Have you ever wanted to camp out in the middle of the city – gaze at stars and listen to the sound of Sydney?
It's somewhere between a luxury hotel break and an overnight camping trip – Glamping.
A term that is now becoming familiar among travel enthusiasts….It's an experience that's been popping up more frequently across the world, and for those in Sydney, one of the closest and most accessible locations is Cockatoo Island.
Over the weekend, my partner and I were lucky enough to be invited to glamp on Cockatoo Island, a UNESCO world heritage site in the centre of the city of Sydney.
A mere 10-minute ferry from the CBD, a chance to escape the bustling city life without going too far…
There's three accommodation options, the most affordable are the camping sites starting at $45 per night, where you bring your own tent.
Then there are the apartment and studio stays starting at $250 per night and are for those who'd prefer to stay comfortably in a homestead.
For a happy in between, there's glamping, which starts at $130 per night and is worth every cent for the view alone.
Upon arrival, we were offered a warm welcome, handed a bag of goodies and a lantern.
There's no need to set up anything, we were offered a 3x3m tent with two beds each made with clean bedding and pillows. It felt like home away from home, the staff made sure we were comfortable offering us water bottles, towels and toiletries. With the tent's front completely open, bug nets zipped up, we couldn't wait for the sun to go down and the whole city to light up. It was just magical…
Outside the tent, we took advantage of the two deck chairs set up in front of the water to soak up the sunshine. In fact, we spent most of our day on those chairs enjoying the million dollar views and the spectacular sunset. And just when you thought the night couldn't get any better, a bonfire around the campsite topped it off for us. We spent the night around the fire, burning marshmallows and enjoying a cup of tea.
You're free to roam around the island whenever you want, so we did just that, exploring the colonial and maritime history and learning about the time the island was a prison. The camp is your sanctuary and there's an invigorating sense of freedom you don't have anywhere else in the city.
It's tiny enough to wander around within a few hours though large enough to be considered the biggest island in the harbour.
