Nestled on the mid North Coast of NSW sits The Tiny Mile, a stunning tiny house that punches well above its size. Every inch of this perfectly outfitted house is designed for a relaxing visit situated right in front of Berady Creek on acreage farmland.
The car hums along the mile long gravel road just off the main road in Old Bar. We pass a rustic former dairy shed and before long we reach The Tiny Mile, a tiny luxury home. The sunshine beams down as the temperature has risen a few degrees above that of a cold wintry Sydney as we are 3.5-4 hours north of Sydney.
Not all tiny houses are the same and this is on the larger side of a tiny home. There's enough room to lay out a yoga mat inside although the balcony outside is made for it. The balcony's bar seating is also ideal for sunset drinks and massages and beauty treatments can be pre-booked to enjoy here by a local masseuse. There's also an outdoor bath for two and a sauna. Old Bar beach and the town of Old Bar are located 8 minutes drive away.
The Tiny Mile is designed for seclusion, the only visitor you're likely to see when you sit in the outdoor bath tub is the local wildlife. It has been outfitted with everything that you'll need from the comfortable bedding, automatic cinema screen with subscriptions to half a dozen streaming services, games, a wood fireplace and two dozen varieties of tea.
Everything is tied together in a rustic agricultural industrial style. The house is also powered by solar and uses a water tank. There's even a Tiny Mile mini market in the house with covetable goodies that you can purchase, including teas, skincare used in the house and food.
I'm a bit peckish after the drive so I make myself a snack of their delicious homemade bread, butter and jam. I'm delighted to see things like matcha, a matcha whisk and oat milk and I settle in and I then make myself an iced matcha latte. Guests are also invited to have their groceries delivered prior to their stay and they will stock the house for you. And if you're not au fait with a fireplace, there's also reverse cycle air conditioning and fans that keep everything toasty or cool, depending on the season.
The Tiny Mile's host is Sherinah (Shez) Peck who also lives on the 100 acre farm, out of sight of the tiny house. This is her first tiny house, but not her first accommodation as she previously ran a holiday home called farmhouse on Oxley.
To prepare her for running her own tiny house she did a hosting Masterclass and stayed at other tiny houses to ascertain what she did and did not want to include. Her son, who does van fitouts, built the tiny house according to her design and she spent months researching what guests love above all - and that's how the sauna and repurposed outdoor bath for two came into play.
Prior to our visit we received a link to their online compendium that explains everything about The Tiny Mile in detail. The house is so well thought out that you would think someone actually lives here.
There are little details like a filtered water tap, chocolate covered coffee beans, brownies, aroma diffuser, binoculars, indoor and outdoor speakers, champagne coupes and cocktail making kit - the sorts of things that make you feel at home. There is a gas cooktop and a toaster oven to heat things up. Otherwise Old Bar town, a short 8 minute drive away has everything from a popular Thai restaurant, pub and supermarket. An artisan bakery is 30 minutes drive away.
We are staying here for Mr NQN's birthday. He grew up on the mid north Coast of NSW and the highway that we took to get here was the route that he and his family would often take to visit Sydney. The Tiny Mile provides the solitude an introverted soul like him craves, plus the nature that the country boy in him loves - plus a sauna that his Finnish side appreciates.
It also has things that I enjoy like the home cinema, animals, endless types of teas and drinks and nature at a distance. Within 10 minutes of us settling in he is off on his kayak on the creek while I run the outdoor bath. "Are you going to be ok?" he asks looking back briefly to pause but distinctly on his way.
Little did I know I would not be alone. In a few minutes Munro the resident bay horse arrives. He stands at the balcony and takes in all of my attention and fawning. I adore horses and Shez explains that she can call him back to give us space if we want but I'm happy for as much Munro time as possible.
Mr NQN returns from his kayaking and Munro waits patiently on the banks to welcome him back. I make a mental note to buy some carrots at the supermarket when we go to pick up supplies. After staying with us for half an hour Munro leaves to eat grass in the main paddock.
Dinner is in the Tiny Mile using provisions that we bought - our plans to try the Thai restaurant in town are scuppered by a town-wide power outage that thankfully doesn't affect our tiny house.
I take a shower using the Sans Ceuticals products and while we love the house at daytime, it's very special at night. We make cups of hot chocolate and set up the home cinema using the instructions given by Shez and enjoy a night relaxing and watching Netflix and wondering how we could create a similar set up at home. The bed is incredibly comfortable with soft linen bedware and pillows. The home cinema concept also works during the day if you want to do a daytime cinema as the automatic blinds leave the room completely dark.
In fact, it's so dark and relaxing that I wake up at 10:45am the next morning and Mr NQN has already gone out for a run. I start the morning with a chai latte with chai sprinkles and some HIIT and by the time I've finished it's noon. Even in the middle of winter the sun shines and the temperature has a high of 18C/64F.
It's time for lunch of bacon and egg sandwiches using the bacon, eggs and bread provided and Mr NQN is off for another kayak while I relax in the home. At 2pm I run a bath while Mr NQN kayaks past and then jumps in the sauna before contemplating picking up the fishing rod to fish for something for dinner. He then takes me out for a paddle on the canoe where we glide up and down past the lantana bushes to the river mouth watching a pelican land on the glassy water.
Mid afternoon I pick some rosemary from the pot and a lemon from the tree to make cocktails before we head into town for dinner at Sai Thai restaurant. The Thai restaurant is headed by a duo of chefs Mon and Siriya. Mon was a lawyer in Thailand and Siriya a law student. She's also the sister of owner Sasi.
We start with the Maeng Kana, 3 shot glasses with a betel leaf filled with Chinese broccoli, ginger, lime, cashews, pork crackling, roasted shredded coconut and red onion topped with a caramelised Maeng sauce. These are fresh, sweet and salty at the same time and tasty little mouthfuls.
The tofu was another dish that our waiter recommended and it is made with momen tofu cubes that have a thin, crisp outer and are soft and custardy in the centre. They're flavoured with a five spice caramelised sauce and served with crispy garlic and chilli in white wine vinegar for a bit of punch to them.
We decide to share a main since we're not overly hungry and they explain that their chicken and cashew nut is done a bit differently. It tastes like they dredge the chicken in flour and then deep fry and serve it with toasted cashews and sun dried chillies. We both really enjoy this version with a good amount of marinade and black pepper to it.
For research purposes we also try their new dessert, a coconut panna cotta with black sticky rice. We love this dessert as the panna cotta is cold but the sticky rice is warm so you get a contrast in temperatures and the chewy sticky rice goes well with the soft and jellied panna cotta.
We return to the house and watch more TV on the home cinema before waking up and enjoying the granola for breakfast before packing up and heading back to Sydney.
And lastly a tip: bring some carrots for Munro!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever stayed in a tiny house? What did you think of it? Would you like this one?
The Tiny Mile
Old Bar, NSW
https://whatsbeyondthemile.com.au/tiny-house-nsw/
Reader Comments