A beautiful view: The accommodation can become the experience.
Travelling used to be more about the destination and things to do there than the accommodation, but in recent times the accommodation experience has become equally important in some cases.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Think former churches, converted kiln houses, old train carriages, gypsy wagons; think zoos and wildlife parks; think glamping in all sorts of locations — some picturesque, some underwhelming, but still appealing because of the grand, well-amenitised chic ‘tents’ on the grounds.
Of course, unique accommodation is highly sought after and often booked out well in advance and, because of that, usually comes with a hefty price tag.
I’m the kind of girl who backpacked South East Asia in my younger years, happily staying in $2-a-night accommodation with broken door locks, often with cockroaches and sometimes rats for roommates.
I’d sooner keep my money for other travelling experiences than waste it on a place where I was pretty much going to have my eyes shut and my mind shut down as I rested for a few hours at the end of each day and the beginning of the next.
Looking around: The campground.
So, as lovely and quaint as these places all sound, I struggle to want to ‘waste’ my money on them.
Especially when it’s just one person paying for four.
But there’s somewhere under an hour’s drive from home and exceptionally affordable that provided one of the most unique accommodation experiences my kids have had.
Most locals have probably heard of Wakiti Creek Resort at Kotupna or seen the signs to turn off to it in their travels, and many probably also immediately associate it with its tepees.
There are five tepees, each 6m in diameter with a raised wooden floor and lighting, and each has one double and four single mattresses inside to sleep up to six (and don’t quote me, but I think it still works out under or around $100 a night for a family of six, even during holiday periods).
Fun in the sun: The experience was great.
Plenty to do: The kids can always find fun.
We booked four of the five tepees one weekend for my friend’s 40th and luckily for us the fifth remained vacant, so our whole party had the entire tepee campsite to ourselves.
Being set quite remotely, away from the bustle of the main park area, this unexpectedly made it a welcome private event.
It also meant we had exclusive access to the camp kitchen in that area to do cake and belt out Happy Birthday as loud as we wanted without any embarrassment for our off-key renditions.
These tents are nothing fancy and it might be a stretch to describe them as a glamping experience, but for campers and tight-ars… I mean, frugal, people like myself, they offer such an exciting and different experience for the kids.
The park is also dog-friendly, so we took ours, who was a puppy at the time, and she was also rather excited by the experience.
Something for everyone: Canoe hire is available.
I packed the kids’ bikes and they spent hours circling the bush BMX track and exploring the bush trails within the park between the sites and the creek itself, giving the adults plenty of time to relax and chat at our picturesque base.
The park also has two swimming pools, a splash park, two playgrounds, a tennis court, electric car chargers and canoe hire.
On one stay there, I took my own stand-up paddle board, but I don’t recommend doing that because the creek is quite a long walk from the accommodation, so hiring a canoe to get out on the water would probably be a better option, seeing as they sit right beside the creek ready to be pushed out.
There’s an ancient Native American proverb that says: certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart.
Well, the tepees are certainly eye-catching, cutting their striking silhouette into the sky, but the ambiance of staying in one does a lot to capture your heart as well.
— Bree Harding is a former News reporter and a single mother to three children.
THE LOWDOWN
What: Tepee camping
Where: Wakiti Creek Resort, Kotupna
Cost: From $60
What you get: Tepees are 6m in diameter and include lighting and mattresses on a raised wooden deck. Use of camp kitchen and other facilities.
What you need to take: Your bedding, food, crockery/cutlery and don’t forget the Esky. I recommend taking bikes and footballs, too.
