Category: Reviews

Collins Land – click any image for full size

I was stunned to realise that it has been almost four years since I last visited Collins Land, the home of Cerys Collins (Cerys Celestalis). In fact, it has been so long that in the intervening time, Cerys has moved from at Homestead to a Full region. The current build has been in progress since May 2017, with Cerys noting it is now “95% complete”.  Having learned of the Japanese-themed redesign by way of my favourite region hunters, Shakespeare and Max, Caitlyn and I had to leap over and have an explore.

Following the region landmark will deliver you to a shaded spot south and west of the region’s centre, and the grounds of a large traditional Japanese house, built over the cooling influence of a large pond. The latter is an indication that water plays a subtle but important role within the region – keep an eye out for how Cerys makes use of it throughout. The house is situated to one side of tiered gardens and grounds, all of which tend to form a good starting point for explorations.

Collins Land

Wooden paths wind and fork their way through the grounds, offering a number of points of entry into the house as well as leading to other points of interest. Follow these board walks with care: just when you think you’ve found them all, the likelihood is you’ll find another leading you to a little scene, a part of the whole whilst also feeling entirely secluded. One route, for example, leads way to a little shaded summer-house to the south overlooking a beach; another route offers access to another little group of buildings in the south-west corner of the island, where a Koi house sits over another pool of water.

Close to the landing point lay stone steps climbing up into the region’s highlands. These are, like a number of the major paths around and through the region, marked by a torii gate. The steps wind their way up to a high plateau, where sits a Buddhist shrine protected by a moat and walls. Along the way, you’ll pass through bamboo groves and past a Machiya house. As well as offering a break from the climb, the gardens of the house offer a view west and north, emphasising the verdant nature of the region.

Collins Land

The shrine isn’t the highest point on the island, however. That honour goes to the pagoda in whose shadow it might sometimes sit. This pagoda can be reached by scrambling over the rocks, but there is a fabulous climb via wooden walkways which winds its way up the side of the cliffs, after also starting from the gardens of the landing point. This route – its start denoted by another of the torii gates – should not be missed, and offers more views out over the surrounding mountains.

On the north side of the region, sitting under the massif, is a small village, reach by following yet another wooden footpath running northwards from the main house near the landing point and along the west side of the region – watch for the pleasing little detours off of this again along the way. This path gently climbs down the rocky shoulder of the island to reach the village by way of a bridge separating another inland pool from the waters surrounding the region. Built over cobbles and stones, the village appears to be devoted to farming and fishing, and visitors are welcome to try their hand at Greedy, Greedy if they so wish.

Collins Land

The lowlands of the northern village are matched by the beach to the south, once again reached by steps leading down from the gardens and house at the landing point. Follow the stepping-stones here and you’ll uncover one of the region’s secrets. As noted, there are others awaiting discovery, as is a hidden place – although I’m not 100% certain that is intended to be open to the public.

I really cannot over-emphasize the beauty of this iteration of Collins Land. The colours are rich and vibrant, the landscaping beautifully and painstakingly done, the beauty spots numerous, the hidden places intimate, the use of space exquisite – as is the way the paths and climbs naturally follow the contours of the land. Keep an eye out for the little touches of humour to be found dotted about in the ground in the water. This humour offers a nod to the fact the work is still ongoing: a group of artisans working (and resting!) as they ready the final bits…

All told, an absolutely gem of a region – as is always the case with Cery’s designs. Click the image below and scroll around the landing point in 360^o. If you’re a Flickr user and take shots of the region, please consider sharing them with the Collins Land Flickr group.

SLurl Details

• Collins Land (Collins Land, rated: Adult)

Gale Storm Retreat – click any image for full size

Gale Storm Retreat is a Homestead region designed by Chania Leuce (CheekiChica). It adjoins the full region of Aphrodisia, home to Chania’s store and which, at the time of writing, is listed as “under construction. The landing point sits at the northern end of Gale Storm Retreat, serving both regions; a gated path leads up to Aphrodisia, while wooden signs point the way to the more open areas of Gale Storm Retreat.

As the descriptions for the region found in the Destination Guide and in About Land state, this is a remote location, modelled after the US Pacific North-west, where a storm is brewing just off the coast. In fact, the rain has already made landfall – so you might want a brolly and raincoat when visiting!

Gale Storm Retreat

Follow the signs east and south from the landing point, and you’ll pass under a great stone arch, watched over by a wooden windmill, and you’ll find yourself on a high plateau which quickly drops away to the south and west to a sandy coast, where the tide appears to be on the rise. To the east, the land falls sharply away as cliffs, their edge guarded by rocky walls and slender fences.

Walk beneath the line of these eastern rocky walls- avoiding a slim finger pointing inland  – and you’ll find your way southward past a large stone patio with pool and tiled roof, the latter protecting a fire offering warmth and respite from the rain,  and down to a  rocky headland where the revolving eye of a lighthouse watches over land and sea.

Gale Storm Retreat

Below the lighthouse lay the beach and sandbars of the coast, straddled in part by wooden houses raised on stout wooden piles to avoid the ravages of a returning tide. Huts and tents sit further in from the sea, huddled on the sands above the high tide mark, but still looking vulnerable as rain lashes down and lightening forks and flashes its way across the sky.

Further to the west and north, above the lie of the beach, but lower than the main plateau, sits a grassy bluff, home to a stone and wood cottage with smoke rising invitingly from its tall chimney, suggesting another place where shelter from the rain can be found. The cottage sits close to another line of cliffs to the north and which march back eastwards, part of the divide between the coast and the town on the neighbouring region. And old shipping container, converted into a hideaway, sits within the shadow of the cliffs, watched over by the weeping willows lining their narrow tops.

Gale Storm Retreat

This is an atmospheric region, designed for photography and which lovers of the sea and the rain will enjoy. There are plenty of places scattered across the landscape for couple to enjoy, indoors and out – including in at least one of the tree houses. A group joining fee of L$500 secures rezzing rights and the ability to claim the pose gifts on offer at the landing point. Chania also notes that it is a work-in-progress (as with the region to the north), so don’t be surprised if details have changed between reading this description and any visit you make.

And about that region to the north? Well, it may be the subject of a future article, once Chania and her friends have had the opportunity to finish building it. Time will tell on that!

SLurl Details

• Gale Storm Retreat (Aphrodisia Isle, rated: Adult)

Stony Hill Vineyard – click any image for full size

Update July 30th: Stony Hill appears to have closed. 

We were drawn to Ezra Locke’s Stony Hill Vineyard after catching it in the Destination Guide Highlights for Friday, June 30th. A homestead region, Stony Hill Vineyard offers a pleasing Mediterranean summer feel – or as Ezra puts it, “Spanish and Italian influences with a little hodgepodge” – a description as charming as the region.

Surrounded by lush green hills, the region sits as within a verdant valley, a rural setting crossed by dirt tracks which wind over and around the low-set hills and escarpments which sit around the region edges and which offer – from a eye-level vantage point – the suggestion that this land and most of the hills beyond are one.

Stony Hill Vineyard

A large villa set back into some of these uplands dominates the north-east side of the region, large terraces stepping down from it to the lands to the west, their red brick flooring contrasting with whitewashed walls. To the west and south, guarding the villa and terraces, are ranks of grape-laden vines, some of which have already been harvested. These can be pressed and stomped under the partial shade of a wooden trellis close to the landing point – just please do remove footwear beforehand!

A windmill and equestrian centre sit at the foot of the slopes which fall gently southwards from the villa, while west and north across the region three modest single-storey villas still atop grassy slopes and bluff-faced escarpments. Presented as furnished holiday homes, these are available for rent to visitors wishing to extend their stay at Stony Hill – so if any of them do appear occupied, please respect the occupant’s privacy. The villas are available at L$285 per day (L$1995 per week), with a minimum 3-day stay.

Stony Hill Vineyard

Weddings can also be held within the region, as can private parties. However, these are by arrangement only, and those interested should contact Ezra. Should you wish to rez props for photography, you can do so by joining the local group for a fee of L$250. Additional information on the region – including the local weather and the wine of the month from the villa’s cellars! – can be obtained from the Stony Hill Vineyard website.

Stony Hill Vineyard is an elegant region design which effectively suggests a feeling of the Mediterranean and gives a sense of space whilst still fitting a lot in – the main villa, the rental villas, the equestrian area and even a little waterside market spot (neatly sitting between the villa and high rocky shoulders, giving the impression that the waters beyond are a river flowing between the vineyard and the more distant hills). There are plenty of opportunities for photography, while the villa’s upper terrace offers places to sit and relax – and enjoy the local wine.

Stony Hill Vineyard

SLurl Details

• Stony Hill Vineyard (Stony Hill, rated: Moderate)