Summer At Simpson Cottage
There are endless ways to slow down and reset in summer at Simpson Cottage; from watching the sunset to naps and burying your nose in a good book. If you can bring yourself to leave the cottage, the Royal National Park and nearby surf beaches are moments away. Of course, you could just wander down that path that winds its way past the picnic table to the Simpson Bay where you can fall into the sea and wash away the real world and its worries.
Once you arrive at Simpson Cottage, it takes just one sunset to stop watching the clock and rely on mother nature to tell the time. The dawn chorus is your alarm clock; the morning people get up and go about their sunrise rituals, and if you’re not a morning person you lay in bed listening. Once the orchestra of birds have completed their morning greetings, it's quiet again and you can drift back off to sleep or perhaps you’d prefer a cuppa in bed where you can read a book for as long as you like. Doing nothing and not feeling guilty is exceptionally easy here.
As the day rolls on and the sun moves across the sky there is so much to do or not do at Simpson Cottage. Perhaps a dip in the ocean or a wander along the sand beachcombing for treasures before coming back to the cottage and using the old frangipani tree as a clothesline for wet towels and swimmers sounds like the perfect way to spend your day? Or for those wanting to escape the heat and just chill stretched out on the big comfy sofa with a book or watching a movie, there is the cool haven of the converted garage lounging space complete with a vintage pinball machine for the retro lovers. And when it comes time for lunch, have yourself a little picnic under the shade of the big trees with fresh prawn rolls or a yummy salad on the veranda to make the perfection of summer at Simpson Cottage even more perfect.
As the evening chorus returns to herald the Sunset, the birds swoop and dive playfully and call out to their mates as if they're celebrating before they settle in for the night; it's like a dinner bell. Before you start thinking about preparing dinner, make yourself a cold drink so you can sit and watch light-show as the sun sets. It’s this, your second sunset, when you really let go of the real world and switch to “Simpson Cottage time”.
Dinner is usually a drawn-out affair, table cloths are tossed over the picnic tables where the first course is enjoyed, and as it gets dark, you might adjourn to the gazebo with the doors wide open so you can sit and soak up the views as the lights dance on the waters of Simpson’s Bay. The perfect place to natter away with your favourite people for hours, laughing and leaving dinner’s evidence until the morning. If you haven't had enough "vitamin sea" you might take one last late-night dip before heading to bed so you can wake up on Simpson Cottage time and do it all over again.
As the summer days come and go, Simpson Cottage is a comforting constant with a spot for everybody to escape to and forget about the real world for a while.
Words by Tara Larnach
Images by Abbie Melle, Time Bean, Good Thanks Media and Laura Reid.