within cooee

And it's a big out back; you can travel indefinitely without coming within cooee of a phone call or an email.

An expression "within cooee of" has developed.

"You're not even within cooee - 25,000!"

Cooee has also become a notional distance: if he's within cooee, we'll spot him.

If it weren't in the middle of the desert within cooee of the rock you'd baulk at the prices here; as it is, you're stuck with it.

Lonely Planet author Sarah Wintle picks the best weekend breaks and out-of-town getaways within cooee of Australia's capital cities.

It means "within a manageable distance", and seems to be confined to New Zealand and Australian English, and is often used in the negative sense (i.e. "you're not even within cooee", meaning not close to or, a long way off).

In NZ this would be no problem as there would be loads of backpackers (cheap accommodation) within cooee of the airport, but Britain being a backward country there is nothing like this and we stayed with friends who live 20 miles away in the heart of the Sussex countryside.