Paperbark Camp

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Comfortable tented eco-camp and excellent restaurant, perched amid paperbark forest near stunning Jervis Bay, 3 hours south of Sydney

After a 3-hour journey down the Pacific Highway from Sydney, a brilliant flash of parrots in the canopy of gum trees welcomes you to Paperbark Camp. It centres around 'The Gunyah', an architect-designed, high-stilted house of timber and corrugated iron, which houses an airy restaurant, kitchen and reception. Paths leads to turquoise Currambene Creek where you can launch canoes; other trails lead into deep eucalypt forest for kangaroo-spotting and choirs of birds at dawn.

Irena and Jeremy Hutchings were inspired by their visit to Honeyguide in Africa to create a luxury tented camp on home soil. It took 10 years to realise their vision. They chose the white-sand horseshoe of Jervis Bay for its wonderful national parks, its wealth of activities from whale-watching to diving, and its sheer beauty. After waiting 4 years for planning permission, they created one of Australia's most eco-sensitive lodges on its protected wetlands: no large trees were felled, furniture is hand-crafted from offcuts, and the 12 treehouse-style canvas tents are solar-powered.