The Outpost Retreat, Noojee review: Back to basics

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This was published 13 years ago

The Outpost Retreat, Noojee review: Back to basics

Bush tucker ... the highly rated Outpost Retreat restaurant.

Bush tucker ... the highly rated Outpost Retreat restaurant.Credit: Gary Medlicott

Peter Wilmoth and his children experience the simple life.

As a gang of three - kids and me - we don't need much when we travel, which is often. The kids have this huge thing about buffets, which I understand. All that DIY fun. And even amid the sublime beauty of the Victorian countryside they don't mind a TV, just quietly. Oh, and a pool. And spa.

No, not really. They are quite happy with basic. Which is lucky when you're visiting Outpost Retreat cottages. Don't go there expecting anything flash. We stay in a one-bedroom cabin, which has a basic living room (with a couch and a spare single bed) and bathroom. The kitchen has a cooktop, a microwave, a kettle and a toaster.

The view from the cottage at the front is a tiny slice of the Latrobe River, from the back a lovely pasture, part of Gippsland's famed dairy country. It's fine and, at $150 a night, gives you somewhere to sleep surrounded by gorgeous bushland.

Where it gets very convenient is its proximity to one of Victoria's highly respected regional restaurants, the Outpost Retreat. As in, walking distance (the restaurant and cottages are part of the same business).

It's great getting into the country after a summer near the beach, especially when the kids say fun stuff such as: "Let's go and play with the electric fence." It's 60 per cent genuine and 40 per cent designed to watch the reaction of their slightly tired dad after a long summer holiday.

We wander up to the Toolshed Bar and watch a group play a game of pool. Someone slips a coin into the jukebox and out comes Janis Joplin's Me and Bobby McGee. There's a bit of a Kris Kristofferson thing going on this afternoon - afternoon drinking, tough-edged country music, flinty locals holding up the bar.

Freedom might be just another word for nothing left to lose but for us freedom is the chance to be still under a tree. And Noojee is the place to do it. I find some "me" time in the late afternoon, an hour before dinner. There's a little patch of sun under a massive eucalypt, which I claim as a perfect venue for a quiet read of the paper while the kids, you know, play with the electric fence. (Actually they explore down by the river.)

Dinner at the restaurant is a delight - great food and a child-friendly environment. The woman serving our table cannot be more friendly or helpful or interested in ensuring we have a good night.

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I have a couple of gripes about the cottage. The "full continental breakfast" amounts to individual packets of cereal, some white bread to toast and a couple of bottles of juice in the fridge. And sachets of instant coffee. I saw a coffee plunger at Ikea last week for $9. Here's the thing: buy one of these, provide a small packet of ground coffee and your guest will be happier. Cost? Maybe $8. Benefit? Huge.

OK, I'm addicted to coffee but with all this talk of gourmet tourism, bed-and-breakfast operators have to think about ways to treat guests as though there's something a little bit special about being away from home.

My other gripe is the lack of a mirror above the sink to shave. Now I know you don't have to look like Daniel Craig in a dinner suit when you're relaxing in a country cottage but it's what stayed in my mind after I'd left. You can have basic but it can't be annoying. Also the TV didn't work.

The Outpost Retreat restaurant and cottage double is highly recommended. But when you book, tell them you want real coffee.

VISITORS' BOOK

The Outpost Retreat (cottages)

Address 38 Loch Valley Road, Noojee.

Bookings 5628 9669.

Getting there 90 minutes from Melbourne. Take the Monash Freeway towards West Gippsland.

Price $125 a night and $25 for each extra person.

Summary Basic but charming accommodation in the heart of bushland.

Verdict 14

The score: 19-20 excellent; 17-18 great; 15-16 good; 13-14 comfortable.

All weekends away are conducted anonymously and paid for by Traveller

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