This was published 15 years ago
Woodman Estate review: In a stylish manor
Peaceful reflection ... the gracious surrounds of Woodman Estate's lakeside house.
A spa retreat in an English country setting helps Tricia Welsh ease into the new year.
With the invitation to counter the usual excesses of Christmas and kick-start the new year with a little quiet pampering and R&R, I head down to Woodman Estate on the Mornington Peninsula.
This 20-hectare estate comprises a boutique hotel and spa retreat halfway between Mount Martha and Hastings at Moorooduc. Sheltered by tall cypress pines, a gravel road leads into the estate, edged by flowering blue agapanthus. The gracious, two-storey manor house is straight out of English Country Life - a typical home of the landed gentry, yet it is only 20 years old - built indeed by an Englishman as his family home.
And its location is perfect - overlooking its own two-hectare private lake where ducks and water hens dabble, rabbits scamper at dusk and where, if you're lucky, you might see wild deer or the resident echidna whose burrow is lakeside by the spa building. There are family horses in the home paddock, flowers in the garden and water lilies afloat on the lake.
Rick Woodman greets us in the parlour of the manor house and tells us he and his wife, Stephanie, have operated the estate for 10 years on what was originally a pear and apple orchard. Initially, they lived in the manor house but as their family of three sons grew, they moved out and extended accommodation around the lake.
Woodman shows us to our lakeside chalet with imposing four-poster bed, large marble bathroom, spacious lounge room and an outside deck large enough to host a party.
We have arrived a tad earlier on the peninsula to check out a few cellar doors and settle on the relatively new Foxeys Hangout, which is also one of the closest. After a couple of tasty plates to share and a glass of refreshing rose, I am nicely relaxed and ready for my spa treatment booked for later that afternoon.
Charro, one of the spa therapists, greets me with such a friendly and open face I know I will be in good hands. She explains the treatment briefly as we go upstairs to one of the two double treatment rooms.
I'm to have a "kodo", which she says means "melody", with the aim "to relax with movements that flow around the body, to gently cleanse, detox and purify" - followed by a "paudi" head and scalp treatment.
Both are special treatments using the Li'tya range of indigenous products. But first we go through some rituals.
First is a wulima yulu, "a journey of aroma", so I can choose intuitively (through a sense of smell rather than reading a label) which essential oil I'd like for my massage, and then a "smoking or smudging" ritual where lemon myrtle, wild mint and old man's beard are burnt to bring me into the state of linj'dta - "the here and now, the present moment", Charro explains.
I've chosen Ocean Dreaming, which I am told is invigorating to the spirit but also calming, being a blend of ti-tree, frangipani, clary sage and sandalwood. With a base of almond oil, Charro begins to massage my back and limbs using long, sure strokes.
The background music of a didgeridoo is haunting.
Seamlessly, Charro moves on to the paudi treatment, whereby quandong or wild peach cream is applied and massaged into the scalp and left on like a restorative mask.
Gradually I hear surrounding birdsong and am soon back in the land of the living.
We are one of a maximum 10 couples at Woodman Estate for the weekend and are lucky enough to have a lakeside chalet. There are two others adjacent but they are well spaced for privacy. The manor house has five rooms and two other suites in the spa retreat building, so spa junkies can slink around in bathrobes all day.
It's to the manor house with its elegant drapes and plush lounges that we head for dinner.
There are two dining options: the formal dining room and a casual brasserie that in summer spills out to a lakeside terrace with market umbrellas. But tonight we frock up to make the occasion special. After canapes in the drawing room, we dine on bouillabaisse and a delicious pork belly and mango salad, followed by exceptionally tender chargrilled fillets of beef. As I sip a fine local wine and watch a crimson sun set over the lake, I feel indeed renewed, re-energised and ready to take on whatever the year throws me.
Tricia Welsh stayed as a guest of Woodman Estate.
FAST FACTS
Woodman Estate has luxury overnight hotel accommodation from $350 a couple; as well as three, five and seven-day Re-energiser packages individually designed to include spa treatments, personal sessions and healthy, delicious spa cuisine from $1700. The hotel is at 136 Graydens Road, Moorooduc, about an hour from the city, phone 5978 8455 or see woodmanestate.com.
Sign up for the Traveller newsletter
The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.