Rewilding may be the biggest wellness trend of the moment, but it scares me. Sure I want all the benefits of going back-to-nature, but without the panic-inducing thought of having to pitch a tent. Could a stay in a Tiny Home tick the boxes I’m after: a sustainable escape with luxe benefits? Well, when it comes with the added offer of getting there in a new luxury all-electric car, the answer is yes.
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Let me rewind a second. Without meaning to, our family have been living a little too large. With three grown children (all still at home, thank you Cost of Living crisis), our home in Sydney is heaving with bodies and stuff. There’s old furniture waiting for my DIY-era to kick-in, packed bookcases with unread bestsellers, cupboards stuffed with rarely-used gadgets and chargers that have unconsciously uncoupled from their original purpose. And don’t get me started about the cobwebbed discarded gym equipment. But lately, the weight of it all has been suffocating.
I always loved the idea behind Tiny Home stays – perfect little doll houses dotted across the country encouraging us all to scale down our living spaces and to tread more lightly on the planet. And when I saw this perfectly proportioned eco-friendly, off-grid tiny house on the Into The Wild Escapes website, I decided to do it. She is called Tiny Astrid. (So cute!)
To make the experience even better we took up the special package on offer from Volvo. Volvo Cars Australia has formed a neat collab with Into The Wild Escapes, offering guests the opportunity to travel to and from Tiny Astrid in the new all-electric Volvo EX30. It gives guests the chance to experience an entirely eco-conscious journey – in total minimalist luxury – from start to finish. Genius. If we were going to embrace sustainability, we might as well go all in.
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The day of our escape arrived on a scorching hot summer day. At the pickup point, the electric Volvo waited with an added promise of adventure. It didn’t take us long to get used to the silence of the engine while working our way through all the cool things on offer on the hi-tech, centre console big screen. It honestly provided extra fun entertainment for the entire trip. They say it’s the smallest electric SUV, but it felt roomier than our car back home and hugged the mountain’s curves to perfection. The drive out of Sydney felt like shedding layers of city stress with each kilometre.
Two and a half hours later we arrived at Tiny Astrid in the NSW Blue Mountains. Inside, it was a masterclass in minimalism. Every inch had been considered, every corner crafted with purpose. The queen bed in the loft looked down over a space that somehow managed to feel both cosy and expansive. The luxe finishes were impressive: from the French linen bedding to the St Ali coffee, to the extra blankets that we wrapped ourselves in around the fire, to the hot water bottles in their tiny, knitted jumpers hidden away in one of the perfectly executed storage solutions.
The lounges called to be lied down on, while the low-slung outdoor chairs around the fire pit beckoned relentlessly as did the thoughtfully supplied hammock which we hooked up to nearby trees.
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But it was the hot tub that sealed the deal. As the sun set and the temperature plummeted, we jumped in – watching the stars emerge above the trees. The only sounds were the gentle crackle of the wood fire heating the tub. Not a flickering screen in sight. It was bliss.
This was rewilding at work – disconnecting from the modern rat race and reconnecting with nature – albeit with the mod-cons of a working shower , a composting toilet system and air-con.
The hours passed in a blur of simple pleasures. Morning coffee sipped from enormous mugs, bushwalking on nearby tracks. Short trips to nearby picture-postcard hamlets. Afternoons reading on the compact deck, before cooking up home-cooked meals on the BBQ. Evenings in the hot tub or around the fire, solving all the world’s problems over a bottle of red, purchased from Frankie and Mos at nearby Blackheath.
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By the end of our stay when we were packing up the Volvo, we realised we didn’t really have much to pack – we hadn’t needed much at all . Our EX30 hummed to life silently, ready to carry us back to the city. We had travelled approximately 160km and still had a healthy 30% charge – but thought we’d better find a charging station before hitting the motorways. After a Google search on the console screen, we found one at a car park in Lawson on the way home and recharged the car while we had a pub lunch at the nearby grand old Henry Hotel. The recharge cost us $24 – which was substantially less than a fill-up at the petrol pump. The EX30 is Volvo’s smallest ever fully electric SUV, but certainly doesn’t skimp in the style or sophistication stakes. Also, we couldn’t fault it’s range – we never felt like the juice was going to run out at any minute. For those of us who’ve never driven an electric car before, it was all easier than we imagined.
As the mountains started to disappear in the rearview mirror, I realised something in me had shifted. I’d come seeking a cute escape but realised that living large didn’t require a large space, and that sustainable living can definitely be done in style.
Tiny Astrid stays start from $349 a night. Booking the Volvo EX30 costs a flat-fee of $220 for the duration of your stay. The offer ends in March. For sll the details and booking info go to intothewildescapes.com