Mr & Mrs Smith

Mr and Mrs Smith have just returned from a stay at this upscale bush camp, and just as soon as they've unpacked their well-worn hiking boots and photos of platypus at play, a full account of their Blue Mountains wilderness break will be with you. In the meantime, just to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick snapshot of Luxury Swag Camp...

En route to Luxury Swag Camp, we already feel like adventurers. Picked up in Sydney in a vast 4WD LandCruiser, we stop at pretty village Berrima and a local winery to break up the 90-minute drive. As we pass over the headlands down into the camp's sheltered valley we see mobs of big, barrel-chested Eastern Grey Kangaroo and the odd wombat roadkill. We ford streams. We chat to farmers. We spy a wallaby. In short, we feel we've left the city behind, even if it is a crisp glass of white and some salmon and brie canapés that greet us on arrival at the camp's simple, open-air lodge, overlooking a pretty river.

Coining the phrase 'Wild Bush Luxury', the team behind this cool camping creation in the Blue Mountains has endeavoured to take a very Australian experience – sleeping out in the bush – and give it an upscale makeover. It's a great idea if you don't have the time, gear, expertise or inclination to go it alone (and let's face it, who travels with all that outward-bound clobber?). Just turn up, by car or helicopter (which automatically limits what you can bring to a capsule kit, thanks to weight restrictions), and charismatic, knowledgable guide/host Mark Tickner will take care of everything for you. All kit is provided, from kayak and fishing gear to cooking kaboodle (he'll whip up gourmet meals for you), as well as your very own luxury swag.

An Aussie word for a kind of canvas bed roll, favoured by stockmen and drovers for generations, the swag here has been upgraded for extra comfort. Three raised wooden platform decks form the camp's three 'bedrooms' in the bush, each topped with sleek cotton sheets, a thick and paddy swag layer (they hope to bring in double swags for couples soon), soft pillows and a duvet if you're cold (no one ever is apparently). But the potentially shocking thing to grasp is you really are sleeping out in the elements. There's a loose canopy suspended diagonally over your deck should it get chilly (or rainy), but essentially you're lying out under the stars, at one with mother nature. This isn't a tent or cabin or safari lodge; it's rawer and more natural than that, albeit lit prettily at night by hurricane lights to guide you in. The shower is a case in point, a suspended bush bucket hung up in a lightly screened off timber ensuite behind your swag deck, beside the chemical toilet. A little exposing, but exciting too (kangaroos have been known to bound through the bathrooms!). It's far more pampering than standard camping, but just don't expect the Ritz.

What makes for a real sense of luxury here is the personal hosting of your guide, or guides, and the fact that as the only group here you'll enjoy their undivided attention (random strangers can't book in, just couples or friends). The guide's passion for bush walking and fishing is obvious, and the camp is the perfect place to forget the 21st-century and enjoy the fruits of the land (and river). Watch gohanna and platypus mooching about. Swim and fish. Walk and talk. Let the kids run free. Just don't try to get mobile reception...