Luxury weekend, anyone?

Driving down the New England Highway from Warwick to Stanthorpe, you wouldn’t immediately think that boutique weekend accommodation would be nestled in the Braeside bush. I had the great privilege of staying at Braeside Homestead this last weekend, and I figured I may as well rave about it. Make you all jealous.

The drive from Brisbane on this particular Saturday was about as perfect as it gets – easy traffic and big blue skies overhead. Once you hit Cunningham’s Gap and cross the range, it’s a treat to be able to wind down the windows and feel the coolness of the Darling Downs in your face (and maybe a bug or two…), but it helps bring home the feeling that you’re out of Brisbane and away from it all, even though two hours’ drive isn’t really that much of a distance.

We made a quick pit stop in Warwick to grab some provisions and went another 20 minutes South to Braeside, arriving just after lunch. We were greeted by Lloyd Ernst, who has lovingly restored the place with the help of his family, and landscaper Clint Kelly. Making ourselves at home with a welcome drink, we wandered about the place a bit, admiring the gardens which Clint has recreated to match the ornate late-19th century gardens as displayed in old photographs of the property.

It was late afternoon, and time for a swim. After gathering towels and gear, we made our way up to the pool, which is located on Braeside Mountain, next to the golf driving range and helipad. The positioning of the pool is such that the view from anywhere in the pool is spectacular. 270 degrees of the view consist of wide open vistas of the surrounding country, all the way from Toowoomba in the North, to the border ranges in the West, and further south into New South Wales. Behind you are the exquisite gardens of Braeside Mountain, completing the 360 degree view.

Dinner followed – lamb on a spit cooked down by the creek. A good ’02 Shiraz, countless stars and the wonderful company of our host family made the whole evening just magical.

So that’s how I began my weekend; it was pretty spiffy to begin with and it got even better as the weekend progressed. But nothing, of course, is perfect…

I’m quite familiar with the feeling of homesickness, but I usually only feel it badly for a few weeks after having spent Christmas at home. The weird thing is I am feeling it right now, after only a weekend at Braeside. I have looked through my photos from the weekend six, seven, eight times now. And it’s not likely to be because I haven’t had a holiday in a while.

It’s just that awesome.