I've always had an affinity with nature. Over the years I've done my fair share of travelling: from the bright lights of New York, to the busy streets of Tokyo and the rustic charms of Paris and Rome. And yet, it is always when I'm away from the cities, away from the crowds, that I feel most at peace. I love the freshness of being in the great outdoors, its beauty, its serenity.
A year has already past since I got married. It has flown by so quickly. Considering that we had only just came back from a snowboarding trip to Queenstown only 2 weeks prior, and just looking for a reason to try out a glamping experience, we kept our anniversary celebration local and booked a short getaway at Paperbark Camp.
Getting there
Nestled amongst the gum trees alongside the Currambene Creek that leads into Jervis Bay, Paperbark Camp is a mere 2 hours drive from Sydney. It used to take us nearly 3 hours to get down to Jervis but with the completion of the bypass, it made for a much speedier trip down. The only downside of the bypass means that travellers are no longer getting funnelled through the small towns who’s businesses would rely on tourists passing by - it's a plus if you’re in a hurry to get further down south though.
Pitstop: Berry
A stop by Berry is a bit of a ritual for us when going down to the South Coast. Usually, it's to grab some fresh cinnamon donuts from the Berry Donut Van, but this time I thought it would be nice to have a little walk around and try one of the cute cafes for lunch. A quick Google search brought us to the Berry Woodfired Sourdough Bakery.
Tucked away behind the main road, the cafe has an industrial, rustic vibe. We tried the day’s special of pork belly and pumpkin soup. The pork belly was probably one of the best pork belly dishes we've had in a long time: perfectly cooked and the different flavours complimented each other beautifully.
Crisp confit pork belly w/ local organic Jerusalem artichokes, smoked onion puree pear + walnuts
Woodfire roast pumpkin soup w/ persian feta dukkah + sourdough toast
Baked goodies
Accommodation
Paperbark Camp is only a short drive down from Berry. The driveway to pull in is easy to miss since it's just a dirt road clearing between the trees so keep a look out for the sign.
After checking in, staff popped our bags onto a little golf buggy and drove us over to our accommodation. We were lucky enough to be welcomed by two of the locals.
The locals. I’m pretty sure there was a little joey in that pouch.
Inside the tent housed a king sized bed underneath a mosquito net canopy for those summer days, a floor rug, small chair with throw blanket and small side table with two bottles of water (spring and sparkling), two glasses and a little torch to help guide you between your tent and the main headquarters. It's an intimate space with the little luxuries that you tend to miss when actually camping.
The Deluxe Safari tent
Each tent is self-contained with its own bathroom with a flushing toilet, full-length tub and shower. These, however, are all outdoors at the back of the tent, sheltered with a roof and mesh covers on the sides for privacy. Those not comfortable with such openness may find it a bit exposed, but hey, it's all part of the experience of being in nature, right?
Paperbark maintain an eco-friendly philosophy so there is no power outlets or heating available in the tents. LED lights are powered by solar panels attached to each tent and extra candles are also provided. The hot water is powered by gas. We were still able to get mobile reception though for those who can't bare being totally disconnected.
Behind the bed stands a wardrobe with 2 bath robes on one side and shelves for you to put your belongings as well as some additional supplies:
2 extra blankets (very much appreciated during our stay)
Tea, coffee, sugar and milk
2 mugs
Moisturiser
Citronella candles
Mosquito incense
Matches
Mosquito repellent
Insect spray
Extra toilet paper
We had booked a Deluxe Safari tent which included extra sun lounges with side tables on the front deck for chilling out and absorbing that natural goodness.
The camp is utterly quiet where the only sounds you hear are the birds chirping, the rustling of the trees in the wind or possums scurrying amongst the bushes. Perfect for a relaxing weekend away.
Food
The centre of the camp stands the "Gunyah", an established restaurant renowned for its fine foods and unique atmosphere. Treehouse like in its structure, it's a multifaceted space where you would dine for breakfast and dinner or hang out as you would in your living room. It is also where you can get free wifi, charge your phone using their power outlets or dry your hair in the guest bathrooms.
The Gunyah lounging area
As part of our package, we got breakfast and dinner for each night of our stay. Dinner is a set 3 course meal which changes each day. The food was very flavourful, maybe a bit strong for my liking as a prefer a more subtle palette. Sunday night was paella night which was amazing and brought us back to all the paellas we ate in Barcelona. Since they didn't have too many guests during the offseason, we were even told that we could help ourselves to seconds if we were still hungry.
Sunday night paella
For breakfast, they had a breakfast bar containing cereals, muesli, fruits, yoghurt and toast and then a choice of the campfire breakfast which is a standard eggs, bacon, spinach and roasted tomatoes on toast, or their daily special for your hot breakfast. You can help yourself to tea or juice as part of the breakfast bar, however coffees are extra.
Breakfast buffets are always a trap. Don’t get yourself too full before you get to the good stuff!
Campfire breakfast
Smoke salmon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and toast
The mushroom medley: pouched eggs with, 4 different types of mushrooms, spinach and blue cheese.
The restaurant isn't open for lunch, however you can order a picnic to go to take with you whilst you go and enjoy Jervis Bay. The basket included a chicken sandwich, fritatta, friande, cookie, some spiced nuts and a bottle of orange juice.
Service
The food and service provided by the staff would probably be the standout features of Paperbark.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't on our side on the weekend we had visited, with temperatures of 8-16 degrees and rain overnight, so without any heating the tent was freezing! They did, however, have cute hot water bottles and thermos available from the restaurant to be filled with boiling water which made the bed cozy enough for a night's sleep.
In the morning, we even had an umbrella and a fresh thermos dropped off on our front veranda to keep us warm and dry, which I thought was very considerate and a nice touch. They even had a little golf buggy that did the rounds in the morning if you wanted your tent serviced.
Being in the offseason, it didn't look like they were very well staffed, we had the same guy serve us at breakfast as well as dinner. Apparently, he had to cover some shifts so was in at 8am and out at midnight. Yet despite the long hours, he was super perky no matter the time. Whatever he's on, we want some of that.
Activities
Paperbark have their own set of recreational equipment that you could borrow as an inclusion to your stay. They have kayaks, canoes and paddle boards free for you to use to explore the creek. Bicycles of various sizes are also available if wanted to take a ride down to Huskisson town.
For the gamers, a giant Jenga is set up beneath the restaurant which also includes an outdoor lounging area to laze around. Inside there is a chessboard for games by the fireplace. At night, the central grounds glow under fairy lights and a communal campfire, great for marshmallow toasting. Whale and dolphin watching cruises and massages in your tent can also be organised for that extra relaxation.
Paperbark’s location makes it easy to access the usual local attractions around Jervis Bay such as the beautiful white sanded beaches of Hyams Beach, go diving, snorkelling or fishing in the bay or hiking through the Booderee National Park.
Conclusion
All in all Paperbark was lovely and has much to offer for the outdoorsy couple with the little luxuries to make for a great weekend away. Unfortunately for us, because it had rained and winter decided to show itself a bit later in the season, it was so cold that we could not enjoy the more summery activities as I had hoped. Instead we did more of the ‘do as little as you want’ option. I would just recommend going in the warmer seasons to take full advantage of what it has available.
