The Keep

Seeming to hover above dense slopes of rainforest, The Keep is like a modern treehouse built from sandstone blocks. Perched atop a low mountain range in Tasmania’s north-east, the building was constructed to replicate a Scottish fortified tower – a keep. It’s curiously and fantastically out of place in Tasmania and yet it delivers a complete sense of place with its isolation, vast views and setting among a natural landscape of rounded boulders, with the tree canopy at its feet. Absorb the view, walk the private trails and soak in the solitude from the outdoor bathtub hidden at the edge of magnificence.

Where is The Keep?

Part of the rainforest-covered Blue Tier range and 650 metres above sea level, The Keep offers absolute isolation. It’s a 150 kilometre drive, taking about two-and-a-half hours, from Launceston Airport. The beaches of larapuna/Bay of Fires are about a 50-minute drive away, as is the famed mountain-bike town of Derby.

Room types

The three-level tower is an exclusive retreat. From a ground-level garage and laundry, it rises to a large bedroom on the middle floor, with an open living and kitchen area at the top. Styling is contemporary (albeit curiously contrasted with an ornate, farmhouse-style kitchen), with furnishings custom-made from Tasmanian timbers – the drinks cabinet is as elegant as the Tasmanian whiskies within.

Restaurants and bars

Isolation comes at one small cost. The nearest restaurant is a 45-minute drive away but there’s a small range of readymade meals from Launceston chef Daniel Alps in the freezer for an additional cost and a neat selection of wine, beer, gin and whisky from select Tasmanian producers. There’s a full kitchen for self-catering.

Travel for work

This is more a place at which to escape the duties of business but there’s pure solitude if you’re needing headspace to write an important document or report.

Spa and gym

There are three short, private walking trails on the 100-hectare property: the Creek, the Ferns and the Myrtle. The latter heads through moss-covered rainforest to what’s claimed to be Tasmania’s largest myrtle beech tree.

Sustainability

The Keep is entirely off-grid, relying on solar power and captured rainwater.

What you need to know

Weave through the boulders beside the tower to find an extraordinary 300-kilogram outdoor granite bathtub. It takes about an hour to fill but it’s a soak with a scene, peering over the forest canopy to Tasmania’s distant north-east coast and islands.

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