A Trip News

A safe retreat awaits just an hour’s drive from the city, writes Christopher Hopper.
SOME people would say I’ve discovered the perfect destination. It’s close enough to avoid the “Are we there yet?” pleas from the car’s back seat and also near enough to home to leave the children behind with grandma while you have a break. There aren’t too many places in Sydney where you can feel miles away from hectic urban life just one hour’s drive from the CBD.
Bundeena used to be one of this city’s best-kept secrets - an isolated seaside pocket rich in history, nestled on the edge of the Royal National Park.
But on this beautiful spring morning we find that the secret is out; coffee shops, car parks and picnic tables are full. Even the cute ferry bringing daytrippers across Port Hacking from Cronulla is full. We feel slightly ripped off.
One of the coffee shops doubles as an information centre and, like most tourists, as we pick up a map of the area we can’t help but feel we’ve been ripped off twice: the $11 national park entry fee is waived for cars going only to Bundeena. We make a mental note for next time.
Our weekender is an updated 1920s beach house set on the clifftop at Cabbage Tree Point, about five minutes’ drive from the small cafe strip and local supermarket. It’s blissfully quiet and secluded - exactly what we expected Bundeena to be.
Still, first impressions count. From the street, Moonya (an indigenous term for “safe retreat”) is an unremarkable fibro house with an unattended front garden and a sign that is hard to spot. However, the back of the house is spectacular: a large balcony terrace overlooks the sparkling waters of Port Hacking, while a rambling, overgrown back garden gives guests private access to the shore.
Upstairs are two bedrooms, a well-stocked kitchen, bathroom with separate toilet, a lounge room and dining area.
A wooden staircase leads from the main living area to a huge main bedroom with an ensuite, double shower, laundry, queen-size bed and single day bed.
With two more day beds in the living area, Moonya sleeps nine - and there’s always the double Balinese-style day bed on the veranda for extras who brave the night air. Unfortunately, it looked a bit dirty but with a clean cover it would be the perfect place to lie back with a book.
Moonya’s owners have not gone for the less-is-more, architecturally renovated approach. The house is brimming with furniture, books, artwork, sculpture, knick-knacks and antiques. With just two of us, the clutter is fine but a large group would probably find all the extra stuff gets in the way.
Others would probably say that all the marble statues make Moonya just like a villa on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
We throw open windows to let the sea breeze in, grab our swimmers and walk the precarious, 72-stone staircase down to the water. On the rocks below, some people lazily throw out fishing lines, others explore the pools of water or lay out a towel and relax.
Bundeena has four beaches - from our house we could walk to Hordens, which is across the road from the shops and where the ferry comes in. We decide to skip the crowds and drive five minutes to Jibbon beach. Signage is not Bundeena’s strong point but in this circumstance it’s welcome. Jibbon is much quieter (once we figure out how to get down to the sand).
After an hour of burning rays, heavy rain arrives, so we head back to the comfort of Moonya and watch as storm clouds roll across the water. An hour later, blue sky has returned, so we head out along a bushwalking track that starts at the end of the street. The track winds around to Maianbar, a smaller, neighbouring village in the national park. We pass through a large campsite with modern amenities, marvel at the homes perched on clifftops and take in the sounds of bush wildlife.
Then, quicker than you can hum Crowded House’s Four Seasons In One Day, a gust of wind sweeps through and sweeps us - literally - off our feet. The walk to see the Dharawal Aboriginal rock engravings at Jibbon Point has to wait until the next day.
Even though we’d worn boardshorts and bikinis all day, the temperature plummeted, so we stoked up a fire in Moonya’s lovely large fireplace. After a quick barbecue dinner and armed with a glass of red, a flat-screen television, DVDs and board games, we settled in for a romantic night by the sea.
The writer was a guest of Moonya and Tourism NSW.
TRIP NOTES
Address: Moonya, 25 Crammond Avenue, Bundeena, 2230.
Bookings Phone: 0408 803 455, see www.moonyabeachhouse.blogspot.com or www.stayz.com.au/24796 .
Rates: Seasonal rates apply. Prices start from $400 a night.
Verdict
A lovely, relaxed seaside retreat with character.
Why you’d go: You don’t want to travel far from Sydney.
Why you wouldn’t: You don’t like clutter. You want to take the kids on holidays.
FIND TIME TO
* Cruise the Port Hacking ferries, see www.cronullaferries.com.au .
* Go kayaking, see www.bundeenakayaks.com.au . Source: The Sun-Herald