About us
MEET THE FAMILY BEHIND THE RETREAT
Owners and your hosts, Lauren and Michael purchased the property ‘Old Parcoola’ with visions of offering their future family the kind of childhood’s they had; roaming free in the environment (river for Michael, coastal for Lauren) and creating a lifelong connection to water.
Inspired by the memories they have created thus far and a desire to help others connect with the Murray, the Riverland and its people, they combined their skills and crafted a riverside escape. A space where you can feel the nurturing embrace of the river environment and indulge life’s simple pleasures. They invite you to escape the busy, explore the river and embrace one another.
The property
Parcoola Station homestead was erected by James ‘Nobby’ White in 1865, he christened the wild and very scrubby run ‘Parcoola’ and it was on this country that brumbies grew up and flourished. Unfortunately the homestead is now just Heritage Listed ruins seen on your drive to Flow. The fisherman’s cottage next door to the homestead fared better over time and are now the site of Parcoola Retreats’ first tiny villa Flow. The stone cottage has been restored with love and offers a rustic outdoor relaxation space to compliment the modern tiny villa.
The stone cottage and the tiny villa are embraced by river Black box, a eucalypt species found on the high terraces of the river floodplain. The Murray River itself a mere 120m stroll from the retreat, the thoughtful positioning will immerse you in the serene environment while providing seclusion and privacy from the world beyond.
EMBRACING THE OLD, THE NEW AND THE NATURAL
Eco conscious living
Living lightly on the land and reducing our output is important to us; we reduce, reuse and recycle where we can and we ask our guests to also tread lightly when visiting. The tiny villa itself has a small footprint and has been built using sustainable materials. The stone cottage has be restored using repurposed materials like second hand Oregon timber for the expose roof beams and clawfoot bathtub was also saved and restored and now rests atop a hardwood floor that was previously an Adelaide community centre gymnasium floor.
The retreat harvests all rainwater which is used for bathing with low volume water fittings. Waste products are disposed of thoughtfully with recyclables separated from landfill and where possible all our cleaning equipment and supplies are compostable, biodegradable or designed for multiple use.
We avoid single use plastics where possible and continually review our practices.
In the future we hope to offer completely off-grid experiences.
A LIGHTER FOOT PRINT
Parcoola Retreats is located on private property with an approximately 3km long unsealed dirt driveway. On the drive into the retreat, please keep a speed of 40km/hr and giveway to lizards, kangaroos and emus. If you are not familiar with Australian roads or country driving, we recommend arriving to Parcoola Retreats when it is still daylight.
OVERLAND CORNER, RIVERLAND SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Getting here
DRIVING TIMES
3 hr drive northeast of Adelaide
2 hr drive west of Mildura