nature Archives - Bespoke vacations

A Nature-based Family Escape near Canberra

Posted on June 2, 2020June 2, 2020 by Nicola Billens

Experience Canberra’s premier wildlife sanctuary like never before with the ultimate family sleepover – A Wild Night out At Tidbinbilla with one-night adventures available from Friday 25 September 2020 to Saturday 10 October 2020.

From the minute you arrive at the Wilderness Family Camp you will be immersed in nature. Everyone will be welcomed to the camp, learning about the area. On each trip is a range of family-friendly activities, giving guests their own unique journey at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Star gazing and a night wildlife walk is a must in this peaceful reserve, just out of Canberra. It’s the perfect place to relax and unwind and spend some quality time with the family.

A hot BBQ buffet is provided for dinner, and after a restful night sleep, you can enjoy a continental breakfast with hot tea and coffee.

Overnight accommodation in Wilderness Family Camp (Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve) with dinner and breakfast included in packages.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES TO CHOOSE FROM

With many activities on offer, guests will have a fun packed weekend for the whole family to enjoy. From CSI Tidbinbilla, to Hi-Tech Wildlife and behind the scenes at the vet centre our itineraries offer something for eveyone.

CSI Tidbinbilla – where families get to join a fun CSI’ style investigation where we hunt for the predator who has taken one of our Potaroos from the Eucalypt forest. Solve the clues to catch the bad guy and learn more about predators while taking part in this interactive activity.

Aboriginal Hanging Rock – Join a Murrumbung Aboriginal Ranger and explore the Tidbinbilla Aboriginal Rock Shelters. See how people used to live and survive, what it takes to live in the wild and learn about bush tucker foods

Hi Tech Wildlife – Walk at dusk in the Eucalypt Forest as we explore the use of different technologies to monitor critters including bandicoots, potaroos and koalas. Get hands on with scanners, cameras, goggles and other equipment used in the reserve!

Behind the Scene’s at the Vet Centre – Meet the Wildlife team and get up close and personal with a critically endangered Northern Corroboree Frog and find out what goes on behind closed doors.

Package includes:

One night family glamping tent for two adults and two children
Activities
A hot BBQ buffet dinner
Continental breakfast

To include this as part of a school-holiday itinerary please enquire with the Alquemie team at alquemie@alquemie.com.au.

Pepperbush Adventures in Tasmania

Posted on November 8, 2018November 13, 2018 by Nicola Billens

Arno Moulin, one of Alquemie’s Australia specialists recently spent a week travelling all around Tasmania. One of the highlights of his trip was a visit with Pepper Bush Adventures.

Pepper Bush Adventures offer unique and exclusive wildlife experiences throughout Tasmania, trips to the Tamar Valley to sample delicious Tasmanian food and wine and as well as secluded beaches in the Bay of Fires and visits to visit ancient forests and spectacular alpine mountain peaks.

He said his time spent with Pepper Bush Adventures was one of the best wildlife experiences ever! Below is a summary of his time with Pepper Bush in his own words….

Craig picked us up from Peppers Seaport in Launceston at 12:30pm– within 10 minutes we were driving through the glorious Tamar Valley; being autumn the colours were beautiful. We enjoyed some commentary about the wine region – which produces most of Tasmania’s wine!

We headed for Ben Lomond – Tasmania’s second highest peak. On the day the weather was foggy so we were unable to see the amazing views; but the drive was a fun adventure in itself on a 4WD only road. On the way up Craig discussed at what points above sea level different trees grow – which is more fascinating than it sounds! Once at the top the land is baron and rocky – which is an amazing contrast over the lush green hills and dense forest landscape surrounding the mountain. We then saw Tasmania’s only ski slope and a few eerie looking chalets – here we also saw a few Bennet’s Wallabies.

We then continued our way to the Quoll Patrol area and kept stopping on the way to visit ‘the bush supermarket’ – here Craig would pick pepper bush leaves and other kinds of berries & eucalyptus and provide commentary about the flora – these were then be used as ingredients for dinner!

On arrival at the property we enjoyed a 20 minute stroll around the property on our way to the ‘shack’. The walk is very beautiful through a forest plantation – and we saw more wallabies!

After our stroll we were then greeted with the MOST amazing cheese platter ever at the shack. On the platter we found smoked wallaby, lots of different Tasmanian cheeses, different styles of pastes like pear & quince – but the best bit was the freshly warmed bread with Tasmanian truffle oil!

Sitting across the camp fire enjoying a glass of Tasmanian wine and devouring the cheese platter – we were in awe of the surrounding landscape! This is pristine wilderness at its best!

The toilet is a drop loo – but well maintained and has a pretty awesome view!

Next course was wallaby meatballs – which were super tasty. Craig is an ex-butcher and it is easy to tell he only uses the best meat. The Tasmanian salmon was cooked right in front of us on the camp fire oven – with pepper bush leaves and lots of other yummy bush ingredients, the flavours and smells were wonderful!

Once the sun went down suddenly we started seeing wildlife coming out from the forest onto the surrounding paddock. Within about 15 minutes we were greeted by wallabies, possums (common Brushtails), quolls (honey coloured and black ones) and lots of pademelons! In the distance we also spotted a few wombats. At times they were only 1 metre away from us. Craig would then shine the torch allowing plenty of opportunities to take photos. For the next hour Craig provided commentary on the wildlife and discussed the habits of quolls and wallabies. There were probably about 200 animals around us within a vicinity of 100 metre radius. Everywhere we looked – they were everywhere!!

We got back into the vehicle and within 5 minutes we were out again spotting platypus in a pond just up from the shack! This is a very rare and amazing experience to see these weird animals in the wild!!

On the drive back we were buzzing with excitement from seeing all the wildlife and a bit of red wine warming our tummies – it was talk talk talk! We arrived back at Launceston at about 10:00pm – of course in summer this is much later.

Over the course of the day we saw:

Platypus!
Kangaroos / Bennet’s Wallabies / Pademelons
Wombats
Quolls (we saw at least 6!)
Possums

Tanja Lagoon Camp – Connect with nature

Posted on November 29, 2017November 29, 2017 by Nicola Billens

Tanja Lagoon Camp is one of those beautiful conservation stories that you dream of creating in retirement. Once a dairy farm with nothing but grass and cows, this gorgeous property has been converted by labour of love into a peaceful wilderness camp with tall trees and abundant wildlife.

A chilled out mob of Eastern Grey Kangaroos call Tanja Lagoon Camp home, as do Swamp Wallabies, Echidnas, White-footed dunnarts, Ring-Tail Possums and a variety of other mammals. In conjunction with funding from the Local Land Services, owners Loz and Sam are planting vegetation across the property to create a wildlife corridor for the rare and endangered Long-Nosed Potoroo.

Located on the Sapphire Coast about 6 hours drive south of Sydney, this small pocket of privately owned land sits on the edge of a coastal lagoon surrounded by National Park. The region is know as Australia’s Coastal Wilderness and blissfully remains relatively unvisited due to the distance from any capital cities or major airports. You’ll often have miles of beach entirely to yourself.

Both Loz and Sam are former outdoor education guides and have a wealth of knowledge on the natural world.

Luxurious Safari Tents

Just four large, luxurious safari tents overlook the lagoon. Inside each tent is a beautiful and comfortable handcrafted queen size bed positioned to enjoy the best of the view when the tent is fully opened. There is also a lounge area with a sofa and writing desk. During the cooler months there is a Noirot heater to take the chill out of the room.

The ensuite bathroom of a safari tent at Tanja Lagoon Camp

Off the back of each deck is an ensuite bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen with fridge/freezer, microwave and cooking equipment. There is no restaurant on property however there is a quality gas barbecue with a hotplate, grill, oven chamber and side burner for you to self cater if you choose.

The spacious front decks have views of the lagoon, a comfortable dining setting, an ethanol brazier in the cooler months and the sofa is easy to move outside to be enjoyed as a daybed.

Each tent also has it’s own fire drum with camp chairs and fire wood provided to allow guests to enjoy the pleasure of sitting around a camp fire.

Middle Beach is just a short bush walk from Tanja Lagoon Camp.

Activities at Tanja Lagoon Camp

At Tanja Lagoon Camp you can be as active or as lazy as you please. Nearby is Middle Beach where the lagoon meets the ocean. Here you can surf, swim or explore the rock pools and sand bar that divides the lagoon from the sea. To access this magical place there’s a short bush walk, or you can take a canoe and paddle your way to the ocean. There is also a walk through the Mimosa Rocks National Park forest amongst the spotted gums and cycads. No matter what you choose, you’ll be sure to see the abundant wildlife and feel at peace in this natural wonderland.

Within an hours drive of Tanja Lagoon Camp are a variety of other activities both on and off the water. Beaches abound for surfing and swimming. There are a range of mountain bike trails for the active, and art trails for the creative. You can discover the Aboriginal heritage of the area at Aragannu, a site of special cultural significance to the local indigenous people or visit nearby oyster farms. You won’t get bored!

One activity that is recommended is to enjoy the sunset over the lagoon from the deck of your safari tent with glass of cold wine in hand.

Tanja Lagoon Camp is perfect for those who are after a wilderness experience near the beach. It is set up for those who self drive and self cater as there is no restaurant on site, however it can easily accomodate those who need full service.