Idyllic setting ... nature surrounds DULC's light-filled cabins.
Kay O'Sullivan is surrounded by sounds and sights of nature in this pure hideaway.
The whole point of going bush is to get among it, which is why if you are heading for the Grampians then DULC Holiday Cabins is worth considering.
DULC is less than five minutes drive from Halls Gap, the de facto capital of the Grampians, which bustles during the peak tourist seasons.
The "treehouse".
But once ensconced in a cabin on the two-hectare property, you would swear you are in the depths of the Australian bush. All you can see are trees and shrubs. All you can hear are birds chirping and those trees and shrubs rustling. Which is no accident. The owners, Pru and Simon Farrer told me they ignored well-meaning friends who said the foliage should be trimmed to show off the southern face of the Grampians ridge. Their rallying cry to the architect? Save the trees.
My cabin is both rustic and funky, two words I've never used in the same sentence before. But that's the best description I can come up with for the combination of rough sawn timber, polished concrete and black leather sofas.
It's virtually one room with a well-equipped bathroom and wide deck off it. It doesn't feel small because from every vantage point, even from the bathtub, you are surrounded by bush, courtesy of great panes of glass.
Eat while enjoying the greenery.
The bedroom is at the opposite end of the sitting-cooking area, cleverly delineated and partly hidden by a bookshelf housing a gas log fire and a television. If you tire of gazing at the wonders of nature, the flat-screen television swivels around.
For those who don't feel that comfortable letting the outside in, especially the 5am light of summer, there is a blackout blind. I didn't bother using it; the curtain of green was more to my liking, although the surfeit of nature was perhaps a little too soothing. As hard as I tried to stay awake to give the Carlton boys my (distant) support during my pre AFL grand final stay, I sleep through the final quarter only to wake to find Chris Judd leading the boys in our song.
Which provides a neat segue into my quibble with DULC. A dodgy internet connection. I only mention this as I couldn't check what the online commentators were saying about the Blues' performance the next morning. Which, of course, necessitated a second coffee in Halls Gap, all of five minutes away, where I could get a signal. (My first coffee was a strong shot from the impressive espresso machine perched on the cabin's kitchen bench.)
The cabin is generously equipped - that espresso machine, hot plate, dishwasher, microwave, good-looking glasses, and plenty of them, and enough utensils for a family of eight. Pru will deliver a breakfast hamper on request.
Budding master chefs might quibble over the lack of a stove in the cabin but to my mind the kettle barbecue on the deck does the job and leaves no lingering cooking smells inside.
The bathroom is stocked with the excellent Molton Brown range of toiletries. There's a hair dryer, too.
There are four cabins on the block. One's double storey and a fifth will open in time for Christmas. They're all positioned so you don't notice the others once inside your cabin. I look at the other three and they are in the same vein as mine, with wood-lined interiors, comfortable black leather sofas, gas-wood fires and, of course, all have masses of glass that let the bush in.
Oh, and on that funny name, it was Pru's much-missed grandmother's name.
VISITORS' BOOK DULC
Address 9 Thryptomene Court, Halls Gap.
Phone 5356 4711.
Getting there The cabins are about three hours' drive west of Melbourne.
How much One-bedroom cabins from $250 a night, two-bedroom cabins from $350, low season. Two-night minimum applies during low season and three- or four-night minimum during Christmas-New Year, Easter and school holidays.
Summary Sleek, funky cabins, beautifully presented in the the bush.
Verdict 17
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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