IdleWild is compact and intimate rather than expansive: an original 1978 beach house, with only three owners in its lifetime.

The kitchen and bathroom were updated in 2017, while almost everything else is the real thing—furniture, lighting, crockery and linen collected piece by piece.

It is designed for guests who prefer original character to a glass-and-concrete new build.

There are three bedrooms — a king (zip) usually set as a twin, a queen and a double, all with mattress toppers and black out curtains.

A bathroom with shower, a second separate toilet, and a laundry.

The proper cook’s kitchen has a dishwasher, oven, microwave, automatic coffee machine and a pantry we keep stocked: coffee beans, Twinings tea, hot chocolate, muesli, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, flour for pancakes.

Outside: the deck has an electric barbecue and that view — rolling surf, Great Oyster Bay, the Hazards; the outdoor bath downstairs, fully plumbed, best at dusk with a candle; a wood stove inside with all the firewood you can burn; and vintage bikes for the ride up the beach to the oyster shack.

After dark the house comes into its own — all lamplight, firelight and low-slung 1970s glamour.

A 50-inch smart TV with Netflix and Apple, a Bose speaker, books and games for the weather Tasmania will occasionally send you.

IdleWild... Idle a while in the wild.

A note on pricing
IdleWild is priced for two guests, with the whole house included. The second and third bedrooms are there if you want them — additional guests are charged per person, per night, up to six in total.

Guest access
While you are here, IdleWild and its five acres are solely yours. The property is fenced with a further one-acre fence around the house so your dog can play safely off the lead. Cats, canaries...All welcome too.

Nine Mile Beach is exactly as long as its name suggests, and you will likely have it to yourself. Take the bikes along the sand — you can ride all the way to Melshells Oyster Shack and back.

The garden is full of native plants and birdsong; wallabies skip across the dunes at dusk, and you will certainly hear the possums who will sometimes pay the upper deck a night time courtesy call.


Food and wine nearby
Freshly shucked oysters at Melshell’s caravan, a bike ride up the beach. In Swansea – Barkmills, Saltshaker and the Horny Cray. Many of the local wineries do seasonal pop up food – check their websites - Craigie Knowe were doing fantastic food summer 2025. But it’s a fluid situation so to speak…

Freycinet National Park is thirty minutes for the Wineglass Bay walk, or the scramble up Mount Amos if you have earned your dinner. And do not forget the quietly epic Friendly Beaches.

Other things to note
The house is small and much loved, and we look after it ourselves — the sheets are vintage pure cotton and yes, we iron them. It suits guests who enjoy something a bit off the beaten track.

There are exterior security cameras (outside only). The nearest shop is ten minutes away in Swansea, so bring supplies for your first night. Check-in is self-service via key safe.