Sumptuous 4-bed rural retreat, 5 mins from coast

Modern rural retreat overlooking a valley, five minutes from seven of the best beaches in New South Wales. The house has a 13 metre swimming pool, designer kitchen, two bathrooms inside including en-suite and private, outdoor rainforest shower, cable television, parking for several cars and 3.5 acres in which to roam. We're backed by 100 acres of conservation forest, have lemon, apple, nectarine, olive, mango and orange trees and a significant organic vegetable garden from which you can help yourselves. You can watch the sun come up over the coast from the wrap-around deck. Pacific Palms is considered to be the next Byron Bay, with an utterly unspoilt environment, three National Parks on the doorstep, coastal lake systems and a selection of empty beaches within ten minutes drive. It's so beautiful that a travel writer who has visited more than 100 countries made it his home!

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Sumptuous rural retreat five minutes from Blueys, Boomerang, Elizabeth and Cellitos beaches.

Close enough to the ocean to hear the roar of the surf, five-minutes from some of the best beaches in NSW and yet surrounded by the tranquility of nature, Valley of the Mists is the ideal retreat from which to explore the beautiful Great Lakes.

With four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a 13 by 5 metre swimming pool and surrounded by 220 square metres of deck, Valley of the Mists has all the space you’ll need for a memorable family holiday. With fast, unlimited NBN wifi, games room, Widescreen Ultra HD smart television with Foxtel (including ‘on demand’ movies and TV series and all the kids’ channels) and Netflix, as well as outdoor area and facilities behind the house for basketball, soccer and trampolining, there need never be a dull moment here.

But at Valley of the Mists, you’ll also shed your city skins within minutes, not days, relaxing into the setting and only leaving for the call of local beaches like Blueys, Boomerang, Elizabeth and Cellitos, of the gorgeous local lakes (Myall, Smiths and Wallis) and three National Parks on the doorstep – Booti Booti, Wallingat and Myall Lakes.

With a total of seven outstanding Mid-North coast beaches, and these three coastal lakes systems and National Parks on the doorstep, Valley of the Mists is ideally situated for a memorable summer holiday in one of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of New South Wales.

This luxurious semi-rural retreat is the perfect place to dissolve months of urban stress, set back 300 metres from the nearest road (ensuring no traffic noise) and amid 3.5 acres of landscaped gardens, lawns and fruit trees and with a 100-acre rainforest reserve as the backdrop.

Wake to the songs of one of the 25 bird species that visit the valley, watch kangaroos and wallabies graze right in front of the house and ducks paddle in the dam and spend the day taking in the soothing views from the wraparound deck, open-plan living area or from the sumptuous 13-metre infinity pool.

The Good Life

Located in Charlotte Bay, five minutes inland from the coastal villages of Smiths Lake and Blueys Beach, the Valley of the Mists is a light and airy country home with extensive covered outdoor entertainment areas, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms (including one ensuite), large living/dining/kitchen area, games room equipped with Nintendo Wii (this room can be used as a fourth bedroom) and separate laundry. Built in 2008 and powered by 27 rooftop solar panels and featuring on-site biolitix sewage system, rainwater tanks (mains water also available), fruit trees and organic vegetable gardens and on-site chickens delivering fresh eggs daily the house guarantees you an environmentally-friendly break. It's also a place to restore your balance by swimming laps, doing yoga or lazing with a book in the hammock.

Breakfast on fresh free range eggs from our chooks on the deck looking down the valley, have lunch beside the pool and as the long summer afternoon fades into evening toast your holiday in the sun dappled western garden. Then cook up a storm on the new barbecue and watch the moon rise above Wallis Lake and the coast as you enjoy an alfresco dinner.

Beaches, lakes and National Parks

If you want a day at the beach you'll be spoilt for choice. Five minutes drive to the north is family-friendly Elizabeth and clothes-optional Shelly in Booti Booti National Park as well as the famous surfing drawcards, Blueys and Boomerang beaches. Five minutes to the south is Cellitos, another renowned surf beach with a sand bar, that opens into Smiths Lake, which is a local favourite for four wheel driving. Further south again is Seal Rocks, recently used as a setting for the film "Adoration" and with options for swimming, surfing, long beach walks and diving among one of the biggest aggregations of harmless grey nurse sharks on the coast. Pods of dolphin are a common sight off all of our beaches as are squadrons of pelican around our lakes.

For those with a boat or kayaks, Smiths Lake is just around the corner, as is the larger Wallis Lake system to the north, and both offer shallow translucent waters ideal for young children. Off the Seal Rocks access road there is also Neranie, on the shores of the beautiful Myall Lakes system, a great spot for a picnic on a summer evening.

Stretching out to the south-west of the house are the towering gum forests of the Wallingat National Park and a twenty-minute drive will take you up to the Whoota Whoota Lookout, with far-reaching views over the coast, the long stretch of Seven Mile Beach to Forster and the islands of Wallis Lake. In Booti Booti National Park, beginning at the north end of Elizabeth Beach, is a lovely 7-kilometre bushwalk, running over the cliffs to Seven Mile Beach before cutting back along the Wallis Lake front.

Cafes, restaurants and shops

The cafes, newsagent, general store, bottle shop and eateries of Blueys Beach are also only five minutes drive away. Blueys is also the location of the local tourist information centre. Beside Wallis Lake there is the lakeside Pacific Palms Recreation Club for a sublime evening drink. At Smiths Lake there is the Rolling Bean cafe, which serves authentic tapas at weekends, and the Frothy Coffee boatshed right on the lake, which also rents out small boats.

Local restaurants include Indonesian themed cafe, Kembali at Blueys, Kingfisher restaurant and Jenz cafe and craft shop at Blueys, Mobys at Boomerang and the homely Gate and Bee cafe on Lakes Way in Charlotte Bay. Beyond Gate and Bee is a strip of shops including the excellent local seafood shop, a Post Office, a hairdresser, IGA minimart and a servo.

For more extensive shopping, Stockland in Forster is a twenty minute drive and the for more indoor entertainment, there is a ten-pin bowling alley/laser skirmish venue in Forster and Great Lakes cinema is about ten minutes further on in Tuncurry.

A gourmet hamper can also be arranged for your arrival at the Valley of the Mists.

The next Byron Bay

Pacific Palms has been touted by the Sydney Morning Herald as the next Byron Bay but remains relatively undiscovered. It is a special enough place to have attracted an internationally-published travel writer, who works for the Wall Street Journal, UK Daily Telegraph and has been a regular contributor to the Traveller section of the SMH and Melbourne Age for the past 12 years, to live here. It's just three hours drive from Sydney but feels a million miles away and the Valley of the Mists is perfectly positioned and equipped to make the most of a holiday here.

Property Details

4 BEDROOM HOUSE - (1x super king, 1x queen, 2 x singles, 1 double sofa bed and/or king sized daybed) with large yoga studio/playroom that can accommodate two to four extra guests

1 Super King bedroom with ensuite bathroom (spa bath, shower, his and hers sinks, toilet and bidet) and walk-in wardrobe

1 Queen sized bedroom with wardrobes

1 bedroom with two single beds or king sized bed, with built-in wardrobes

2nd bathroom with tub and separate shower with adjacent vanity and sink

2nd separate toilet

1 games room with double sofa bed and king sized daybed, separate flatscreen TV, Ninetendo Wii, that can accommodate two/four others if required

Large open plan living/dining/kitchen area with views over the valley

Living room features luxurious King furniture lounge

Two relaxing recliners

Wall mounted curved edge Samsung flatscreen TV with Foxtel cable with latest IQ4 box for recording your favourite shows, Digital channels and DVD player and Netflix and other interactive features through the wifi on TV

Bluetooth speaker for all your favourite music via your devices

Polished wooden floors

Teak coffee table

Free high speed and unlimited wi-fi throughout the house

Gas heater

Pedestal fans for cooling

Dining area includes

Edwardian dining table to seat 8

6 Queen Anne dining chairs

Original Aboriginal artwork

Original photographic work by multi-award winning travel writer and property owner

Kitchen features

Smeg oven and cooker

Exclusive brown marble benchtops throughout

447l Fisher and Paykel fridge

De Longhi Espresso Coffee machine

Four piece toaster

Kettle

Juicer

New Microwave

In bench top compost bin

Outside

13 metre by 4 metre saltwater swimming pool with waterfall and two loungers, shallow stairs for toddlers and sitting poolside, in-pool seat in corner overlooking the valley, waterfall feature, multicoloured pool lighting for summer night swimming

Huge wraparound decking with views over the valley and entertaining space beside the pool

Hammock

Outdoor entertaining set to seat eight at front

Outdoor entertaining set to seat eight at poolside

Four-burner barbecue, with Wok ring, on deck

Outdoor shower and bath

Third toilet outdoors

One acre of landscaped gardens including citrus and mango trees and 4 organic vegetable patches

2.5 acres of lawn and cleared land

Backdrop of 100 acres of conservation forest

Nearest other property is 150 metres away and the outlook is rural with cows and horses grazing

Kangaroos and wallabies are frequent visitors to our lawns

Bird life includes kookaburras, black and white cockatoos, rainbow lorrikeets, galahs, tawny frog-mouth owls, sea eagles, wedge-tailed eagles, egrets, herons and wrens

Power

27 solar panels 5.17kw system mounted on the roof

Constant immediate gas-heated hot water

On site biolitix sewage system

Mains water and rainwater tanks

Parking space

Ample for six cars, boats and other equipment such as jetskis

STRICTLY NO SMOKING AND NO DIRT BIKES