City Escapes - Liptrap

The Age

Thursday April 27, 2006

Julia Medew

The sunrise is superb from these seaside cottages in South Gippsland.

"Oh, I love it when people arrive late on a Friday night because they get such a surprise when they wake up in the morning," shrieked Simone, the friendly host welcoming us to our accommodation at 9.30pm. Oh dear, don't get our hopes up, I thought, taking the keys to our cottage. There's nothing like an anti-climax to start a long-awaited weekend away. But in the morning, I realised Simone knew exactly what she was talking about.

As I sat up rubbing my eyes at 6.30am to a blinding but magnificent red sun rising over Wilsons Promontory, I was genuinely stunned. I walked out to the balcony, and sat peacefully in the cool morning breeze for a good 30 minutes. It was perfect.

While the view across Waratah Bay is the best thing about Bear Gully Cottages, there are plenty of pleasing extras to make guests feel at home. The big, comfortable couches, crisp white sheets on the queen-size beds (all the cottages have two bedrooms), cookbooks, hammock, coffee machine and gas log fire create a warm atmosphere in a location that feels like the end of the earth.

But it's not. The cottages, perched above the foreshore between the Cape Liptrap lighthouse and Walkerville, are an easy two-and-a-half-hour drive from the city - even with the frustration of some peak-hour traffic thrown in. The last half hour feels incredibly isolated, though. As we drove out of Inverloch through Tarwin Lower at 9pm, I was terrified of what might jump out of the bushes onto a very dark, narrow stretch of road.

The foreshore below the cottages is a haven of sandy coves with hundreds of deep rock pools to plunge your hands into. But while you could easily throw a towel down and lie in the sun all day or sit on the balcony of your cottage watching fishing boats move slowly across the bay, there are plenty of attractions close by.

Wilsons Promontory, which is experiencing the wonders of regeneration since fires ravaged the national park in early 2005, is about 40 minutes by car. A day walk to Sealers Cove will invigorate a tired body, especially if you choose to dive into the freezing waters of Bass Strait at the end of the hike. But you don't need a backpack full of supplies to enjoy the Prom. We chose a short walk around Tidal River to breathe some salty air and work up an appetite. Families will enjoy playing on Squeaky Beach for a few hours or watching fat wombats wend their way along the bushy tracks.

After many recommendations, we visited the Koonwarra Food Store (South Gippsland Highway, Koonwarra, phone 5664 2285) - a wine bar, providore, cooking school and emporium all in one. There is a pretty country-style garden to sit in and a menu of hearty basics such as a burger that sits high, with dripping melted vintage cheddar and home-made mustard, with a thick beef pattie, fresh greens poking out the sides and an honour guard of hand-cut potato wedges around the plate. Koonwarra also hosts the South Gippsland farmers market on the first Saturday of every month.

With some local summer-berry jam, cheese and cured meats tucked under our arms, we headed for a pre-booked massage. Carolyn Clarke, a massage therapist in Venus Bay, 25 minutes' drive from Bear Gully, has a quiet room where she kneads out the knots of modern life (phone 5663 7923). For more beach walking, Venus Bay has 22 kilometres of dunes, sand and very powerful surf with lifesaving patrols during summer.

Just off the road from Tarwin Lower you'll find the Bald Hills Wetland Reserve. A walking track winds through paperbark and blackwood forest along a creek to a bird

hide where you can sit and watch a variety of native birds in the former Tullaree Swamp, including swans, shell ducks, spoonbills and ibis. The forest is home to wallabies, wombats and echidnas.

Nearby Walkerville South is home to the bottle-shaped ruins of kilns where limestone mined from the cliff face was burnt to produce lime for Melbourne's building industry in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Cape Liptrap Lighthouse, built in 1913, sits above a rocky spine that falls down into Bass Strait.

On Sunday morning we were greeted by the spectacular sunrise again and some friendly labradors who live on the property. The two dogs slept on the balcony as I lazed in the hammock in the sun. With a 3pm checkout, we were in no hurry to get home. We strolled along the foreshore, collected some shells and eventually packed up to leave.

We visited Cape Liptrap in perfect conditions, enjoying the bonus of two calm, balmy nights. But the hillside is known for its howling winds and views of storms, so be ready to hunker down and enjoy a fire with a book and a glass of your favourite (South Gippsland) red. (m)

What to see and do

Climb Mount Oberon in a couple of hours or walk along any of the tracks through Wilsons Promontory. The five-hour walk to Sealers Cove is particularly beautiful.

Why we'd go back

Enjoy the solitude or cook up a feast using delicious local produce with friends for the weekend.

Any reservations

It's expensive for a couple, so make the most of the two rooms by taking friends or family.

How to book

Phone 5663 2364 or www. beargullycottages.com.au

Cost

$580 a couple per weekend in low season to $600 in high, $230-$250 per weeknight, $1400-$1600 weekly. Extra adults $35 a night, children $25.

Where Maitland Court, Walkerville South.

© 2006 The Age

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