I had been looking at Wilderluxe Lake Keepit for ages. A beautiful pavilion right on the water. An outdoor bath. A deck made for afternoon wine. Records to play inside. A huge country sky and absolutely nobody nearby to block the view.
It looked wildly romantic. So obviously, I decided I couldn’t go. Well, not yet anyway.
I had quietly put it on the list of places I would visit when I met someone — the imaginary future man who would drink wine with me on the deck, get in the bath and take candid photos of me looking serene beside the lake.
And this is the part of being single that I don’t think we talk about enough. It isn’t always that you are afraid to go somewhere alone. Sometimes you are perfectly capable of going — you just wish you had someone to share it with.
I kept thinking I would save it. Then I realised I was saving one of the most beautiful places in NSW for a man who had not made a booking, confirmed an arrival time or, as far as I know, entered the building.
So I went anyway.
The drive out to Lake Keepit already felt like somebody had turned the volume down on my life. I had been absolutely spent. Not a little tired and in need of an early night tired — I needed a fat holiday.
Then I arrived at the pavilion. The lake was right there. The outdoor bath was waiting. The doors opened onto the deck and the whole place felt quiet, private and a little bit ridiculous in the best possible way.
I did have a moment where I wished someone was there. I’m not going to turn this into one of those stories where I became so empowered I never wanted company again. I did. It would have been lovely to look at someone and say, “Can you believe this?”
But then I unpacked, opened the doors, poured myself a drink and put a record on. And I was very quickly reminded of something important: I date myself really bloody well.
I sat on the deck with a glass of rosé. I watched the light change over the water. I played music, cooked myself dinner and had the outdoor bath beneath that enormous sky.
Nobody rushed me through sunset. Nobody questioned whether we should open the bubbles. Nobody changed the record. I slept diagonally.
The next morning, I woke up looking straight at the lake, made proper coffee and drank it slowly. There were kayaks, paddleboards, bikes, walking trails and fishing. I did some of it. I also sat down and stared at the water for a very long time, which I am now counting as a wellness activity.
It was only once I stopped that I realised how tired I had become. There is something about being out in this part of the country that resets me. The space. The birds. The stars. The fact that the sky feels about four times bigger than it does at home.
It didn’t fix everything. I still came home with the same job, the same washing and the same questionable romantic history. But I felt like myself again.
Wilderluxe is easily one of the best places I have ever stayed. Yes, the pavilion was beautiful. Yes, the outdoor bath under the stars was every bit as good as it looked. But I think it will stay with me because I nearly missed it.
Because I thought a romantic place required a relationship.
I still want the person. I still want the shared bottle of wine, the dancing in the kitchen and someone beside me saying, “Stay for one more song.” But I don’t want to save all the good things for him.
Being single didn’t make the sunset less beautiful. It didn’t make the wine taste worse or the bed less comfortable. It just meant the romantic weekend was with me.
So if there is a place you keep looking at and thinking, I’ll go when I have someone, this is your reminder that “someone” can come later. The place is there now.
You are allowed to wish someone was there and still have one of the best weekends of your life. Sometimes you feel brave. Sometimes you feel lonely. Sometimes you feel completely content. But you go anyway.
Wilderluxe Lake Keepit is located at Reflections Lake Keepit in country NSW. This stay was hosted by Reflections Holidays, but the experience and opinions are entirely Jen’s own.