The best of lagoon front and beach living in an original, historic lakehouse

A shaded winding road hugging the Cockrone lagoon opens to a small village with houses dotting the shores of a curving bay. Protected at both ends by rugged cliffs is the quiet haven of MacMasters Beach. A short lakeside walk from the surf beach, Macs Lakehouse is one of the original homes built right on the lagoon a century ago. With gently worn wooden floors milled from local blue gum, high ceilings and French doors on to deep verandas, this lovingly restored traditional bungalow offers the modern conveniences that enhance comfort and function for today’s laidback beach house living.

Our family brought this wonderful old house back to life to recreate the summers of our memories. Intense blue skies, dipping in and out of the sea, warm sand, wafting breezes, afternoon cicadas, whirling fans, beach towels and cossies drying over the railing, frosty drinks, barbeques long into the velvety dark and falling asleep in crisp white sheets. Focal to that is the enormous north facing deck overlooking the lake and spanning the entire house - the perfect space to sun bathe, nap, sip cocktails, read novels, cook, dine on a choice of open or undercover dining tables or simply chill and chat.

The Kitchen
The fully equipped cooks’ kitchen has a 90cm Bosch gas cooktop/electric oven, family sized fridge freezer, dishwasher, microwave, wine fridge and all the appliances to cook up a feast. There are chef’s knives, oven and other cookware, a large array of crockery, serving ware, glassware, table mats and cloths, candles and all the requisites for a family celebration. Just outside the main kitchen on the eastern end of the deck is an outdoor kitchen with an additional bar fridge, commercial sized double sinks, a large hooded gas BBQ with roasting, teppanyaki and wok features and a wood BBQ/fireplace.

Dining
The kitchen adjoins a dining area with a beautiful old refectory table that seats 10+ and opens through a series of French doors onto a rainforest garden with a pond. Outdoor dining offers a choice of an extendable all weather table and chairs on the deck or the shaded veranda table hand crafted from a local native tree, both overlooking the lagoon. And at the western end of the deck is a semi enclosed, fully screened chill space with a fabulous old chaise and two teak armchairs overlooking the lake and the garden - a prefect retreat for afternoon tea or a nap.

Lounges and Verandas
The double length lounge room is beautifully furnished with an eclectic collection of tropically inspired paintings, fabrics, carved pieces, lamps and long comfy couches looking through a series of French doors onto the deck and the lagoon. There’s a television and wood-fired combustion stove for winter.
The main entry way through another series of French doors opens into a long enclosed gallery style veranda with views into the rainforest garden, an extensive library, a piano, a big cushioned daybed and wicker chairs to read or chat, play games or think and doze. This adjoins a large vine covered deck with cane and rattan couches and chairs sheltering the front of the house from the street and offering another relaxing space for afternoon naps, drinks or protection from the occasional afternoon storm. It is fully enclosed with full height sliding gates to keep little ones safe.

Bedrooms
There are four restfully appointed bedrooms – two queens, a twin that may also be configured as a king and a tri-bed room with a single bunk on top of a double bed below. All have cushion topped mattresses, pure cotton sheets, a range of soft pillows and duvets, cotton and woollen throws and electric blankets depending on the season.

Bathrooms
There are two separate toilets and two bathrooms, one with a long bathtub and the other with a walk-in shower. This is complemented by a glorious outdoor shower set within a lush garden looking through to the lagoon.

The house features the original polished wooden floors and is fitted throughout with ceiling fans in every room, which combined with fully screened French doors, windows on all sides and louvred transom breezeways in two bedrooms, allows for wonderful cross flow sea breezes on even the hottest day. The old time builders cleverly sited houses to capture the cool southerlies, so when we renovated we enhanced that with three sets of double french doors across the north and south of the house to remove the need for air con which in 10 years we have not found necessary.

There is a grassed area in both the front and back of the house for children of all ages to play and the lagoon facing back yard is fully enclosed. There is a washing machine and an undercover washing line and drying area.

The Cockrone Lagoon
Overlooking the water, east to the beach and west up a series of freshwater creeks that feed the Cockrone Lagoon, Macs Lakehouse nestles in a heritage wetland that is a protected breeding ground for native water birds. With its huge diversity and quantity of bird life including black swans, pelicans, cormorants, bush turkeys, owls, parrots, doves, many duck and water fowl species, sea eagles, hawks, magpies, cockatoos, kookaburras, pee wees, wrens, finches and willy wagtails, it is a bird watchers paradise.
Perfect for kayaking and stand up paddle boarding, the beach end of the lagoon is protected from the sea by a sand dune which breaches occasionally during heavy monsoonal rain and king tides. The beach end of lagoon is also perfect for toddlers and young children to swim and meet other young families. Although the beach is so close you can hear the waves as you fall asleep, the lagoon is sheltered from the sometimes blustery conditions on the sea shore allowing more outdoor living and a diverse sub-tropical plant scape and garden.

The Beach
Just minutes walk along the edge of the lagoon, MacMasters Beach is located on the Bouddi Peninsula and surrounded by magnificent national parks in every direction. It is rated as one of the top one hundred surf beaches in Australia and is generally patrolled by Macs own surf lifesavers. However, always swim between the flags, observe any directions and supervise your children at all times as the surf can get rough. At the southern end of the beach is a tidal seawater swimming pool, which is fabulous for young children and swimming laps.

Village Amenities
The community’s MacMasters Beach Surf Club serves meals, snacks and beverages most of the day in the summer and is the only venue in the village. Lulu’s Coffee Shop on the Scenic Road serves brilliant coffee from 7am -1pm Monday to Saturday. You can also walk along the beach to Copacabana, the village across the lagoon, which has several coffee shops, Burnt Honey a fab bakery, minimart, PO, chemist and a couple of casual dining venues.

Summary
Bedrooms:
Bedroom 1 - queen bed (overlooks deck & lake)
Bedroom 2 - queen bed
Bedroom 3 - 2 x twin single OR 1 x king (please advise when making the booking)
Bedroom 4 - 1 x tri-bed (1 x double and 1 single bunk above sleeping 3 persons)
Sleeps 9 in total
All linen including towels and pure cotton linen and quality bedding is provided and beds are made up for your visit.

Bathrooms:
2 x bathrooms (1 with bath) plus 2 x separate toilets and and additional hot and cold outdoor shower

Kitchen:
Internal with solid oak benchtops, double sink; 90cm gas cook top and electric oven; microwave, dishwasher, large fridge freezer and wine fridge, blender, food processor, rice steamer, slow cooker, stick mix, spice grinder, electric juicer, Global knives and every kind and size of cooking utensils, pots and pans. Additional condiments on hand as well.
External on deck with bar fridge, double sink and washing machine.
Serving ware
Fully stocked red and white wine glasses, champagne flutes, highball and martini glasses
Flat plates in 20, 27 and 30cm sizes, flat rimmed soup plates, 3 sizes of cereal/noodle bowls and the usual white-ware, ramekins, platters, a great selection of napery

Dining:
2.7 metre long wooden dining table indoors with 12 chairs
Outdoor table extendable to 3.4 metres with 12 chairs on the open lagoon deck
Undercover wooden table on the lagoon deck with rattan and wooden chairs and a long church pew

Heating:
Combustion stove in lounge, hardwood firewood supplied and electric column or wall panel heaters in every room in winter.
Café style gas patio heaters in winter
Open BBQ fireplace on open lagoon deck

Barbeques:
A 6 burner gas BBQ with hood for roasting and wok attachment and
A wood BBQ/fireplace, wood supplied

Entertainment systems:
Music systems including iphone music compatible bluetooth speakers
Television, CDs, DVDs and Chromecast

Communications:
Wi-fi

Water Sports:
2 good kayaks with oars provided