Rustic Luxury

It’s late Friday afternoon when we’re
rolling down the long gravel drive,
taking in the welcome green of
swaying trees ringing the villas.
An early evening gathering of roos takes
a look at us and pogos up the hill to the
left. The music’s on pretty loudly in the
car and we’ve been chatting, happy to
be away from desks and chairs, so that’s
probably why, when I turn off the ignition
and open the door, it hits us like it does
– the silence, occasionally flavoured with
the ever-so-gentle flow of nearby water
and the muted calls of native birds.
The dust settles on the car while we unload
and make proper acquaintance with our
lodgings: already on the coffee table by the
kidney-shaped couch is a jar of Bellbrae’s
thick and delicious, signature “Summer
Harvest” jam, expressly for taking home.
One of the best ways to start a trip
along the Great Ocean Road
isn’t to start there at all. There’s a
little place inland – take the turn-off from
the road from Melbourne onto Anglesea
Road, then a left into Vickery’s Road,
and a right into Portreath Road – a bush
oasis of calm, quiet and kangaroos, a few
kilometres from Torquay. The Bellbrae
Harvest’s three self-contained hideaways,
perched on a rise at the edge of a hidden
little valley, are a unique and romantic base
from which to explore the Surf Coast.
Tomorrow’s breakfast (milk, muesli,
bread, fresh fruit, yoghurt and two
types of jam) is already in the fridge,
as is orange juice and a small bottle of
champagne. It’s a delicious way to start
the following day in our pyjamas. And
then there are the superb tea bags – silkscreen
pyramids filled with fresh leaves.
As for the villa itself: twin woven cane
chairs face each other around the glass
table at the front of the living area, which
also has a TV with DVD player and a
CD stereo system; the marble-topped
kitchenette contains a microwave, toaster,
fridge, kettle and coffee plunger; and
there’s reverse-cycle air-conditioning.
Victoria Postcards Magazine
42