The Boomerangs, Victoria
by Bookastay staff
Sunset, and the boomerang lights up. Photo credit: Mark O'Loughlin
Here at Bookastay we were fascinated when we came across this property. There can’t be many other boomerang-shaped cottages in the country. It’s at Johanna, 35km west of lovely Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road, in the Otway Ranges.
Mark and Rosalind O’Loughlin bought the 3-acre block for the cottages when it was still part of a dairy farm in 1994. They’d been working in Japan teaching English for four years at that time but had decided it was time to head back to Australia.
They put some time into wondering how to make a living and knew it would have to be teaching, farming or tourism. Mark’s a Geelong boy and is hugely into his surfing and fishing. The tourism angle won out when they found the superb block of land by the coast, and in 1997 they started their build.
Mark says the dawn of the idea came from their friend Carl Karacsay (who ended up building the cottages). “The view from the crest of the Johanna Hill is quite spectacular - views in all directions as far as you can see.”
“We were all standing up there one hot day when Carl suggested it might be a good idea to build the cottages in the shape of a boomerang to take full advantage of the views. We put it down to heatstroke at the time, but the more we thought about it the better it sounded.”
Mark designed the cabins and Carl’s family business turned them into reality. Mark decided there should be no wasted space, no wasted view and total privacy from other cottages. This he has achieved – and as a bonus, the curves of the boomerangs mean that wherever the wind is coming from you can find the perfect spot out of the wind.
The cabins are cutely named Blue Wren, Tree Frog and Possum, reflecting just some of the ample wildlife about. They’ve been furnished to a 4.5-star standard and feature jarrah floors, boomerang motif leadlight windows, spa baths, pine-lined high ceilings and 3.3m panoramic windows for that incredible view.
During the day you can gaze at pasture and forest spreading down to the sea (Johanna Bay is only a 5 minute drive away). Gannets and even albatross have been sighted floating by on the updrafts. By night the sky fills the frame: Mark and Roz have seen the southern lights in the winter skies over the coast.
The distinctive lines of the house and cottage draw in the punters. But not everyone makes the boomerang connection. “One Indian fella came in one day,” Mark recalls, “and asked us why we built our house in the shape of a banana.”
More info
Local things to see and do
- Walk through the treetops at the Otway Fly
- Find glowworms in ancient rainforest at Melba Gully
- Visit Australia’s oldest lighthouse: Cape Otway Lightstation
- Trek through the forest to gorgeous Triplet Falls
Gorgeous Johanna Beach
A spiky local echidna
All three cottages
One of the comfortable bedrooms
