Culburra Treehouse, a family getaway you can all enjoy

The thing you want in a family getaway, above all else, is ease. Ease to do activities, ease to get there, ease to relax and yet keep the kids entertained. If they're having fun, you can have fun. You basically want to escape the work of life.

We were offered a night at Culburra Treehouse on the NSW South Coast, and as I'm always after time at the beach, we gladly packed up the car and went. Leaving early Saturday morning, the sleepy little town of Culburra is roughly two and a half hours from Sydney, through some pretty rural scenery until you hit the beach.







You park on the driveway right next to the front door, so unloading the car requires no arduous hikes, and the hose for washing off sandy feet is also at the front, though there's an ample backyard if the kids want to explore.





Late afternoon sun filling the room


The Treehouse, named because the main living space and outdoor dining areas are looking onto trees, and with the abundance of birdsong filling the air, and the green leaves screening the neighbours, you really are cocooned in the treetops.




The house has 4 bedrooms, and a pull out sofa bed in the media room, so comfortably sleeps 11. There is a wood fire for winter, which we didn't need to use, and screened balcony doors that make the living/dining cool and airy in summer. It takes moments to relax, as the space is clean and inviting, and the outlook from the many windows, serene.

The television is downstairs, in the second living room, so perfect if travelling with two families, as the kids can watch tv downstairs while the adults talk in peace upstairs.

 

I mentioned the importance of ease, and what makes this a fabulous holiday rental is the thoughtful inclusions. There is a plethora of board games, new ones like Bananagrams, as well as the classics like Monopoly. There is a large DVD library, again with new titles, as well as old favourites, for adults and children. There were even some blocks and other toys.







There are three boogie boards and four bicycles, with helmets (one of the bikes is a balance bike for littlies). There's beach cricket and a shade tent among other items in the shed, that can be used and saves you extra packing (and more importantly unpacking on your return).



The kitchen is well stocked, not just with plenty of plates (plenty of plastic ones for children, so no stress with glassware and toddlers) and wine glasses, as well as cups and water glasses. There is salt & pepper, olive oil, glad wrap, Tupperware containers, matches for the fireplace (and BBQ). There was even a proper coffee machine and sandwich press.

There's a washing machine if you're staying awhile, and linen, bath towels and tea towels are provided, so you just need to bring your beach towels (which means your load of washing on your return is half the size).

 

The most fabulous thing about this house is the location. The beach access path is opposite the driveway, so you literally walk straight down to the beach - no need to load up the car, and if you need to race back to get something, there's no hassle involved. Very handy for a dawn or sunset walk, for the energetic or romantically inclined.

It's a beautiful beach and in the whale season, you can see whales on the horizon from the sand (or head to the lookout for a closer look), and if you're really lucky, you might see your first whale breaching, like I did.

There's a lot to do nearby, and plenty of restaurants if you want to dine out, but the Treehouse was such a lovely retreat, we didn't really want to go anywhere - though we did ride the bikes to the lookout to see if we could find some whales.

Often when a family travels, there's so much work involved for the adults, it can be hard to enjoy the experience, but this was one weekend when even I got to relax and put my feet up! That's what makes for a great weekend away!

Practicalitites:

Booking, Price and Availability on Stayz: Culburra TreeHouse

Culburra Tourism http://www.southcoast.com.au/culburra/index.html

Further Reading: http://www.weekendnotes.com/culburra-tree-house/