Happy family retreat

The stress of making the long journey south with two small children was worth it for Ruth Callaghan

but far enough away that we didn't feel compelled.

And the essential issue was that it needed to be child-friendly. Increasingly, prime holiday locations are ruling out offspring. And the words “family accommodation” can sometimes be code words for “you will live cheek by jowl with 30 families in a chalet where the carpets were last cleaned in 1986”.

Tree-Elle has the distinction of welcoming children while still having accommodation that appeals to adult aesthetics. The appliances in our house - the biggest on the property - were new, the dishes all matched, the artwork and furniture had been cleverly chosen to suit the house's garden surroundings.

Best of all, the seven sets of glass doors on the ground floor meant the children could roam the grounds freely but always be in view.

Elle Mackay acts as the property's day-to-day caretaker, spending much of her time with the farm's many animals, including geese, miniature cows,

a Shetland pony, sheep, turkeys, ducksand chooks.

My daughter took one look at the newborn rabbits and guinea pigs, pulled on her gumboots and we lost her for the week. Each morning she helped Elle

muck out cages and collect eggs. And we finally made our five veg and two fruit quota as she was introduced to the

joys of pulling up carrots, leeks and

lettuce, cutting silverbeet and rhubarb and picking capsicum from the farm's expansive vegie patch.

Our son was happy simply to chase the property's puppy through the birch grove (and across the many flowerbeds) and cover himself in mud. And my husband and I could watch it all happen. Or have a cup of tea in the garden. Or teach the kids card games. Or go for a walk. Or not. For a whole glorious week before the long car trip back to Perth .

The first “Do we have to go home?” came before we hit Walpole .

Between Denmark and Walpole . Call 9840 8471 or see www.treeelle.com

My daughter took one look at the newborn rabbits and guinea pigs, pulled on her gumboots and we lost her for the week
HAPPY FAMILY RETREAT

The first “Are we there yet?‘ came before we had crossed the Mt Henry Bridge. By the time we had made it to Walpole for our week away, the phrase had been uttered about 23 times.

Taking children aged five and 16 months on holidays can be challenging at the best of times. Strapping them into a car for a trip that will take most of a day is pure torture. But after mini-holidays in closer locations, we felt the urge to head to the type of retreat where relaxation is not squeezed between wine tastings and craft shops.

A trip to WA's southern coast makes the Down South pilgrimage at least a four-hour trip, rather than a three-hour one but it is far less crowded -and arguably more beautiful - than the popular spots of Margaret River, Dunsborough and Yallingup.

And if you can convince your family that getting there is part of the fun, there are plenty of spots where it is worth pausing on the way, whether you take the coastal route through Bunbury, then through Manjimup or the inland road from Armadale to Mt Barker. Both drives wind through remarkable scenery.

Many hours and almost as many toilet stops later, we made it to our destination - a holiday home built on a former farm site, about 25km east of Walpole .

Tree-Elle Retreat carries the names of the two sisters, Trina Meade and Elle Mackay, who took on the venture looking for a seachange and a potential retirement project. Five years after the first trees were planted on the former farm, they now have two substantial holiday homes with three smaller houses that opened recently.

The property suited our requirements for a place that was comfortable but also well fitted out (we were tired of holiday homes with sagging beds or chipped crockery).

We wanted to be close enough to small towns that we could visit if we wished