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The cottages are on 2 hectares (5 acres in the old money!) which were excised from a dairy farm. Sandstone blocks from the dairy floor now grace the garden and form the fire circle near the barn. It may seem strange to say that it is fortunate that the paddock in front of us is flood-prone but it means that the cottages will never be built-out and you will have sweeping uncluttered vistas of a spur of Mt Coolangatta and the Illawarra escarpment.
In front of our cottages is ... wait for it ... a cottage garden, in which are planted a variety of lavendahs, roses and Australian natives. Further afield is our orchard with plum, apple, pear, lemon, grapefruit, lime, mandarin, fig, cherry, nashi and feijoa trees as well as some blueberry vines. If you need some greens for your meals while you are staying at Back Forest Retreat, you are also welcome to help yourselves from our vegetable and herb gardens.
The property is a sanctuary for its animal and human inhabitants. We regularly see herons, swallows, kites, hawks, eagles, galahs, cockatoos, pelicans, cormarants, finches, wagtails, magpies, peewees, parakeets, noisy minahs, as well as echidnas and blue tongue lizards. A rarer sight is a family of quail. We also have our goat, calves, chooks and alpaca to look after. So please leave your animals at home, or ask about two nearby catteries.
Stop and listen and you will hear the sound of far-away birds and animals. Although the country seems remote, sound travels great distances across the plain, so please be considerate and do not make loud noise after 10 p.m.
In between the cabins is a large games room where your children and you can play foozball or table-tennis, have a barbecue or just relax with a book. There is also a pool table - sorry kids, adults only. Out the back is a badminton court for the more active. Or try our boulles court to see whether you are ready to take on the champions of France and Italy.
