilos, to have ocean races. There is also golf, tennis, volleyball, table tennis and even swings. There’s a pretty decorative dingy that the younger kids seem to spend hours playing in.

The ferry brings the papers in the morning, and you can also hire boats and kayaks from over in Barrenjoey. Resolute Beach is just round the corner and less busy than Mackeral Beach, should you choose to go exploring.

There is also plenty of wildlife – Wallabies and monitors roam around (keep those doors and bins shut properly!). There are sometimes tiny rays in the water, plenty of fish and bird watchers won’t be disappointed either.

Even with our large numbers and swarm of kids, Currawong is so peaceful. My favourite part however,  as the numbers dwindle on the Sunday, is to sit on the verandah, gazing out to sea and enjoy the stillness and serenity of one of the most beautiful locations in Sydney. Who says a Pittwater beach front is only for the millionaires?

Practicalities:
Currawong Beach Cottages: http://www.currawong.com.au/home
Ferry Timetable: http://www.palmbeachferries.com.au/ferry-timetable/
Baranjoey Boat Hire: http://www.barrenjoeyboathire.com/

Linking with #TravelTuesday