Cabin Core: Cosy Up In These 5 Must-Visit Stays

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in Volume 5 of B.H. Magazine. To get your copy (and access to future issues), subscribe here.

Temple Cabins, Southern Alps (New Zealand)

If the mission to get you there excites you just as much as a classic alpine locale, the new addition to the Temple Cabins ensemble, North Point, is your next leave-the-world-behind destination in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

The cabin – the latest of two identical structures set 500 metres apart – is seriously off-grid. There are no neighbours, no man-made lights visible through the towering windows at night, and the odds of getting snowed-in between March and October are high.

Once inside, thick, timber-clad walls wrap you in a comforting embrace and shield you from the highland chill, while a medley of warm tones and storybook furniture evoke the charm of Hallstatt or Jackson Hole. Every surface and every line has a purpose.

Conceptualised by Kenny Smith, a photographer by trade, the open-plan space is filled with cascades of sunlight during the day and heated by crackling logs as the mercury drops. Conventional doors (aside from the bathroom) are nonexistent, and the additional beds in the loft can squeeze a few extra bodies if a young family is in tow. With sweeping views in nearly every direction, the only eyes likely to meet yours belong to a lone stag surveying the hillside.

Chopping firewood, getting lost in your latest page-turner, leaning into a slow-cooked lamb ragu, or immersing yourself in the longest soak are the best ways to pass your time during the icy months. Alternatively, those up for a challenge can take a bracing dip in Lake Ōhau before venturing into the untamed backcountry beyond.

In summer, you have direct access to some of the most remote areas of New Zealand, and activities like fishing, hiking, hunting, and biking right at your doorstep.

North Point may require a 4WD, basic orienteering, and a readiness to bunker down, but it’s everything it says on the tin and more – a timeless cabin where nature’s rhythm takes centre stage. You’re at its mercy, and you know it.

Vipp Tunnel, Bruny Island (Tasmania)

Protruding out from a sloping hill on a wild corner of Tasmania’s Bruny Island is a new monolithic concrete shell seemingly stuck in the landscape. It’s both architecturally daring and visually cinematic.

Tunnel is the eleventh addition to a global collection of guesthouses from Danish design and lifestyle brand Vipp, whose experiential roster includes cabins in Swedish forests, deserts of Baja California, and on the shores of Lake Garda in Italy. Designed in collaboration with Hobart-based architecture studio Room11, it signals a hard landing for Vipp’s first project in the Southern Hemisphere, and perhaps their most arresting to date.

The 30-metre-long concrete box is dissected by an atrium yard that separates the main living space from the master bedroom and bathroom, each behind airlock-style steel doors. At the end of the tunnel, a glass window frames untamed bushland and the dining experience offered by local culinary master Simon Ford of Marefold. Formerly a chef on superyachts, it’s Bruny Island where he feels most at home. With a deep respect for local growers and a passion for experimentation, he sees his role as a humble conduit between Tassie’s finest produce and your plate.

Together with partner Nicole, Ford advocates sustainable, slow food, using age-old preservation techniques like fermentation to bottle up the unadulterated environment. The Pure Island oysters, for example, grow in an exclusive patch of water just across from Tunnel and are personally cared for by Simon’s mate Dave. Cured kingfish with Tasman sea salt is caught wild by another cadre of locals with a single fishing boat, while a fermented-chilli butter was a happy accident on the day of our stay – a “science experiment” from a neighbour bringing over a surplus of dried chillies.

D’Entrecasteaux Channel, opening to a terrace, outdoor bath, and fire pit beyond. Skeletal eucalyptus trees tower over the structure, their bark hangs lifeless, swaying with every breeze.

The heart of the property is Vipp’s signature V3 Kitchen, which casts a sharp silhouette that’s all metal and precision. The brand’s Danish design ethos is palpable throughout, but softened with a distinctly Aussie flair. Considered textures and touches – sheepskin swivel chairs, premium Cultiver linen, Le Labo amenities – encourage a calm ambience to cut through the commanding aesthetic. Room11 has also incorporated chromatic glazing to the building’s central skylights to mirror the effect of the Aurora Australis, softening the polished-concrete floors and walls with an ever-changing kaleidoscopic light effect.

The overall vibe is refined, but it’s far from cold.

An optional (but essential) add-on to any stay is the private dining experience offered by local culinary master Simon Ford of Marefold. Formerly a chef on superyachts, it’s Bruny Island where he feels most at home. With a deep respect for local growers and a passion for experimentation, he sees his role as a humble conduit between Tassie’s finest produce and your plate.

Together with partner Nicole, Ford advocates sustainable, slow food, using age-old preservation techniques like fermentation to bottle up the unadulterated environment. The Pure Island oysters, for example, grow in an exclusive patch of water just across from Tunnel and are personally cared for by Simon’s mate Dave. Cured kingfish with Tasman sea salt is caught wild by another cadre of locals with a single fishing boat, while a fermented-chilli butter was a happy accident on the day of our stay – a “science experiment” from a neighbour bringing over a surplus of dried chillies.

Mill Cabin, Crackenback (NSW)

Perched 1,300 metres above sea level on the periphery of the Snowy Mountains and its ski fields, Mill Cabin exudes alpine-chalet warmth among the gum trees.

Featuring 28 tonnes of local granite rock, native hardwood timbers, and solar panels, this off-grid cabin is a tribute to the old high-country stockman huts – but made luxurious.

A highlight is the Japanese-inspired cedar bath, which is elevated on its own deck and heated by wood fire. Ideal for isolationists, wildlife enthusiasts, and chill seekers alike.

The Bushmans, Quinninup (WA)

More than a rustic lakeside cabin, this quaint adults-only cottage is a lovingly restored miller’s residence nestled at the forest edge.

Bursting with character, its tin roof, weathered beams, and generations-old hearth invite you to step back in time – as does the absence of a television. Enveloped by towering karri trees and a misty lake (dare to jump in before cosying up), it’s hard to believe such serenity exists just hours south of Perth.

Ross Farm, South Gippsland (VIC)

Set on a former dairy farm, Ross Farm is home to three recently revived structures – the Cabin, the Barn, and the Dairy – brought back to life by designer Andrea Moore of Studio Moore and her father, Lindsay, a skilled craftsman.

Each building embraces a distinct, elemental canvas, and while the Cabin is a worthy mention, it’s the Barn (pictured) that truly captures attention. Rebuilt on its original footprint, the building was redesigned with a new mezzanine to draw in northern light. Inside, fireplaces and steamy rainfall showers add a cosy warmth to the otherwise clean and unfussy interiors.

Grounded in detail and generous in spirit, Ross Farm is the kind of place you check into for the design, and check out of feeling just a little lighter.

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