23-29 OCTOBER 2017 
Spring has well and truly sprung, and birds are singing and nesting – ready to be counted for BirdLife Australia's fourth annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count.

Huon Bush Retreats and Buttongrass Retreat are offering discount rates for selected multi night stays around the time of the Great Aussie Backyard Bird Count. Spend two or three days enjoying nature walks and counting birds as you go.
Minimum stay is 2 nights, (minimum 3 nights if including a Friday or Saturday night at Huon Bush Retreats) Rate includes 2 adults using one bed. Extra people can be added $40/nt. All cabins include one queen bed. Extra beds might be bunks or rollaway beds. The exact cabin will be allocated on arrival.
Full payment by Visa or Mastercard at time of booking, no refunds, no changes.

​Book your accommodation using the chart below, then go to the Great Aussie Bird Count website to register and get your app.

The #AussieBirdCount is a great way to connect with the birds in your backyard, no matter where your backyard might be — a suburban backyard, a local park, a patch of forest, a farm, down by the beach, or the main street of town. Your backyard can be anywhere you find birds.

Each count takes 20 minutes and the data collected helps BirdLife Australia to better understand the birds living where people live. You can do one or more counts during your stay. Maybe do 2 different times of day in 2 different habitats. And as a little extra incentive, there are some incredible prizes to be won!

​The Delta Aquarid meteor shower is about to peak. It will continue through August, overlapping with the Perseids meteor shower. The best viewing time is roughly 1-4 a.m. Find an open sky away from artificial lights, lie down on a deck chair or an outdoor bath and look directly upward. This will naturally direct your gaze to near the apparent centre of the shower. Delta Aquarid is expected to produce 10 to 20 meteors per hour, under a clear dark country sky, like at Huon Bush Retreats or Buttongrass Retreat.
You don’t need to locate a shower’s radiant point to enjoy the meteors, but the concept of a radiant point adds a new perspective.  If you back trace all the Delta Aquariid meteors, they appear to radiate from a point within the constellation Aquarius. That is pretty much directly overhead during late winter in southern Tasmania.
Find the Great Square of Pegasus, draw a line to Fomalhaut. That is the very bright star in the dim constellation Piscis Austrinus, or Southern Fish. Half way along that line is the apparent origin of the Delta Aquarid meteors. See the graphic of the Southern Hemisphere Star Map, and Clifftop cabin at Huon Bush Retreats.
Winter discounts are available. Click here to book now.

The Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence is given to tourism operators who have consistently achieved great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. For the 3rd year running, this includes Huon Bush Retreats in Tasmania’s Huon Valley. Establishments earning the Certificate of Excellence are located all over the world and have continually delivered superior customer experience.

According to hotel marketing and reputation management business, Revinate, “...the Certificate of Excellence award is only given to the top 10 percent of accommodations, attractions, restaurants, and vacation rentals ... and honors hospitality businesses that consistently achieve outstanding reviews on TripAdvisor.”

Trip Advisor itself says, that this achievement “ ...celebrates businesses who have consistently achieved glowing traveller reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period and honours hospitality businesses that deliver consistently great service.”

As well as being recognised as providing excellent service, Huon Bush Retreats is also acknowledged by TripAdvisor as being a Platinum Green Leader. Our environmental features and actions allow us to outperform all GreenGlobeLite criteria.

But remember that Huon Bush Retreats is a nature experience. As our 200 TripAdvisor reviews show, the 90% of guests who appreciate peace and nature give us great reviews. The 10% of people who’s main values include throwaway items, excessive energy consumption and highway access, give us poor reviews.
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So next time you want to relax, explore and experience nature, think of Huon Bush Retreats.

Hastings Thermal Pool
Join us for this fun, family-friendly event, celebrating 100 years of national parks in Tasmania.
Bring a picnic and enjoy some great music by the pool.
Pool opening hours: 10:30am – 3:30pm
For more information contact:
Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs
Phone: 6298 3209

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer*   Sunn O)))* + Earth + Veil Of Darkness   David Lynch Presents Chrysta Bell*   Yo Gabba Gabba! Live!   Yin Xiuzhen: Washing River 2014   Future Hobart 2014: Vito Acconci*   In Praise Of Darkness With The Tso*   Dark Mofo Films   It’s Dark Outside   The Bronx + High Tension   Afterlife: Total Control + Kirin J Callinan + Htrk + More   The Gin Club + Jeff Lang + Mick Thomas   Dean Stevenson And The Arco Set Orchestra: Tim Passes   Dark Faux Mo   The Red Death Ball   City Of Hobart Dark Mofo Winter Feast   Solstice Swim   Nick Tsiavos   Ross Manning   Marco Fusinato   Pat Brassington   Motel Dreaming   Grimoire   + More

Huon Valley Escapes is presenting at EcoXpo in Sydney 20 - 22 Sept. Buy your EcoXpo tickets online by clicking here and we get a small commission that will contribute to our costs of attending the expo.

Join me for one of two stage presentations about ecotourism in southern Tasmania, then visit our stall to enter the free draw to win a one week  Huon Valley Escape including car hire.