Kunda - A beachfront holiday house in S.E. Australia

Description and History of Kunda

[Kunda is an aboriginal word meaning "bird’s nest"]

This home is located in exclusive Old Lilli Pilli which is an area zoned for environmental protection. Lilli Pilli is approximately 3 1/2 hours south of Sydney, close to Batemans Bay. The home is set on a large private piece of land with a path down to the ocean. The home is surrounded by spotted gum trees and cycads (palms) overlooking Circuit Beach, (See the above beach photo of Circuit Beach)a somewhat secluded beach since there is limited public access to it. One can also take a short walk down the main road at the front of the house to the other side of the headland to Lilli Pilli Beach. This is an excellent surf beach with stunning views.

The home was originally a small holiday house built by Sir James Rowland, former Governor General of New South Wales (1981-1989).

Sir James Rowland entertained many famous people at "Kunda", including Princess Diana. (The room where she slept is the one downstairs near the screened porch.) The house was nicknamed "Government House South".

After the Rowlands sold the home in 1999, the house was renovated with thought to keeping the original part of the home. It now has 4 bedrooms, 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs, and 3 bathrooms. The kitchen is new and the house has a large outside deck facing the ocean. The upstairs Master Bedroom has it’s own private deck, called the "Romeo and Juliette" balcony.

About the owners of Kunda

This home is owned by Don and Carla McClintock. Don’s parents live close by in Malua Bay. Don met Carla., who is a U.S. citizen, a few years ago through friends in London. They had a beautiful wedding at the Sydney Opera House in July, 2001. This is their second marriage for both of them. Don has 3 children; Eleanor 14, Sophie 18 and Daniel who is 20. The kids come to Kunda for some of their school holidays. Carla is an attorney and Don is a computer network engineer in Jacksonville Florida, where they live most of the year. They would like to share their home with you and are interested in hearing from you as to how you liked it and what they can do to improve the home to make it the best rental on the South Coast!!

Description of Rooms

Living Room:

A relaxed area with comfy couch, a fire stove and entertainment unit with TV and DVD player.

Dining Room:

This has a stunning dining table [handmade redgum] with 6 chairs and a long matching redgum bench on one side.

Kitchen:

New Kitchen with all appliances, including dishwasher, coffee maker, toaster, electric skillet, electric kettle, pots/pans, dishes, and almost every small appliance known to exist! Including a waffle maker, which Carla says is standard in the U.S. but very hard to find in Australia!

Family Room:

4 overstuffed chairs; a wooden buffet with assorted games in it. One drawer has restaurant and tourist information in it. There is also a stereo/CD player in this room.

Downstairs Ensuite Bedroom/Bath:

This is the original part of the house, the "Princess Room"; it has a queen sized bed, small private bath with shower and large walk in closet with chest. It opens out to its own private screened in porch overlooking the sea.

Downstairs Back Bedroom:

This room is long and narrow and has 2 King Single bookend beds in it. It also has a chest and a desk area. Near the desk is a phone line for hookup to the internet. The room is also equipped with its own TV and VCR. Right outside of it is a large bathroom with a separate tub and shower. This would be a private bathroom for this room, if the second bedroom upstairs is not occupied.

Second Floor, smaller bedroom:

This is a room with 2 King Single beds in it with a large chest and large closet area. The window in the room opens out to the front of the house. For a bathroom, you would use the big bathroom downstairs.

Second Floor, Master Bedroom:

This is a very large room with an attached bathroom with spa tub. It also has its own deck overlooking the ocean. It has 2 King single beds.

Laundry Room:

Washer/Dryer ; Ironing board, Iron; clothes drying rack

There are some private places in the house where we store our things for when we are lucky enough to be able to come and spend time: the room under the staircase; the garage; 2 storage units that are padlocked, one in the Master Closet upstairs and the other is in the back downstairs bedroom closet.

Miscellaneous Information

Getting to the beach: To get to Circuit Beach, just go down the slope in the back of the house. You can get to the beach 2 ways: 1) straight down, there is a path, but it’s a bit steep; or 2) go straight down and then when you reach the top of the cliff, turn left and walk on the path in front of the other oceanfront homes until you get to an easy descent. (You’ll see it!!) There is a shower on the side of the house near the walkway leading from the front door.

We provide sheets and towels for the rooms. We also have provided some yellow towels that can be used for beach towels, but you may want to bring your own. Don’t forget suntan lotion, as the Australian sun is very intense!!

Alarm & key information will be provided upon your arrival.

There is a binder in the home containing all of the manuals for appliances/TVs etc.

Long Distance Calls: there is no long distance service from the phones in the house, so please bring your mobile phone or buy a phone card if you need to make long distance calls. For hookup to the Internet, please have a local number to call to connect up. Or use your long-distance calling card to connect via an ISP in another town.

Contact Information

Address: 14 Lilli Pilli Road, Batemans Bay, NSW 2536

Phone number From overseas: +61-2-4471-2876
Within Australia: (02) 4471-2876

Please email us for further information about rental of this property.