Rainforest Railway Cottage at Neshima Sanctuary

Our family would love to share our beautiful, 100 year old Railway Cottage, surrounded by rainforest and nestled between four national parks and stunning beaches. Enjoy the bird song, trees and sounds of nature, while relaxing in our rustic house. You might feel like you’re far from anywhere, but we’re just 12 minutes from Murwillumbah (an amazing town with awesome coffee and great galleries), 25 minutes from gorgeous beaches, 30 minutes from the Gold Coast and 40 minutes from Byron Bay. The space Our family home is situated on Neshima Sanctuary - the land we have chosen to care take of, and will eventually establish a yoga, meditation and wellness haven on. The house has three large bedrooms, two with queen sized beds and one with two singles, as well as a large living room, fully equipped kitchen, and two bathrooms (one with claw-foot bath!) The best feature (in our opinion) is the covered wrap-around deck on three sides of the house, so you can sit and enjoy the fresh air, trees, birds and sounds of the forest, any time of the day and in any weather. We now have a brand new wood heater installed in the lounge room! Perfect for the mornings and evenings in the cooler months. As our guests you become active contributors to our most creative project of bringing this land, retreat and home to full blossom. We're committed to sustainable living and deep ecology, so all that is in the house is resourced from second hand shops or has been gifted to us. All cleaning or health products are organic and/or ethically sourced, and are in regular use and happily shared with you. We use them as part of our mindful practice of re-activating our senses, and we invite you to try the oils, gentle incense and the bees wax candles in re-usable tins. Enjoy the bird song and use the binoculars strategically set out for your use. Count the multitude of butterflies and beetles; be curious about the close contact with wild animals and gently get acquainted with all that is. Yes, it can get stormy; yes, you are likely to see a snake in spring and summer (descriptions and advice offered in house manual); and yes, there are mice, spiders, frogs and mozzies (but also nets and citronella); you may even meet a native cockroach and wasp . Breath it all in - and then, exhale. We ask that you meet all creatures with respect. Explore the permaculture food fence and herb gardens of medicinal herbs and teas; meditate in the forest (feel free to take a stool up there and bring it back). If you feel like it, feel free to chat with our caretaker, who often stays in the ‘shed’ on the other side of the dam (although once you’re checked in, you can of course choose to stay completely to yourselves - he will completely respect your privacy). In keeping with setting up this space up to be a bit of a retreat from regular life, so don’t have a TV, microwave, or dishwasher (but we do have NBN Wifi). There’s also no air-con, but there are ceiling fans in every room and two powerful standing fans are available as well. The lounge room has a wood heater, each bedroom also has an electric heater and the beds have electric blankets for the colder months. Guest access Guests have full access to the main (first) floor of the house. There is an upstairs attic, plus some storage rooms downstairs and a large shed across the dam which are not for guest use. The laundry room has a door and is is available for dogs to sleep and hang out in, if needed. We can discuss this further if needed. Also please note that there are 15 stairs that need to be climbed in order to reach the house. Other things to note Children We love having kids stay (we have four of our own), however they MUST be supervised when outside the house (the balcony has a latchable gate so small children can’t just wander away). The house is not baby or toddler-proofed in any way, and while we would never refuse a guest with a young child, please be aware that you will need to supervise babies and toddlers all the time, both inside the house and out. In general, the main hazards (for adults as well) are: - The dam is not fenced, and gets very deep, very fast. - The property itself is also not fenced, and while the road has very little traffic (it’s a dead end road), there are still some cars that go by - There is a ladder/staircase going up to the attic storage area, which we have not blocked off (although we do request guests not to access it) - The creek isn’t fenced and can run quite quickly after rain - Snakes - being in the bush, snakes are ever-present, so sturdy boots should be worn anytime you’re going off the concrete or the road. We have also seen snakes around the garden near, so you should be aware at all times. Some of the climbing species (pythons and tree snakes) sometimes make their way up to the railings and rafters of the deck, so you might see them if you’re sitting outside, especially at night. As always with snakes, if you stay out of their way, they’ll stay out of yours. Pets We welcome well-behaved dogs, but we request that they be kept outside the house. They are welcome to sleep in the laundry room at night (there is a dog bed available if needed). They must also be kept on-leash when they're not on the deck, as the property is not fenced Registration Details PID-STRA-53945