If you’re anything like me and love experiencing the great outdoors, but need to find a balance between sleeping with nothing but canvas between you and the dirt or lashing out on a fully luxe hotel room, I introduce to you….tiny homes.
You’ve probably seen the quaint micro abodes popping up in weird and wonderful locations. There’s teeny tiny houses in backyards, perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean or plonked in the middle of scrubland and paddocks, allowing travellers to experience nature at its finest.
Intrigued at the concept of these popular little eco-friendly sleep-outs, I recently spent a weekend exploring some more of SA’s magic, while testing out a couple of Tiny Homes.
Riding on an international trend for pocket-sized houses, Tiny Away provides getaways close to nature, with 12 locations across SA, from the Barossa to the Fleurieu, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Eyre Peninsula and a ferry ride over to Kangaroo Island.
They’ve paired with land hosts to create unique accommodation options from sustainable material, designed to reduce resource consumption and offer a minimalist approach to travelling.
Get up close with the four legged residents at Kapunda’s Horse Side Farm Stay
Not all Tiny Homes are built equally, which I discovered at the Horse Side Farm Stay on the outskirts of Kapunda. Pulling up to the farm gate, it looked like a cute little cubby house parked in the middle of a paddock, with a couple of Horses and some resident Alpacas keeping guard. If you’re a lover of horses and clear star-filled skies, this one’s for you!
Compared with other tiny homes, this one was more like a micro home, but upon opening the door, the cute little off-grid wooden cubby had everything one could want. A teeny little pot-bellied stove that would have the place cosy in no time, lovely big windows to keep an eye on the horsing around, a couch, comfy bed (accessed by a slightly steep and narrow ladder), and a portable fridge packed with delicious drinks and treats. The Horse Side Farm Stay focuses on satisfying people’s needs with natural resources and processes to save the environment.
And if you haven’t been to Kapunda lately, it’s time to check it out. It’s a great place for some eco-friendly shopping, with a couple of Op Shops worth checking out, and there are heaps of food options with four pubs in town, and well as the gorgeous Wheatsheaf Hotel a few kilometres down the road at Allendale North.
Macclesfield’s Gums and Roses – Heaven on a hillside
A beautiful drive through the Barossa, past the kayakers peacefully paddling on the reservoirs, and through the glorious Adelaide Hills to the next tiny home, Macclesfield’s Gums and Roses.
Compared to the five star cubby house, this gorgeous little home was more like a luxury shipping container, only less industrial, and with a stunning bathroom and kitchenette, and your very own patch of grass, perfect for drinking the complimentary local wine and cheese, while taking in the magnificent hillside view.
Set on the edge of Rosewood, a property which offers horse lessons, agistment and even ‘bring your horse’ sleepovers, Gums and Roses is stunning, tranquil and oh so relaxing.
Macclesfield itself, is also the perfect spot to unwind and take a break from the daily grind. Who could possibly go past a sign that points you in the direction of “Crystal Lake Park”? Lush and green (even in the middle of Summer), it’s a conservation and recreation park, with South Australia’s largest collection of permanent stone sculptures. And to top it off – the sound of cascading water and a swimming hole, which many years ago held the district’s annual swimming carnival.
If you want to explore some more, there are wineries close by, including the stunning Longview Cellar Door and Day Spa, and you’re just a short drive through the gorgeous winding hills to bustling Mount Barker or the stunning German village of Hahndorf.
The simplicity of Tiny Homes, set amongst nature, really makes for a relaxing getaway. They’re insanely cute, they’re tiny enough to be nestled in the most unique places and they’re lots of fun to explore.
Check out Tiny Away’s South Australian selection of petite homes to hire by clicking here.
