Maybe it is lighting a fire and drinking red wine when we arrive as the sun goes down. Perhaps it is lazing about reading Vanity Fair and listening to the sounds of birds frolicking over the fields. Or maybe it is my wife cooking in the country kitchen.

I’m not sure which is my favourite moment of my weekend, but I do know that spending it at Berry Abode with my family is a good way to slow down and enjoy an escape from Sydney.

We arrive on Friday evening after driving about 90 minutes from Sydney to Berry, a friendly country town just a few minutes from Kiama, and only moments from seven mile beach.

In the past, most houses we’ve rented have had musty sheets, dubious bunk beds, shoddy cheap furniture and a hotchpotch of virtually useless kitchen utensils. The shambled nature of some holiday houses has been part of the adventure. But this time it is nice to stay in a place that doesn’t have those quirky misgivings.

Staying at Berry Abode is like having the country home you always hope to own but without the mortgage stress. There are two areas to escape and watch TV (one for us and one for the kids), a good quality stereo with an excellent selection of music, fully stocked bookshelf with a range of genres and the magazine selection includes Vanity Fair (my favourite) and Belle (my second favourite). All the beds have crisp white country quilts. There is an impressive array of pots, pans, blenders, knives, coffee makers and other gadgets, as well as basics such as olive oil, salt and pepper, sugar, coffee and tea.

Outdoors there are several covered seating areas, as well as Adriondack chairs to laze on by the pool. The gardens are lovely, well maintained box hedges, Koi gently swimming in the pond, flowering plants and citrus trees, and a wonderful Magnolia that explodes with huge bright pink flowers. The trampoline is build into the ground, so no worrying spills. There’s a well sized cubby house with a slide, swings and other apparatus to amuse the kids, and enough room to enjoy a quick family game of soccer on the lawn.

We could have spent the entire weekend in the house, but we venture to nearby Kangaroo Valley for the afternoon. There we visit galleries, antique stores and quaint shops, where we stock up on home made jams, pies and condiments.

We then tear ourselves away from the house to try Twenty Three in Berry, a first class dining experience that held a tasting evening of fusion Asian delights. Excellent!

Next day we sneak across the road to the Berry Woodfire Sourdough Bakery and stock up on fresh baked bread and croissants, we read the Sunday papers in the warmth of the sun that streams into the covered veranda and then spend the afternoon playing scrabble (and yes, to much delight all the pieces are still in the box).

“I think this place is perfect, Dad. I want to live here” observes our daughter as we get ready to head back to Sydney.

I couldn’t agree more.