‘Glamping’ comes to Castlemaine

The all-new luxury safari tents take in vistas over the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens Bushland Reserve. Photo: Liam Lynch

While this year has been immensely difficult for local tourism operators, Big 4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park has used the lockdown closures as an opportunity to continue to revamp the historic park on the fringe of the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.
Park owner Claire Height said she decided she needed to get on with things.
“In light of the success of our luxury bell safari tents, we had planned to take our ‘glamping option’ to a whole new level with the installation of two luxury safari tents. I thought, ‘why not use this period to put them in and see what happens?'” Ms Height said.
Claire has been operating the park for 12 years now and said 2019 was their best year yet.
“Castlemaine is really becoming a destination with our goldfields heritage, arts culture, food, The Mill complex – which is just a short stroll away – and much, much more and I had faith that despite the challenges of COVID the tourists would be back,” she said.
The luxury safari tents include a four-poster bed, a cosy nook with a further two beds for the kids or extra guests, a full kitchen and bathroom and an outdoor platform complete with a claw-foot bath, which takes in the stunning views of the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens Bushland Reserve.
Within days of being listed on the caravan park’s website the luxury glamping options were snapped up every weekend until Christmas!
“I was absolutely blown away by the response,” Ms Height said.
“The bell tents are ideal for couples but these new safari tents are great for the couple looking for a little luxury or a family looking for adventure.”The park has also welcomed the arrival of another first – a ‘glamtainer’ – a luxury accommodation option housed within a converted shipping container.
During the months of downtime, Ms Height and the team have also repainted and rejuvenated all their other cabins, including brand new mattresses.
The improvements follow on from the renovation of the park’s 1960s communal toilet block in a ‘vintage’ theme, the installation of a couple of family sized three-bedroom villas and the upgrade of their camp kitchen in a fun goldfields theme.
“When I first purchased the park I had so many plans and it is wonderful to see all those dreams finally coming to fruition,” Ms Height said.
“The park is looking fantastic and we have accommodation options to suit everyone planning to visit our beautiful town. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back!”

The all-new luxury safari tents offer the ultimate ‘glamping’ option. Photo: Liam Lynch
Big 4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park owner Claire Height decided to invest in the future of local tourism with the new luxury safari tents despite the challenges faced due to COVID.