Welcome to Wattle Hill, a holiday house designed for rest and relaxation surrounded by natural beauty and the wonders of the Australian bush.
Our house is only a 5 minute drive from the Forrest township, but you will feel a million miles from anywhere. You are surrounded by stunning scenery, with views from most rooms.
You are guaranteed to see a variety of colourful native birds, and we regularly see wallabies, kangaroos, koalas and echidnas.
Our 30 acre property sits on the edge of the Otway Ranges National Park and you will have the whole property to yourselves. You can stroll along the Barwon River that forms one boundary of the property. Or go through a gate into the national park where you can walk, ride or drive in the magnificent forest. Or simply chill out on the hammock or day bed on the deck, or cosy up in front of the fire.
The house is warm and comfortable, with decks on three sides of the house. On the western side of the house is a large covered deck with outdoor dining setting, day bed and barbeque.
There are three bedrooms, two with double beds, and one with a set of bunks. We love to cook and the kitchen features modern appliances, quality cookware and a wide range of sauces, herbs and spices.
It's a great place to come all year round. In summer you can swim in the river, walk, mountain bike and generally make the most of the outdoors. In winter, you can cosy up by the fire or explore the local area with its wineries, historical sites and towns.
We are keen walkers and mountain bikers and have explored much of the local area - and will be happy to assist you with information.
Great location
Forrest is a small town nestled in the Otway Ranges that is a two-hour drive from Melbourne, 20 minutes from Colac (the nearest big town) and 45 minutes from Lorne and Apollo Bay.
It has a general store where you can get a good coffee that is well stocked with gourmet supplies, a pub, brewery/cafe. The town has become well known for its range of high quality single track mountain bike trails. There are over 60 km of marked tracks that have been designed for mountain bikers. The trails offer experiences for all rider levels with trail grading from Easiest to Extremely Difficult.
The Otway Ranges National Park is a large wilderness area famous for beautiful walks, drives, lakes and waterfalls. We particularly recommend a visit to Lake Elizabeth, which is a 10 minute drive from the house and features magnificent scenery and lovely walks. You can also do guided kayak platypus tours.
The house is 45 minutes from the world-famous Great Ocean Road (Lorne/Skenes Creek/Apollo Bay), with its pristine beaches and wonderful scenery and great places to visit and eat out.
Features and pricing
Features
Sleeps 6 people in three bedrooms (2 x double bedrooms, 1 x bunk)
Beautiful vintage furniture
Cooks kitchen
House available with linen or without
Gas barbeque
Dishwasher
Microwave
Lounge with Coonara wood heater
TV and NBN wireless internet
CD player and radio
Books and board games
Braun coffee machine
Bathroom with separate toilet
Linen available for hire
Early check in/late check out
You can arrive at the house at 4pm on your day of booking (or possibly earlier by arrangement). Check out is 11am on the day of your departure, however, if no other guests are due, we are happy to make this later.
Gravel access road
Please note that the house is accessed via a 1.5 km gravel road that is generally fine for 2WD vehicles but is not suitable for cars with a low ground clearance. We get the road graded usually annually, however, with the big storms we are having regularly, please expect that there will be some pot holes and bumps.
Prices
The house sleeps a maximum of 6 people.
There is a 2 night minimum booking. Rates are as follows:
$330 per night plus $100 cleaning fee
These costs do not include the supply of linen. Pillows and doonas are supplied.
Linen is available at an additional cost of $40 per room or $100 for the whole house.