Your inside guide to summer at The Pavilions
By Nicole Goulding, Accommodation Manager and Bawley Point local
My name is Nicole and I’ll be your first contact from the moment you book. I look after The Pavilions year round which means I’ll send your gate code and arrival details, and I’m the one you email when you want ideas for swims and walks and where to eat. I’ve been part of Willinga Park for a long time and I live in Bawley Point, so the local tips are second nature. December and January are some of my favourite months because guests arrive ready to slow down, reconnect with family and friends, and let the property take care of the rest.
Check in is simple. You arrive in your own time with a gate code so the first contact you have is with the place itself. The Pavilions are modern, self-contained and freestanding so they feel private without feeling shut in. Each balcony faces north and looks over native landscape so mornings start with light on trees and water and evenings run a little longer because there is always something to watch.
Why people come now is easy to understand when you watch a few arrivals. Families finally have a window because school is on break and they want time together that does not turn into a schedule. Couples get a few days that are theirs again once offices slow down. Friends line up time off at the same time and want somewhere that feels special as soon as the door opens. We also see interstate travellers who plan their summer around the South Coast and locals who want a staycation that feels like a change of pace without airports. For many it is a bucket list stay because Willinga Park has a way of sitting in people’s minds long before they get here.
Days here do not need a big plan. After breakfast the gardens are the best place to start because the air is cooler. Guests tell me two things. There is more sculpture than they expect and it is set along the paths not behind a rope. The trail is self guided and it takes in more than thirty large scale works placed to complement the surroundings so you see corten steel and stone and stainless pieces in the same view as trees and water. When the sun sits higher most guests move to the heated pool for twenty minutes that often turn into an hour or more. Late afternoon belongs outside around the barbeques. Keep food simple and let the setting do the rest. If you like to move before you eat the gym is close by and ready and it suits early risers who want a quick reset before the day starts.
Most guests use our shared BBQ and amenities near the pool or head out rather than cook inside which keeps the pace relaxed. In Kioloa I send people to Merry St for dinner and to Saltwood for coffee and brunch and easy evenings. In Bawley Point a tasting at Bawley Vale Estate is a good hour if you want to sit awhile and talk and there are simple daytime cafés for a no fuss bite. If you feel like a livelier night try Mollymook or Ulladulla then come back to the quiet once you have had your fill.
If you want a few hours out beyond the gates, the closer options are Merry Beach and Pretty Beach which offer clear water when the weather is kind and on very calm days the Gantry headland can be good for a short snorkel or a headland walk. A straightforward coastal track runs from O’Hara Headland to Snapper Point then on to Pretty Beach and it carries big views without taking all day. If you want a change of scene inland lookouts at Granite Falls and Tianjara widen the view then you come back ready to Willinga Park for the pool and an unhurried barbeque.
There are many ways guests make the place their own which is the part I like most to watch. A solo traveller will often take the garden loop early then swim when the sun lifts then finish a book on their private balcony because the outlook makes sitting still feel like doing something. Couples start with the gym then walk the gardens or Pretty Beach then swim in the heated pool then use the barbeques and finish on the balcony as the evening settles. Friend groups often book two Pavilions beside each other so everyone has space and there is a clear place to meet in the middle and if beds need to be split we set that before you arrive so you can settle straight in.
What many guests do not know until they are here is how much work sits behind the calm. Since planning began in 2010 the team has planted thousands of trees and shrubs and shaped paths and water. That effort brought wildlife back which is why the gardens feel alive even when the property is quiet. People sometimes mention an unfamiliar call near the water after dark and it turns out to be the green and golden bell frog. Birdlife is plentiful, with over 60 species which call home within our wetlands, woodlands and garden edges and even a short loop will show you swallows working the open paths or a darter holding wings out to dry.
Packing is light for a two or three night stay. Bring swimwear and a pair of shoes you can walk in and a layer for evening paths. Add a book that has been waiting or a game you actually like because most nights end on the balcony once the air softens. The kitchen is there for breakfast and coffee and a few snacks then the barbeques and nearby cafés take care of the rest.
If Willinga Park has been on your list, make this the summer you come. Arrive in your own time and let the South Coast’s most remarkable destination look after you.
Make this the summer you finally visit. View Pavilions and book direct.