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A four-night cruise aboard the luxeSanctuary Yangzi Exploreron Asia’s

longest river is a highlight of a 13-day Best of China tour by APT, in

partnership withGT, departing Beijing on 24 May. aptouring.com.au

Pumphouse Point is about

as secluded as lodges come:

just 19 rooms in an unused

hydroelectric pumphouse,

on the shore of misty Lake

St Clair, in the middle

of Tasmania. But the

Pumphouse’s new hideaway

for two is even more private.

Located about 20 metres

from the lodge’s Shorehouse,

The Retreat is hidden in

bush fringing the lake and

is accessed via a “burrow”,

an effect created by a

retaining wall set below

the treeline.

“The feeling you get

walking down to The Retreat

is one of curiosity,” says

Pumphouse Point’s owner and

nature-tourism entrepreneur

Simon Currant. “Then,

ascending the stairs, all

is revealed.”

Clad in silvertop ash, the

hideaway has an outdoor

stone bath for stargazing and

another inside. A “midnight

snack” button lights a path

from the king bed to a fridge

and larder stocked with

Tasmanian fare, and a

set-menu dinner can be

enjoyed with private lake

views. There are goat-hair

rugs underfoot, a pair of

handcrafted basins by Hobart

ceramicist Lindsey Wherrett

in the bathroom, and deep

armchairs with views of the

world’s oldest remaining

cool-climate rainforest.

This latest addition is

“an exclusive place for quiet

retreat in the heart of World

Heritage wilderness”, he says.

Pumphouse Point, opened

in January 2015, is the latest

in Currant’s portfolio, which

includes Peppermint Bay Hotel

in Woodridge and Hobart

restaurant Franklin; he also

owned Cradle Mountain Lodge

(now Peppers) and Strahan

Village (now owned by RACT).

His plans for Pumphouse Point

include a boat cruise.

“I stood on this shoreline

more than 20 years ago with

my daughter on my back,”

recalls Currant. “That day

I knew what I wanted to

create here.”

The Retreat, $1,500 a night,

including food and drinks.

pumphousepoint.com.au

ALICE HANSEN

Pump class

Heed the call of the wild without

sacrificing creature comforts at

Pumphouse Point’s new bush Retreat.

Above: The

Retreat’s

outlook to the

Pumphouse.

Left: the

indoor bath.

PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON (ARTIFICER’S COLD BREW & PORTRAIT PREVIOUS PAGE), ADAM GIBSON (PUMPHOUSE) & SCOTT HAWKINS (ALPINE+SEA)

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GOURMET TRAVELLER 19