Stompin' Wombats, Marysville accommodation review: Weekend away

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This was published 9 years ago

Stompin' Wombats, Marysville accommodation review: Weekend away

By Dugald Jellie

The location

Ringed by deeply forested mountains about 90 minutes by winding road north-east of Melbourne, the historic tourist getaway of Marysville was a flashpoint in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. No other community was so profoundly scarred: 35 dead, all but 33 houses razed, the landscape charred. From the ashes, a new Marysville rises, sharing its stories and rebuilding its homes while remaining forever mindful, perhaps, of nature's cruel beauty.

The place

A modernist take on the mountain shack - a kit home perched on a hill on the edge of town - Stompin' Wombats is all glass, corrugated iron and functionality. The views across a frost hollow to Sugarloaf Peak in the north and the tree-burnt ridges of Lake Mountain in the east are stunning. A wood stove warms the heart nicely, as do playful interior-designer touches (from glam wallpaper to Banksy prints) and a well-appointed galley kitchen with cheerful blue splashback and stainless-steel bench. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms ... there are endless weekender possibilities.

The experience

Marysville will never be the same again, but some of its natural attractions endure: the floodlit Steavenson Falls, most of the main street's old oaks, its majestic stands of towering mountain ash, the winter wonderland of Lake Mountain. Tourist businesses (cafes, B&Bs, ski-rental outlets, local-produce shops) are gradually rehabilitating themselves as sightseers return, drawn by fond memories, stories of courage and now the town's emerging sensibilities of survival and renewal.

Don't miss

Aunty Maria's sugary-sweet banoffe pie with a cup of locally roasted organic coffee at the artfully charming Fraga's Café in Marysville. Alternatively, take a country drive north to nearby Buxton Ridge Winery for its local-produce platter and a few drops of sauvignon blanc, shiraz, or a celebratory quaff of its sparkling Molly Jean Blanc de Noir from the cellar door.

Need to know

Cost: $700 for a two-night weekend.

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Distance: 1.5 hours' drive (100km) north-east of Melbourne.

7 Fiske Street, Marysville, Vic

PHONE: 0408 519 514

WEB: stompinwombats.net.au

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