Midginbil Hill: 160 hectares of botanical gardens
A sparkling swimming pool, a colonial-style house, blooming flowers, singing birds, imposing trees, and wide-open spaces. Despite all these lavish comforts, the owners have completely retained their adventurous and dynamic spirit.
A large 4x4, an early start at 6 a.m., and a smiling, spontaneous welcome. Annette and John are true hosts; everything here is arranged tastefully and entirely without excess. They have dedicated 25 years of their lives to cultivating this magnificent property, creating a sort of peaceful island nestled deep in the countryside. Do they draw their boundless energy from their ancestors' 200-year history as pioneers, or perhaps directly from the breathtaking bounty of nature itself?
John and Annette Flower will be coming to La Bastide-Puylaurent in September. They will soon be retired and plan to take their time traveling at their leisure for two, three, or perhaps even six months. I have already told them all about La Garde-Guérin, with its spectacular 11th-century medieval tower, and Les Vans, a vibrant, sun-drenched small town full of charm nestled between the Ardèche and the Gard regions.
Unlike Peter and Sherry at Benbellen Farmstay, Annette and John don't want the hassle of keeping farm animals. As Annette rightly points out, if they had a dog or a cat roaming around, the birds would simply disappear. And here, there are birds of every unimaginable color and song.
At the top of the hill, beneath a massive tree whose name entirely escapes me, John dismounted his horse and dropped to one knee, as if intuitively tracking an ancient trail. The photographer was ready, the light was absolutely perfect, and the resulting shot... was a true success.
Welcome to Midginbil Hill Resort!
The house boasts a beautiful professional kitchen with a large cold room, alongside a bright, elegantly simple, and spacious dining room featuring stunning exotic wood flooring. The balcony—or rather, the patio—is an undeniably ideal place to relax. Certain phrases naturally come to mind here, like finding the perfect key to open the right door. These international exchanges give me the precious opportunity to open truly wonderful doors and access a highly valuable dynamic.
Annette and John have absolutely nothing left to prove; they are entirely authentic. During the high season, they employ around ten people to run nature camps for young Japanese, American, and Australian students, hosting up to 150 youths at a time. Annette possesses a highly generous smile; she makes you immediately want to get involved and is always moving forward. The resort also offers 7 very pleasant guest rooms overlooking the lush, flower-filled garden.
We visited a small seaside restaurant located just half an hour from Midginbil Hill. We were served by two handsome, smiling young men who, despite the quiet evening, offered us genuine 5-star service. John is laughing loudly, and Caroline seems to be happily floating on a little Australian magic carpet... Time for another glass of this excellent Australian wine.
Like many of our hosts, they are eager to discover the real, authentic France—the France that is so rarely talked about in tourist brochures. At last, they will no longer be treated simply as 'customers' or 'tourists', but as friends, welcomed guests, and fellow colleagues. I truly feel I can meet their high expectations, and... they completely trust me.
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Tomorrow, we leave for France for a 5-week trip, flying from Brisbane to Paris via Tokyo and Moscow. Upon our arrival, we will take the fast TGV train to Nîmes via Lyon, and then hop on the picturesque regional train (Le Cévenol) to the village of La Bastide-Puylaurent, nestled deep in the mountains north of the Cévennes in the Massif Central.
There, we will be warmly staying with our friend Philippe, who visited us here at Midginbil. He runs a highly welcoming guest house, a friendly inn that primarily hosts hikers passing through—following the GR®70, the famous historical route Robert Louis Stevenson took for two months in 1878 with his stubborn donkey, Modestine. Stevenson immortalized this journey in his classic book, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.
Philippe has successfully established an impressive exchange network among independent innkeepers in Canada, Australia, the USA, Poland, and Morocco. Since L'Etoile is only open for four months of the year and he is an enthusiastic bachelor, he is perfectly free the rest of the year to travel the globe, visiting innkeepers who offer the exact same style of authentic, friendly hospitality found at L'Etoile.
It is an incredibly excellent idea when you only work four months a year! Sharing our precious time with Philippe gave us a wonderful opportunity to discover the deep French countryside, and especially its incredible food and wine! This immersion taught us a great deal. We will also have time to thoroughly explore Provence, Marseille, and the grand Loire Valley by following the historic routes of famous painters.
We also enjoyed an excellent trip to Amsterdam, where the local tourist office booked us a highly central double room. We visited both the Van Gogh Museum and the stunning Rijksmuseum. We then stayed for four nights in a lovely B&B in Edam, just a short half-hour bus ride north of Amsterdam. Much like Bruges in Belgium, we absolutely loved the unique architecture of Amsterdam and its surrounding small towns.
From Edam, we took the train straight to Paris, which we completely fell in love with. We truly wish we could have spent much more time in Europe, so we will very likely return—especially to L'Etoile, which resolutely remains our absolute favorite stopover.
Philippe, we had a truly wonderful trip filled with remarkably diverse and rich experiences. Without you acting as the center and the core motivation of our entire journey, we probably never would have gone! And what a profound shame that would have been. Thank you so much for everything you did for us. We loved staying at L'Etoile and witnessing firsthand how you manage your guest house—it’s magical! Taking care of L'Etoile all by yourself: cooking hearty meals every evening, baking fresh bread, cleaning, and welcoming guests... it's simply incredible!
It was also fantastic to meet Pierre at the beautiful Auberge de La Garde-Guérin, Elisabeth in St-Laurent-les-Bains, and the welcoming monks at the Abbaye Notre-Dame des Neiges, where we picked up great wine before getting local cheese in the little village of Le Thort. We also thoroughly enjoyed cycling down the winding roads to Pied-de-Borne.
Walking the Stevenson Trail for two whole days was an unforgettable experience. There were so many highlights, like sitting comfortably on the sunny veranda with a good cold beer just before dinner. We deeply enjoyed your great company and your excellent sense of humor.
Accompanying you to Brussels was an absolute joy (especially via our fascinating visit to the deep cellars of Champagne Mercier right during the grape harvest!), and we certainly haven't forgotten the warm, heartfelt welcome from your two brothers, which truly touched our hearts.
Please say hello again to Serge and Deria, to Daniel, and also to Annette if you are in contact with her. I really enjoyed her company, as well as chatting with your diverse guests—especially Denis and Marie-Edith. She tried so incredibly hard to communicate with us using all the English she had learned back in school.
I must go now, Philippe. We will always cherish our very fond memories of our time together and eagerly look forward to your next visit to Australia. Let's definitely keep in touch. To our great friendship!
Annette and John
Annette and John Flower, Midginbil Hill Resort, Uki, New South Wales, Australia -
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