When the daily minutiae of life in the big smoke threatens to send one’s cortisol production into overdrive and upend one’s sanity, an escape is in order. While a suite escape courtesy of one of the many luxury hotels in Sydney is one way to go about it, others posit that the ultimate getaway is one that takes you away from urbanity altogether.
Volvo is in the latter camp, proposing that the cure for weary city dwellers is a spell in nature. The Swedish marque has teamed up with Into The Wild Escapes, a company providing tiny houses in rural settings across Australia, each crafted with the principles of Scandinavian minimalism in mind and completely off-grid.
The eco-friendly, essentialist ethos of Into The Wild Escapes is well aligned with that of Volvo, with the duo collaborating to create Tiny Astrid, a tiny home located in the Blue Mountains. The off-grid dwelling comes with the optional add-on of the all-electric Volvo EX30, the marque’s smallest SUV to date.
The car
An ideal fit for an eco-minded escape, the Volvo EX30 is a delightfully zippy entrant into the all-electric space. Our tennis ball yellow (the official paintjob is called ‘Moss Yellow’) EX30 made a funky, contemporary style statement from the outside, while the interiors were defined by their sparseness. The deliberately essentialist cabin eschewes not only extraneous elements like physical buttons and toggles on the controls panel, but reconceptualises the space altogether. Controls are solely delivered via touchscreen, while storage space is neatly hidden within the bottom of the central console. In line with the EX30’s sustainable positioning, seatsare crafted from performance wool and the dashboard and lower door trims make use of recycled plastics which are left untreated to display their natural grain and texture.
The Volvo EX30 has a claimed range of 462 kilometres on a single charge, and successfully completed the journey from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and back without the need to charge. Notably, the EX30 is Volvo’s fastest-accelerating production car to date, speeding from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds. For context, the base model Porsche 911 Carrera completes the same speed in 4.1 seconds. And while you’re unlikely to let said acceleration loose on the congested city streets most electric cars are relegated to, it makes for a fun, sporty drive when you exit the city and hit the highway.
The stay
Nestled at the end of a winding driveway flanked by trees and overgrown shrubbery, Tiny Astrid sits within a small clearing surrounded by trees on one side and the vast mountain range on the other. Alongside the tiny home—which spans a loft bed, kitchenette, and small seating area—there’s a fire pit, outdoor seating, and a wood-fire spa bath, the latter of which doubles as a cold plunge for scorching days.
Delivering the same experience of being entirely immersed in nature that camping does, Tiny Astrid comes with a couple of welcome upgrades on the classic tent and pole experience. Namely, a surprisingly well-sized bathroom with a hot shower (although the compostable toilet was a little too back to basics for our liking…) and up to three hours of air conditioning, courtesy of gas tanks and solar power. Thoughtful details like Cultiver linen sheets and St. Ali coffee (along with a Bialetti Moka pot to make it in) served to further elevate the experience.
What to do at a tiny house
Almost nothing. That’s the point, I’m told. Reading a book; I’m currently—very slowly—making my way through the Booker Prize (and International Booker Prize) winners and shortlisted novels, so I was reading Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos, which is technically rather brilliant but honestly a bit tedious after the first hundred or so pages. Other than that, it was a lot of strolling through the surrounding nature, drinking endless cups of St. Ali coffee, cooking simple meals, and cooling off from the 35° heat by using the spa bath as a cold plunge.
What to pack
A couple of days in a tiny home means you can pack light. I took my trusty July Carry On Light, however even a large duffle would do the trick. The relatively untamed surrounding environment means you’d do well to leave the sandals at home and opt for boots (sturdy leather or hiking boots are best). Take a book (ideally one you enjoy!), skincare essentials (sunscreen is always a must), loose linen separates, swimwear for the spa bath, and some oversized shades. The tiny home contains cooking essentials like salt, pepper, and olive oil (as well as tea and coffee), but the rest is up to you to bring — so we’d recommend stopping along the way for meal ingredients, snacks, and perhaps a bottle of wine (our pick was the Devil’s Corner Resolution Pinot Noir 2023).
Stays at Tiny Astrid are priced from $349AUD/night, with a minimum stay of two nights. The option to add a Volvo EX30 to drive to and from your stay is priced at a flat rate of $220AUD regardless of stay duration.
Price: from $349AUD/night, with a minimum stay of two nights (Volvo EX30 add-on for $220AUD)
Address: available upon booking
Words by T. Angel
