It’s ten past five on Saturday evening, and the sun is just starting to set over Currambene Creek – wrapping the trees in a buttery glow, sending blinding diamonds of light dancing across the water. I’m sitting on the wooden jetty with my best friend, glasses of wine in hand, legs aching from a day spent cycling through the bush and picking our path barefoot along the Shoalhaven coastline. It’s the kind of moment that most guests lucky enough to have stayed at Paperbark Camp will have experienced – seconds of stillness, laced with the sweet certainty that everything is exactly where it’s supposed to be.
Through a clearing that curls up from the creek, a table is being set between the trees – candles lit and napkins folded for one hundred guests to sit down for dinner and celebrate 25 years of Australia’s first glamping site. We’re blessed enough to be among them, so we make our way back towards the camp as the sun drops behind the mangroves.
After the welcome to country – a beautiful, soulful performance from Dharrawal Traditional Custodians Gadhungal Marrig – we drink wine beneath the fairy lights, as plates of local oysters crowned with finger lime are passed between guests, and the loud thrum of conversation makes its way into the treetops.
The night before, we’d eaten dinner at the Gunyah – Paperbark’s onsite restaurant, a glass and wood-panelled space suspended between the trees. With its produce-driven menu (spotlighting seasonal, sustainably-produced, locally-sourced ingredients) and expert but informal approach, the Gunyah is the kind of restaurant you’d hope to find at such a divinely unpretentious high-end escape. The wine list is strong and local-leaning, the menu is tight and well-balanced, and (crucially) the lighting is golden – softened by the wooden walls and the fire that burns by the bookshelf throughout the cooler months. Most importantly, the team are the kinds of people you want to sit down to dinner with: warm and fun and real.
On the second night of our stay though, the Gunyah took a back seat to make space for its alfresco counterpart; a long, 100-person table in the bush, illuminated by candlelight. It’s the kind of table that could only be capable of playing host to magical memories, and ours began to come to life the moment we sat down. Guests range from friends of the owners to visitors keen to experience something special, and the night passes in a blur of noisy conversation and plates of wood-roasted food passed between new-found friends.
As well as the main building (home to the Gunyah), Paperbark comprises thirteen safari-style tents; ranging in style, but each complete with comfortable beds and freestanding bathtubs that open out into the bush. Inside, you’ll find all of the amenities you’d expect from an eco-lux hotel room: locally-made furniture, organic cotton robes, and bedding that makes getting up in time for breakfast notably challenging. Heating systems within the tents keep the cold of the night from biting, and you’ll wake up every morning to the sounds of the birds and a flask of hot water on your steps.
On our first morning at the camp, after a yoga class on the deck by the restaurant, we borrowed bikes and took the fifteen minute cycle into the coastal town of Huskisson. We wandered along the coast until it was time to swim, then refuelled with drinks from the local Jervis Bay Brewing Co and a hearty serving of calamari from Huskisson’s World Famous Fish and Chips (we’re not here to question the validity of that particular claim). On the cycle back to the camp, the weak afternoon light was filtering through the trees – dappled gold across the dusty track. Every time you arrive at Paperbark, you’ll be struck by the magic of it; an unassuming, tree-lined path that leads you to a magical oasis buried in the bush.
Before we left on Sunday morning, we sat down with Ben Hutchings – who, along with his sister Camilla, has taken over the operation of the family business – as guests made their way into the Gunyah for breakfast, and a tiny fairy wren took his morning wash in a birdbath in the trees. Ben had been in his early teens when his parents decided to leave their careers in the city to set up what they envisioned as “a Safari camp in Australia,”, and remembers journeying around the country with them on the hunt for the perfect spot.
The 100-acre plot of land that was, back then, just a stretch of wetlands, has gone on to become one of Australia’s pioneering eco destinations. Twenty-five years on, it’s still going strong; playing host to life-changing, perfective-shifting memories, three hundred and sixty five days a year.
“Our team’s mission statement is to enhance people’s lives through thoughtful experiences that reconnect them with nature,” explains Ben. During our stay, I can happily confirm that the mission was accomplished.
Winter rates at Paperbark Camp start at $550 per tent for two people, with each stay inclusive of a full breakfast and three-course dinner per person, plus use of bikes, canoes and paddle boards. You can learn more and book your stay over here
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