This was published 10 years ago
Weekend Away: South Gippsland, Oberon cottage review.
More than meets the eye ... Oberon Cottage.
Melanie Ball finds Oberon Cottage to be a comfy base in Yanakie, VICTORIA
THE SETTING
Blink and you could almost miss Yanakie, a community of about 250 people with a general store, CFA station and community hall in South Gippsland. Yet the name features in many holiday plans, because this is the last town before Wilsons Promontory National Park. Yanakie is the closest accommodation you'll find to the park. It offers a range of choice from caravan parks to B&Bs and self-contained properties - one of which is Oberon Cottage, five minutes' drive out of town in Gippsland-green dairy farmland.
THE SPACE
On approach, Oberon Cottage is a tad underwhelming but the courtesy telephone in the multi-car shed is the first clue that there is more to the place than first meets the eye. One of three Prom Mill Cottages in half a hectare of garden - confusingly, there are also Promhill Cabins in Yanakie - three-bedroom Oberon Cottage shelters against windbreak pines behind two-bedroom Millar Cottage. The front door opens off a wide verandah into an open plan lounge-dining-kitchen with a cathedral ceiling and half-timber walls. The dining table seats six or you could eat off your knees on the twin three-seater leather couches in front of the flat screen television. To the left are two queen-bed rooms and to the right, behind the piano, is a twin room.
THE KIT
All the bedrooms have quality sheets, Doonas and electric blankets. The cottage has reverse cycle airconditioning and there's an additional heater in the lounge; all rooms also have ceiling fans. The bathroom and separate toilet open off a utility room in which you'll find a washing machine, mop, vacuum cleaner, iron and board, plus portable electric barbecue.
COMFORT FACTOR
Novels, National Geographic magazines and an encyclopaedia set fill the lounge bookcase. There are playing cards, a CD player and games. The guest compendium holds brochures, touring guides and maps, menus for restaurants and a list of phone numbers for attractions and services. Here, too, are manuals for the appliances.
FOOD
The full-size kitchen is set up for preparing a feast and equipped with a double oven, dishwasher, and lots of utensils rarely found in self-contained accommodation. The pantry contains a coffee plunger, complementary coffee and tea, toothpicks and candles. (Electricity blackouts and brown-outs occur regularly at Yanakie so you should have adequate drinking water on hand because the pump is electric.) If you fancy a night out of the kitchen, you can get a delicious meal, and local wine, at popular Fish Creek Hotel, 20 kilometres up Meeniyan-Promontory Road.
WORTH STEPPING OUT FOR
Wilsons Promontory National Park is just a few kilometres south and a spectacular drive gives you access to kilometres of walking tracks to suit all levels of experience and ability. You can stroll ocean beaches and through Tidal River's bird-rich wetlands on the wheelchair-accessible Loo-Ern Track or stretch your legs on longer walks in mossy fern gullies and out onto great granite headlands. Yanakie is also a good base for exploring South Gippsland's coastal towns and villages and the Strzelecki Ranges.
THE VERDICT
Oberon Cottage is ideal for a family or group of friends wanting to enjoy Wilsons Promontory and South Gippsland without blowing the getaway budget.
HOW TO GET THERE
Oberon Cottage is a 2½-hour drive from Melbourne. Take the Monash Freeway (M1) to Pakenham and the Koo Wee Rup Road to the South Gippsland Highway. Continue on to Meeniyan, from where you follow Meeniyan-Promontory Road to Yanakie. Oberon Cottage is about five kilometres out of town.
ESSENTIALS
Oberon Cottage is in Millar Rd, Yanakie. Phone 1800 458 382 or 03 5682 1436. One-night price from $170 (low season) a couple, plus $20 for each additional guest (children under 2 are free), with savings on multiple-night bookings. Two-night minimum stays apply over Christmas and summer school holidays. See promaccom.com.au/prommillcottages/.
The writer stayed at her own expense.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.