Imagine finding a place where you can gather all your friends and loved ones together to unwind and recharge, celebrate a special occasion, or simply wallow in luxury where your hosts have thought of everything — a place that is stylish and indulgent, but where you can also have fun.
That place is Kalinya, a gorgeous country property at the gateway to the Southern Highlands, an hour or so from Sydney and two hours from Canberra. With glorious gardens and accommodation for up to 42 people who have the property exclusively to themselves, Kalinya is, not surprisingly, a stunning wedding venue.
But such is the way Chris and Mandy Barnes have thought of everything – and I really do mean everything — the estate works equally well for business and leisure, from conferences and corporate events to multi-generation family get-togethers and everything in between.
Formerly a clinical psychologist, Mandy has translated her love of psychology into a passion for spoiling people. Her enthusiasm is infectious, from her warm hospitality to her creativity and deft hand in designing the stylish interiors.
Kalinya, she says, means good, beautiful and honest, and so she and Chris have imbued the property with everything they love and everything they would want from such a venue. The charming heritage buildings have been granted a new lease of life with elegant styling, eye-catching art works, luxurious bedding, and eco-friendly products.
Yet it all feels very homely with so much personality – the bathroom basins set into old timber sideboards, a dollhouse in an attic-style children’s playroom, books and chess sets everywhere, lots of records, DVDs and musical instruments including a grand piano in the main homestead. “We’re like complete music nerds,” says Mandy.
The Homestead, one of three buildings with accommodation, was mushroom pink with burgundy downpipes when they bought it 20 years ago, but they could see the property had bones and they were drawn to the area around Bargo which has a different vibe to the Southern Highlands proper.
“It’s super rural and you get a real mix of people from very wealthy, famous people like Nicole Kidman and Jimmy Barnes to people with tree-lopping and other businesses that you can’t sustain on a little block in the city. We love this area; it’s very genuine.”
They bought the house to live in and began raising their two children there before realising they were “rattling around” in such a big home. Now they live a short distance away and guests have the property to themselves. “I love this house for what it’s used for now because it’s not wasted. In the Highlands, there’s a lot of big estates that just stay empty.”
The colonial-style Homestead with wrap-around deck sleeps 16 people across eight rooms with four bathrooms, one perfectly suited to bridal parties preparing for the big day.
The Lodge, with five bedrooms sleeping up to 10, has a cosy ambience with an open fireplace in the lounge and striking floor-to-ceiling bookshelves wrapped around two of the bedroom doorways. Dating back to the 1850s and thought to be the oldest building on the property, it was originally the local nurses’ quarters.
More accommodation is available in the Barn, previously very fancy horse stables and before that a workshop where submarines were built. Its current iteration is an entertainers’ dream home – grand and quirky at the same time. With three bedrooms sleeping up to eight, it has raked ceilings with exposed Oregon walls and lovely garden views.
The Barn also has a piano bar and sports lounge, well-equipped gym with giant smart TV, sauna, indoor squash court, golf simulator, billiard table, air hockey, table tennis, and vintage arcade games that are a blast from the past (Pacman, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and many more).
It even has a cinema with massive 250-inch screen and tiered seating. This is great for entertainment but also handy for conferences and corporate events, with blockout blinds drawn back to let in the natural light. I did say Chris and Mandy have thought of everything, didn’t I?
All three buildings have well-appointed kitchens so guests can self-cater or bring in a chef. Both the Homestead and the Lodge also have alfresco kitchens, the Homestead with a Vesuvius wood-fired oven, the Rolls Royce of pizza ovens. “We use aged ironbark — it’s expensive but it burns really clean,” says Mandy, who encourages using the pizza oven for team-building exercises and group catering.
It’s even been used for weddings, where a “pizza island” was set up for a mostly vegetarian party. We can attest to the quality of the pizzas the Vesuvius turns out, having kneaded the dough and chosen our own toppings before sliding our creations into the oven and sipping on a glass of local red while they cooked.
If guests choose to self-cater but want help with the cleaning up, Mandy or her manager, Bec, can arrange for staff to come in. Corporate groups usually prefer to be fully catered for, often flying in from overseas and not wanting to be bothered with food.
Mandy is proud to work with talented locals like Brad Wolff, from Peppertree Catering, and Jeff Aston, winemaker and owner of Tractorless Vineyards. “People like Brad and Jeff are people that I just adore,” she says.
Jeff puts a huge amount of effort into cultivating a biodynamic vineyard and has been instrumental in encouraging others to take a more sustainable approach to winemaking. We were privileged to taste the full line-up of his beautiful wines, including his fresh and aromatic Riesling, velvety soft Nebbiolo, and Tawny Reserve (like Christmas pudding in a glass).
’Everything is done with love’
“Brad used to be a butcher and got out of that to create food. Everything is done with love, the same as what we like to do at Kalinya. There are no preservatives because he’s made everything from scratch. He also went to the organic markets to pick most of the food,” she says of the feast that welcomed us on the first night of our stay.
“He doesn’t do alternate drop, chicken/beef, chicken/beef. He does share platters. And so he encompasses everything that I love, which is sharing and family meals and really good food that feeds your soul and feeds your heart.”
Brad, for his part, feels that his food “goes wonderfully in a beautiful establishment” like Kalinya, where the old Carriage House has been transformed into a stunning event space suitable for larger functions, including weddings, product launches and corporate events.
With dining options for up to 150 sit-down or 200 cocktail guests, the Carriage House has high ceilings with exposed beams, French chandeliers, and massive timber barn doors opening to the garden. Weddings generally take place in the garden before the Carriage House doors are opened for the ultimate wow moment.
Kalinya’s beautifully manicured garden was just springing to life when we visited in late August, although with its outdoor fire pit, therapeutic hot tub and other luxuries, the property can be enjoyed at any time of year. Brave folk can even enjoy a sauna before jumping in a natural-ecosystem pond for some teeth-clenching ice bathing. The pond is filtered and aerated entirely by plants rather than chemicals.
Ducks strut around the grounds which bloom with hundreds of roses and wisteria-covered walkways. There’s much to do outdoors: a heated mineral swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, trampoline, swings, and outdoor giant chess set.
Kalinya’s accommodation packages are designed to be flexible, with packages starting from $8,239 for two nights in the Homestead. “It sleeps 16 but we do get people who book it for just four people. We only ever take one group (across the whole property). The idea is that you can come to brekky in your PJs. It’s not supposed to be formal; it’s supposed to be like a home that’s big enough to fit everyone you love.”
Finally, Mandy tells a story which offers an insight into why she and Chris want their guests to make themselves at home and create whatever they want.
“We have some events that have no alcohol, we have some events that are super into cocktails or beer tastings or whatever, but when we got married, there was no choice. Chris doesn’t really like drinking; he just likes milk. We were in a traditional venue, chicken/beef alternative drop, and all he wanted was a glass of milk and they wouldn’t get it for him, even though he paid for the drink package. He was so dirty about it. To this day we joke about it, but we don’t joke. We actually love that when people book here, they can do what they want.”
Kalinya Luxury Escape
60 Great Southern Road
Bargo NSW 2574
Australia
Tel: +61 (0)402 248 224
kalinyaestate.com.au
With thanks to Kalinya Luxury Escape for hosting us for 2 indulgent nights. We stayed in one of the Lodge rooms and enjoyed all the facilities of this beautiful property, along with superbly catered meals.
The first and last photos were supplied by Kalinya and used with permission. All other photos are © Food Wine Travel.
