Three’s company
Twenty years on, a serene Ravensbourne property now features a trio of secluded accommodation options
It had been 20 years since I visited Cloudlake Mountain Retreat on the Darling Downs, and proprietor Rosemary Jones told a sweet fib and said I hadn’t changed a bit. Yes, well, wouldn’t that be nice? The same can’t be said for her Ravensbourne property, all subjectivity aside.
It now boasts a third accommodation site on the undulating 26ha plot, and it’s a quirky one at that.
Rosemary and landscape architect husband Richard have called it Romany Wood, and as you might guess, it is brimming with gypsy whimsy.
Beside a rainforest and creek, and bordered by the lavender blooms of Paulownia trees (a variety the Joneses first spotted in Paris), Romany Wood is quite the glamping experience.
During the hospitality chaos of Covid when few people were travelling, canny Richard converted a caravan – previously used by a family in Brisbane to home guests during World Expo ’88 – into a lounge room, complete with William Morris wallpaper from London, and a compact bathroom.
All that remains of the original Millard van is the chassis; the rest is pure inspiration.
The kitchen, complete with gas burner, induction cooktop and Weber Q, is outside on a deck under a rain-protective sail, and a hop across the way is the bedroom where a queen bed sits beneath a Homecamp bell tent.
There’s a fire pit too, underneath a sprawling fig tree.
Romany Wood welcomed its first guests in 2020 – a young couple on their wedding night. It’s hard to imagine a more romantic getaway in the unspoiled embrace of nature.
I’d have stayed there in a heartbeat, but the property is not fully fenced and I had my maltese-shih tzu sidekick in tow.
So, repeating the pleasurable experience of 20 years’ ago, I stayed in Mother of Ducks cottage.
Even that has changed. A stunning ensuite has been added, and the gardens are even more beautiful.
The cottage, like the third accommodation venue The Boathouse, overlooks a large lake.
All three guesthouses are self-contained and far enough apart that you can’t even hear a particular dog barking.
The sounds of crickets, frogs, birds and whistling leaves are the real music here.
Mother of Ducks is a cottage relocated from Brisbane and its original charm remains – wide floorboards, tongue and groove walls and wraparound verandas, enhanced by antique and vintage furnishings that include family heirlooms.
I cooked dinner for friends on the Saturday night and the kitchen had everything I needed.
The cottage can sleep six – two on a sofa bed and two on single beds (which can be zipped together to make a queen) – and it has a fireplace and library of books and movies.
If you’re desperate for Wi-fi connectivity you’ll need to take a five-minute stroll up to the end of the street but why bother when nature is so compelling?
Cloudlake is home to more than 130 species of birds as well as wallabies and echidnas. It’s a stone’s throw from Ravensbourne National Park, 45km from Toowoomba, and 25km from the boutique restaurant and homewares hub of Crows Nest.
The Joneses bought the property in 1989 when it was part of a dairy farm.
For about a dozen years, they did the two-hour drive from their home in Wellington Point, east of Brisbane, before settling permanently in 2001 and opening Cloudlake to visitors the following year.
The couple lives in a charming home they built on the property using local materials, and Richard sorted the landscaping, including the magnificent purple and blue spires of echiums and a generous planting of lavender, wisteria, eupatorium, freesias and erigeron daisies.
I don’t know about looking the same as I did 20 years ago when I first visited but I can certainly say I left refreshed and recharged, which has to count for something.