rose gums wilderness retreat

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Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat, By Genine Hiscox-Price

City Life, May 2005

Being a nature buff and a romantic at heart, I love nothing better than to get away for the weekend with my beloved to the Cairns Highlands (formally the Atherton Tablelands for those not aware of the name change).

On this particular occasion we chose the luxurious and ultra romantic Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat located near lake Eacham. The name exudes relaxation and charm, and the retreat certainly lived up to our expectations.

Jon and Peta Nott, a lovely couple who have designed and built each of the timber and pole treehouses themselves, met us in the driveway. Their own house is a retreat of its own, and the couple live a charmed life in a timber 'A frame' house overlooking rainforest mountains and valleys, with their two free spirited children.

We stayed in one of the treehouses located only a few hundred metres from Jon and Peta's house, but a lifetime away form our busy lives in Cairns. The retreat is perfect for a romantic weekend away, but the family treehouses can cater for groups up to 6.

The treehouse was spectacular, furnished with hand made timber tables and chairs, a modern and well-equipped kitchen, king size bed, stereo (with CD player), TV and even a washing machine and dryer! Although we were only staying overnight we felt somehow compelled to use all of the facilities (but being mindful of the natural environment we decided to forego some activities until next time when we promised ourselves to stay a for a whole week).

On further exploration of the treehouse we discovered the most fabulous spa bath overlooking our own private rainforest scene. Blinds are not required in the bathroom (unless you are opposed to the odd tree kangaroo or honeyeater spying on your privates!) nor anywhere else in the treehouse as all chalets are completely veiled by rainforest screens.

The treehouses are designed in such a way that you can slide the large glass door across to open up the entire living area to the sounds and smells of the rainforest around you. Although the weather was still warm, you could imagine arriving here on a cold Tableland winter day, throwing open all doors and windows to let the crisp air fill the room, then lighting up the wood fire to snuggle up with a lovely bottle of red wine and chocolates. Not one to pass up a good snuggling opportunity, we did this anyway and feasted on superb cheeses that we had purchased that day from the local dairy.

After relaxing for a while we decided to wander through the 230 acre property (obviously only a small portion - we didn't want to get carried away of anything) as Pet had recommended one of their three walking tracks that wound through the rainforest and down to a fresh water creek.

The Cairns Highlands are renowned for wildlife (over 160 bird species recorded in the area) and I was keen to see how many species of birds I could find. As we wandered down the winding path to Butcher's Creek, Rowan out up with my continual chatter about the bird calls and exclaims of delight when hearing a Victoria's Riflebirds harsh call, of a Yellow Spotted Honeyeater, of a Catbird, or a ..you get the drift.

Once we reached the creek at the bottom of the pathway, we caught a glimpse of platypus, bobbing nonchalantly on the surface of the water as we watched in awe.

I was keen to find a tree kangaroo as previous guests had seen a large male leap out a tree right in front of their treehouse only days previously! Unfortunately we didn't see one, however we did spot a Musky Rat Kangaroo shuffling in the undergrowth.

With my nature requirements filled, we headed back to our rainforest treehouse with the idea of a nice long spa bath ot soak away the stresses of a particularly unstressful day! With so much of nothing and everything to do, we will definitely be heading back to stay at Rose Gums in the near future.

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