Cloudlake Mountain Retreat

37 Tessman Rd, Ravensbourne National Park

P: (07) 4697 8266

E: cloudlake@bigpond.com

W: www.cloudlake.com

There are two cottages here overlooking a lake, about 30 minutes past Esk.

Cost:  Standard price is $450 for two weekend nights, and $400 for two nights midweek. There are additional charges for more than two guests and breakfast baskets.

The room

Mother of Ducks cottage is a 100-year-old house which was relocated from Ipswich. Inside, the spacious kitchen with gas oven and wooden table flow through to the main living and dining area which is warmed by a wood fireplace.

Here, you could happily slump into one of the deep, comfy sofa chairs and settle in with a good book for the rest of your stay.

There’s really no need to move, as you can already see right across the misty lake which is so still it could be made of glass, and sits right outside your back deck.

There is a large, four-poster Queen bedroom and and two single beds plus a trundle in the second bedroom. French doors open onto a huge, wraparound deck. Enjoy a wine in one of the cane chairs or fire up the outdoor barbie for lunch.

The food

Since you’ll be spending most of your time relaxing around the cottage, it’s a great opportunity to set your own lamb roast slowly cooking in the gas oven. The extensively laid out kitchen includes a microwave, tea and coffee supplies and a large, old-style fridge, so bring whatever food you feel you’ll need.

The nearest shops are a fair drive so it is definitely best to be self-contained. Cloudlake does supply a breakfast basket for two people for $34. It includes freshly laid eggs, bacon, cereal, bread, croissants, milk and orange juice.

Cloudlake doubles as a working organic farm so feel free to pick some of the oranges, grapefruit, mandarins and lemons. There is also Fuerte and Hass avocados, fresh olives, seasonal vegetables and herbs growing in the gardens and orchards.

The activities

The main activity at Cloudlake is to let the relaxing ambience of the lake wash over you, whether that be from inside your cottage, on the deck or on the lush grass which fronts the lake. An outdoor fireplace on the grass provides a fantastic opportunity to set up outdoors.

A walk around the lake is a must, though, which will see you discover a forest of edible gardens featuring herbs, mulberries, passionfruit, rhubarb and orange trees, along with a vineyard.

A wooden canoe sits on the bank of the lake for the mildly adventurous, and for the more energetic, there is the rainforest.

Bird watchers, tree lovers and hikers will enjoy a few hours wandering the surrounds of Cloudlake. Red cedars, flooded and blue gums, black beans and figs, some up to 500 years old, cover the property.

The weekend

Resisting the temptation to build a network of lakeside units, Richard and Rosemary Jones have instead created a quiet rainforest retreat where two cottages have the water all to themselves.

There is the historic Mother of Ducks cottage, and The Boat House.  It can sleep a family of six comfortably, with a Queen bedroom, double futon in the loft and double pull out safa bed by the fire.

From the moment you arrive to find a welcome sign on the front gate with your name on it, it’s clear you are a special guest with what feels like exclusive use of a beautiful, sprawling mountain farm.

Bring a beanie and gloves for outdoor walks during those cold winter months, and keep the log fire burning so your cottage is toasty warm all day and night.

• Scott Beveridge was a guest of Cloudlake Mountain Retreat
• See more great Queensland Escapes