Story by Luisa
The Great Foodie Adventure
Adventure in Great Mackerel Beach, Sydney, NSW, AU
This was a weekend getaway that revolved around food, views, and more food. The highlight of any food adventure is access to a good kitchen and Sandstone Cottage, in Great Mackerel Beach, has exactly that. Even better, it's just a hop, skip and a ferry ride from Palm Beach Wharf.
You know you’re off to a good start when the main door opens into a communal living space. The kitchen is to your right, the living area to your left, and oh my god – that view! Sandstone Cottage has a very well-equipped kitchen; all you need to bring is your inner Nigella and the fresh produce you picked up along the way, hopefully from The Beaches Market. Be sure to volunteer for the breakfast or lunch shift because cooking with that view (sigh) can only play to your advantage; a good mood is the most essential ingredient, right?
Now, let’s talk about the treehouse! A standalone space next to the main house, it's easily the best feature of the Sandstone Cottage. I’m not going to describe this space in detail, because the photograph speaks for itself, but I'll go as far as to say that I am willing to endure the FOMO of friends cooking next door just to cosy up here. Just give me a granola bar and an endless supply of Nespresso (because you will have a supply). Even though the point of the weekend is food and friends, there is always time for cosiness. The treehouse sleeps three, so choose your friends wisely. This space is so damn impressive that you're even allowed to play favourites; luckily, I brought along my favourite foodie friends.
Aside from cooking, swimming and walking around the beach and bushland, there are some fantastic hikes you can do. Richard and Claudia, your hosts, will provide you with an in-depth PDF with suggestions of activities and excursions to do. I love that Richard and Claudia created this space so that others can experience what it would be like to stay in such a magical space. It's the best reset you can gift yourself, your friends or your nearest and dearest....
You know you’re off to a good start when the main door opens into a communal living space. The kitchen is to your right, the living area to your left, and oh my god – that view! Sandstone Cottage has a very well-equipped kitchen; all you need to bring is your inner Nigella and the fresh produce you picked up along the way, hopefully from The Beaches Market. Be sure to volunteer for the breakfast or lunch shift because cooking with that view (sigh) can only play to your advantage; a good mood is the most essential ingredient, right?
Now, let’s talk about the treehouse! A standalone space next to the main house, it's easily the best feature of the Sandstone Cottage. I’m not going to describe this space in detail, because the photograph speaks for itself, but I'll go as far as to say that I am willing to endure the FOMO of friends cooking next door just to cosy up here. Just give me a granola bar and an endless supply of Nespresso (because you will have a supply). Even though the point of the weekend is food and friends, there is always time for cosiness. The treehouse sleeps three, so choose your friends wisely. This space is so damn impressive that you're even allowed to play favourites; luckily, I brought along my favourite foodie friends.
Aside from cooking, swimming and walking around the beach and bushland, there are some fantastic hikes you can do. Richard and Claudia, your hosts, will provide you with an in-depth PDF with suggestions of activities and excursions to do. I love that Richard and Claudia created this space so that others can experience what it would be like to stay in such a magical space. It's the best reset you can gift yourself, your friends or your nearest and dearest....
Things We Did
- Food & Drink
- Experience
- Swim
- Walk
This is the best place to start your weekend away. It's perfect because this farmer's market is open on Fridays and you can pick up local fresh produce including sourdough bread, cheeses, fruit and vegetables. We spent at least an hour and a half here, with enough time left for a bite to eat before we caught the ferry to Great Mackerel Beach....
Sandstone Cottage is possibly one of the best accommodations I've stayed in and has a very well-equipped kitchen. Claudia, one of the hosts, used to be a caterer so it's no wonder that the kitchen is so impressive. We forgot the most important ingredient in one of the recipes we planned to make, but you should have heard us shout for joy when we found packets of instant yeast in the kitchen pantry. Suffice to say we cooked, we used the gas barbecue, and even tested a recipe one night and ended up with a freshly baked pandesal (a Filipino sweet bread) for midnight snack....
If you love nature, you should take advantage of the many hikes in the bushland. Richard and Claudia provide all this information for you. We only managed to do little walks along the beach and around peninsula. It's teeming with wildlife, and if you're lucky, you'll encounter some of the resident kangaroos....
Our Adventure Map
Where we stayed
Things we did
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