Willow Bend Homestead is set on 10 hectares of rolling pasture and native bushland in a sheltered valley at the foot of Mount Mangana, midway between the iconic surfing spot of Cloudy Bay, and Alonnah, the main village on South Bruny Island.
It's a peaceful spot close to national park walks and a short drive from Hotel Bruny, where you can get a delicious meal cooked with local produce.
The space
This is a special, low key place to relax and get away from it all, and enjoy a genuine Bruny experience.
Secluded and serene, it's a perfect choice for people who enjoy bushwalking, surfing and swimming, nature, bird watching, local history, and quiet contemplation.
Historic Willow Bend Homestead is a spacious, beautifully renovated century-old farmhouse, built by one of South Bruny's pioneer families.
When the weather is fine, feel free to wander through the bushland or across the paddocks, where you will notice native birds, water fowl and wallabies – or lounge on the decks and admire the view. When it’s not, curl up in front of the slow-combustion heater with a book, or one of our board games or videos. There's a tv with Chromecast so you can log into your apps and watch whatever you like. Or bring your own HDMI cable if you prefer. There's plenty of comfy furniture and different spaces, and it's very light, with lovely views across the garden and the farm dams and local bush. At night, listen out for the calls from the Eastern Banjo frogs in the farm ponds. They are particularly active from September to December. And at the top of the property we have critically endangered swift parrots in residence.
There are three bedrooms, making it ideal for groups of up to six people. There is one small extra single bed available for spill over, in a simple room off the mudroom at the front, probably best suited to a child or teenager, please ask about it when booking, if you are interested, as we don’t usually make it up. There’s no electric blanket on that bed.
Two of the bedrooms have queen beds and the third has two long singles that can be joined to make a king. Please let us know your preference when booking. The bedrooms are separated from the living areas and kitchen, for a quiet night’s sleep. Please note: the bedrooms are not heated and get cold at night, especially in winter, but all the beds (except the little one mentioned above) have electric blankets and plenty of warm coverings.
There’s also a separate space for working, with a desk, and good internet.
If you enjoy cooking, you'll love Willow Bend Homestead’s kitchen. There are plenty of pots and pans and a fabulous vintage commercial double oven that was once used by the Geeveston Bakery/Café. There's also a dishwasher. There is a stove top coffee pot (bialetti) - it uses expresso ground coffee, please bring some if you drink a lot of coffee but there will usually also be a bit there already. There's also a coffee machine, bring your own beans. We try to make sure the basics, like tea, olive oil, salt and pepper are provided - but with Bruny a bit isolated from shops, we recommend bringing your own supplies over from the mainland if you can. There's a pretty good little store at Adventure Bay, 20 mins drive from the house.
To keep you warm in winter, the house has a heat pump air-conditioner, plus a very effective slow-combustion wood heater.
Outside, you’ll find a wrap-around north-facing verandah – the perfect spot to enjoy a glass of local wine or a beer.
The bathroom/laundry off the mudroom is simple and basic, with a gorgeous view over the dam and fields. There is a step down to the shower and toilet, and there's no bath. There's a washing machine and dryer. Bruny sometimes has water shortages in summer so we encourage you to keep your showers short and only wash when you have a full load. There is a second bathroom near the bedrooms.
In winter we provide a wheelbarrow load of wood for the slow combustion heater. If you stoke up the fire and then turn it down, the wood burns slowly and keeps the living areas warm. If you'd like more wood we can provide it, for another $30 per wheelbarrow load. Moana, who lives in the little cottage next door, will look after you. If you are coming for a longer stay we provide a wood top up after a few days.
The wifi is pretty good although there are occasional power outages on Bruny so obviously when that happens there's no wifi, among other things. There are also plenty of dvds to watch.
Sometimes there are power outages on Bruny - that is the reality of life on the island. There is a back up generator for the house, so if that happens, Moana can get it going and if she is not there, follow the instructions at the house for getting it going. Fortunately the outages are usually pretty short and don't happen very often.
We are happy to discuss a discount for stays or five days or more, just ask when sending a booking request.
There are security cameras on the outside of the house and shed. This is just for safety purposes and so we can keep an eye on things when there are no guests staying. There are no cameras anywhere inside the house, so your privacy is ensured. The camera on the back deck is disabled when there are guests staying.
Guest access
The whole house and garden is yours to enjoy, and feel free to wander around the farm, just remember to close the gates after you. There are beautiful views of the ocean from the top of the property, which is also a great place to watch the sun set. There is a little cottage next door where the caretaker and co-host Moana lives, but it's very private and you won't see each other unless you want to. You access the property via a driveway off Coolangatta Road, which comes off Cloudy Bay Road. The lockbox is next to the front door. The house has all level access, apart from the bathroom, which has a step down to the toilet and shower. Please do not park on the grass, we are trying to keep it and it is easily churned up in Bruny's frequent wet weather. Park in the carport or on the drive behind and if you have a few cars, there is plenty of parking space outside the gate, on the gravel area that is used as a school bus turning spot.
Other things to note
There are a couple of unfenced dams near the house, so please keep a close eye on children who can't swim. Please don't feed the wallabies and the pademelons, beautiful though they are. They already munch enough of our garden and they don't need any more encouragement! Willow Bend is a shoe free house - please leave them at the door.
Registration details
DA-2021-517
