Huon Bush Retreats

A very happy weekend away after the Christmas hustle. The location is stunning. While the cabin doesn’t have powerpoints (but does have very adequate kitchen and a powerpoint to charge phones/tablets), it’s clean and very comfortable. Many little touches. The wood stove heater and outside bathtub were great novelties for the kids, as were the pademelons. The adults appreciated the hot showers, proper coffee cups and also that the hosts went out of their way to resolve a booking issue that was entirely not their error.

Being country people, who have enjoyed camping holidays all our lives, the description provided by Huon Bush Retreat of their property and facilities resonated with us. But….. all is not as described. Great location but not value for money. The cabin was approximately $380pn and the shower was cold. (Another guest told us her shower was cold, also.) Polite phone and text requests to address this were ignored. Be aware there are no power points, only two usb charging points. The composting toilet, while conforming to the eco ethos of the place, would be better built into a separate room, perhaps on the verandah, rather than integrated into bathroom area. It had a pervasive, cloying smell. When we saw campsites set out on steep slopes that would have been hopeless for putting up a tent, we were glad our plans to camp there had changed. The walks were beautiful, but no more so than many national parks offer. The only native animals we encountered were half tame ones around our cabin that had been fed by the owner. This gave one an impression of being immersed in the bush, but the only ones we saw were around the camping area - quite the opposite of what one would expect of wild animals. In fact we saw more wildlife walking in the bush on top of Mt Nelson, Hobart. There had obviously been a safety system in place at some time, whereby walks had to be registered at the start of the walk. this had been let lapse, as there was no paper in the folder where we could register our names etc to show that we were somewhere in the bush. Overall, lack of transparency about things like cold showers and being expected to thoroughly clean the place; ‘every ten minutes the cleaner spends cleaning your cabin, you will be charged $20 left us feeling ripped off and glad to get away.

Enjoyed the campgrounds, facilities were all nice, outdoor bath under the stars was a real treat. The cabins looked amazing, maybe we'll stau in one of those next trip. Bush and rainforest walks are great. The owners are very friendly and helpful. The last section of the road up is very steep. My 2WD Sprinter van msde it up there ok. 🙂

This is my favourite place to go for a little escape from the world for a few days. The campsites are private. The toilets, showers, bushwalks, and camp kitchen are well maintained, there’s a sheltered social fire pit and an outdoor bath, there’s hammocks too! And only 40 minutes from Hobart. Not to mention the lyre bird calls I got to enjoy whilst sitting by my own little camp fire last night! Absolute bliss.

Our family of three had a beautiful night in Tipee West. Great well equipped camp kitchen and such tranquil surrounds. Loved the short walks and interpretations and great improvements since our last visit 8 years ago. Highly recommend.

What a great spot. Teens didn't need their technology plenty to do . Great cabin and helpful staff . Plenty of walks and scenery to look at. Road in is a bit rutted and some steep areas but easily done with 2wd vehicle