Mayfield Bay Coastal Reserve

Luxury modernist beach house retreat on Tasmania's beautiful East Coast. Deluxe, multi-award-winning headland retreat overlooking Great Oyster Bay towards Maria Island, just a stone's throw from Swansea. Enjoy the delightful breakfast provisions and plan your day or don't plan your day – just let it evolve. You can simply sit and read the interesting books from the Avalon collection, swim at the secluded beach at the bottom of the path, go fishing, walking, swimming, collect shells or head to Swansea or Freycinet to enjoy the splendour of the East Coast. Curl up on the couch and enjoy a little Netflix, or simply switch off from the world, snuggle in by the warmth of the crackling fire and gaze out at the stars scattered across Avalon's beautiful clear night sky. It's one of those wonderfully peaceful moments where there is nowhere else you need to be. Sleep in the Stuart Houghton custom-made Tasmanian oak beds, dream the evening away and awaken to the glorious pre-dawn light. Surrendering yourself to the Avalon rhythm is a unique experience. They are the proud winners of many Tasmanian Tourism Awards 'Best Self-Contained Accommodation' and Tasmanian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame."

​​​​​Mayfield Bay Conservation Area is a popular stop-off on the Great Eastern Drive self-drive experience. The area was initially reserved in 1981 for its diverse natural and cultural values. The reserve is loved by locals who regularly return, but also interstate and international travellers looking for a coastal camping option.​ Here you can watch eagles soar overhead and hear the waves roll onto the beach. Vantage points offer superb views across Great Oyster Bay towards the Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island.

A single-bedroom retreat on 250 acres of protected conservation land, Rocky Hills sits above Great Oyster Bay with uninterrupted views across to the Freycinet Peninsula. Designed by architect Craig Rosevear, the building is passive solar, fully off-grid and quietly extraordinary - solar powered, rainwater fed, and built to disappear into the landscape rather than impose on it. The land is registered under a conservation covenant in perpetuity. What happens here stays here. Accommodation is for two guests only. Interiors are spare and considered -art, books, light, and the particular silence of 250 acres with no neighbours. Outside, a handcrafted Huon pine bath sits in the open air. Rocky Hills is 10 minutes from Swansea, close to Freycinet National Park, and within reach of some of Tasmania's best food, wine, and coastline. It is also, genuinely, the kind of place that is hard to leave.