More Than a Badge: How a Hipcamp Award Tells a 1938 Story

This week, Cooinda Retreats was recognised by Hipcamp as a Star Host.

On the surface, that means we are responsive, supportive, and consistently provide great experiences. And we are grateful for that recognition.

But for Toc H South Australia Incorporated, this moment means something far deeper.

Since 1938, this site has been held in trust for community. Long before online bookings and review platforms, it was a place where people gathered, learned, camped, connected, and built memories. That legacy continues today — just in a slightly different form.

For many of our guests, staying at Cooinda Retreats through our camp stays program is their first introduction to Toc H. They come for the ocean views, the open grass, the sense of space. Along the way, they begin to read our story through the messages we share. They lean in. They ask questions. They send us messages. They share their own stories.

Often, those stories include a grandfather who once attended a Toc H camp. A school group memory. A family connection from decades ago. For others, it is the very first time they have heard the name Toc H.

In both cases, something meaningful happens.

A stay becomes more than a booking. It becomes a quiet reconnection with a South Australian legacy — or the beginning of a new relationship with it.

Many of our guests tell us they deliberately choose to stay at Cooinda because it is community-owned. Because staying here feels like paying it forward. Every booking supports a site that exists for purpose, not profit.

That matters.

The hundreds and hundreds of reviews and recommendations we receive are not simply comments about a campsite. They are reflections of people who feel part of something genuine. Something that has been cared for over generations.

This Star Host recognition reflects that collective effort.

It reflects the quiet commitment of volunteer caretakers who mow, clean, greet, maintain, and welcome. It reflects the stewardship of Toc H South Australia members who continue to hold this site with care. And it reflects the generosity of guests who choose to be part of the story.

We are proud that Cooinda Retreats is one of the ways Toc H South Australia continues to connect with community in 2026, just as it did in 1938 — simply through a different doorway.

To every guest who has stayed, returned, shared a review, told a friend, or reconnected with an old memory — thank you.

You are part of the continuing story.

Toc H South Australia Incorporated
Through Cooinda Retreats
Nature’s Happy Place 🌿