This was published 7 years ago
Outback stations in Australia: Amazing outback properties where you can stay overnight
By Lee Atkinson
It was an Indiana Jones moment. We'd been swimming in a pool beneath a waterfall in a little-visited corner of the Kimberley, down a remote 4WD track so rough and rutted that we'd almost given up. Now, barefoot and dripping, we were rockhopping along the river bank, clinging to the side of the gorge, when we rounded a bend to find a rocky overhang covered with images of sacred Wandjina figures, the wide-eyed, lightning-crowned spirits that control the weather and created the landscape of the far north-west. The ancient artwork was so vibrant and alive it looked as if it been painted yesterday, the power emanating from the paintings almost palpable, but what made it truly extraordinary was that there were no signposts to get here, no track, not even a dusty footprint, other than our own wet ones, and not another soul in sight. It really is true: the things you discover on your own are always the most exciting.
These Wandjina were at Wunnamurra Gorge, one of half-a-dozen swimming holes on Mt Elizabeth Station, a family-owned working cattle farm off the Gibb River Road. During our six-day stay on the property we stumbled across several other equally extraordinary art sites, including a cave with a ceiling completely covered with art and a bouldered outcrop decorated with mysterious elongated Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) figures brandishing clubs, thought to be 20,000 years older than Egyptian hieroglyphs. In a national park these sites would be cordoned off, and we'd have trod a well-worn signposted trail to get there, jostling for space with other sightseers. These on the other hand, felt like our own private discovery: we'd been given vague directions ("head down the track a bit, past the bend with the clump of trees" was about as specific as it got – we never did really work out how much a "bit" is in Kimberly terms), but we still had to employ a little sleuthing, and there were lots that we didn't manage to find.
Australia might be blessed with more national parks than just about anywhere else, but sometimes the most impressive landmarks are on private land. Lucky for us, many of them welcome visitors.
Wunnamurra Gorge is one of half-a-dozen swimming holes on Mt Elizabeth Station.Credit: Lee Atkinson
MOUNT ELIZABETH STATION
GO THERE FOR
Rock art, waterfalls, swimming holes and challenging 4WD tracks.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO THERE
Bump your way along the 10 kilometre 4WD track to Wunnamurra Gorge for a swim and check out the art – it's on the left-hand side of the gorge, down a "bit". Picnic on the beach beside the Hahn River (also good for swimming), birdwatch, fish or walk the 90-minute Homestead Trail. Challenge your off-roading skills on the 220 kilometre-long Munja Track to Walcott Inlet on the coast: it will take at least three days each way to get there, and you can camp anywhere you like along the track or at Bachstens Creek, 145 kilometres down the track, where there's a campground with showers, toilets and some cabins – highlights along the way include several rock art galleries, swimming holes and waterfalls.
SLEEPING OPTIONS
Rooms with a shared bathroom are available in the homestead, as well as home-cooked meals (BYO alcohol) if you book ahead. Most people camp in the large grassy clearing out the back of the homestead: a few wandering cows can make a racket in the middle of the night, but there's some nice shady sections and it's campfire friendly.
HOW TO GET THERE
The turn-off to Mt Elizabeth Station is roughly half-way along the Gibb River Road between Kununurra and Broome, around 40 kilometres east of Mt Barnett Roadhouse – the homestead is 30 kilometres from the turn-off.
MORE INFORMATION
visitkununurra.com/accommodation/mount-elizabeth-station/17995
CHARNLEY RIVER STATION
GO THERE FOR
Birdwatching, crowd-free gorges and wild swimming.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Charnley River Station was a working cattle farm until 2010, but it's now owned by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and is a wonderful birdwatching spot and one of the few places where you might be lucky enough to see an endangered northern quoll. You'll need a 4WD to access the property's attractions, but 4WD is the only way to get there in the first place, so it shouldn't be a problem. Must see spots include Donkey Hole, a cascading series of three lily-covered waterholes; Grevillea Gorge, which you access via climbing down a ladder then rockhopping down the side of a waterfall (we were told there was a good rock art gallery here, but we were unable to find it); and Dillie Gorge, a vast river gorge with several fantastic swimming spots.
SLEEPING OPTIONS
Camping is your only option here, but the campground is large and shady, with new shower and toilet facilities.
HOW TO GET THERE
Finding Charnley River Station can be tricky if you're using an old map – it used to be called Beverley Springs Station. It's 43 kilometres north of the Gibb River Road, about halfway between Bell Gorge and Manning Gorge (Mt Barnett Roadhouse).
MORE INFORMATION
WOOLEEN STATION
GO THERE FOR
Wildflowers and remote riverside camping.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Established in 1886 as a sheep station this huge property now runs cattle and is slowly being restored back to an ecologically stable and productive landscape by the young leaseholders, Frances Jones and David Pollock (the couple featured on ABC's Australian Story twice in 2012 and again in 2014). It features heritage-listed wetlands teeming with birdlife, mulga rangelands and 36 kilometres of the Murchison River. The region is one of Western Australia's wildflower hot spots and if there have been good winter rains the spring displays of yellow, white and mauve everlastings and pom poms that carpet the countryside – as well as patches of Sturt desert peas, mulla mulla, corn flowers and pink parakeelya – are spectacular. Outside of wildflower season you can explore the historic buildings and follow a number of self-drive, mountain bike and walking trails.
SLEEPING OPTIONS
Stay in the historic homestead and dine in the formal dining room or take your pick from four campgrounds, including remote sites on the banks of Murchison River (the toilets would easily qualify as being some of the most stylish long-drop dunnies in the country). Showers are available at the homestead.
HOW TO GET THERE
51 kilometres south-east of Murchison, in the mid-west of Western Australia, approximately 660 kilometres north-east of Perth.
MORE INFORMATION
LORELLA SPRINGS
GO THERE FOR
Hot springs, waterholes, fishing and 4WDing.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Lorella Springs is a vast cattle station on the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is crocodile country, and there's not many places where you can safely swim up here but Lorella has several, although the most popular are the hot springs, which flow between the campground and the rustic outdoor bar. Many people spend weeks here fishing, birdwatching and four-wheel-driving – the property is criss-crossed with a network of 4WD tracks that lead to rivers, billabongs, swimming holes, gorges and swamps. The most adventurous one is 80 kilometres out to Rosie River Fishing Camp on the coast. The owners have left canoes and kayaks at various waterways that you are free to use. Scenic helicopter flights are available in the dry season.
SLEEPING OPTIONS
The extensive springside campground has wood-heated showers (collect wood when out and about), flush toilets but no power. Safari tents, bedrooms with shared bathrooms and air-conditioned ensuite cabins are also available.
HOW TO GET THERE
200 kilometres south of Roper Bar, 140 kilometres north-west of Borroloola, off the Savannah Way. The turn-off is signposted – the 29-kilometre road in to the station can be a bit corrugated and dusty, but generally fine for 2WD and caravans.
MORE INFORMATION
ARCKARINGA STATION
GO THERE FOR
The Painted Desert.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Arckaringa is just 11 kilometres from the Painted Desert, a deeply eroded set of steep-sided hills and flat-topped jump-ups (mesas) rising from an otherwise featureless plain, known as the Moon Desert, that was once an inland sea. Devoid of vegetation the exposed remains of the ancient range are a dramatic swirl of red, orange, ochre, yellow and white. They are impressive at any time of the day, but at their most spectacular at sunrise and at sunset, when the colours take on a surreal glow.
SLEEPING OPTIONS
Bunk down in one of the no-frills cabins with shared bathroom facilities, or set up camp in the adjacent campground – it's a bit dusty, sites are unpowered and shade is at a premium, but the showers are hot and there's plenty of room to move.
HOW TO GET THERE
Arckaringa and the Painted Desert is around 150 kilometres north of Coober Pedy, via the Oodnadatta Road. The road is suitable for conventional cars, although a 4WD or SUV is recommended for the Painted Desert.
MORE INFORMATION
FIVE PRIVATELY-OWNED OUTBACK CONSERVATION PARKS
ARKABA
Guided bushwalks and luxury digs in an historic homestead on a former sheep station on the edge of Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia. arkabastation.com.
ARKAROOLA
Stunning mountain views, rugged 4WD tracks, ridge-top tours, astronomical observatories, bushwalking trails a good chance of seeing the elusive yellow-footed rock wallabies in the northern Flinders Ranges. See arkaroola.com.au.
EL QUESTRO
One of the Kimberley's most popular tourist destinations is a mix of savannah and unexplored wilderness with gorges, waterfalls and thermal hot springs. Accommodation ranges from camping to the ultra luxe Homestead. See elquestro.com.au.
MORNINGTON WILDERNESS CAMP
The Kimberley base for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy you can spend days exploring the gorges, rivers and escarpments on this 3000-square-kilometre property. See australianwildlife.org.
BAMURRU PLAINS
Stylish safari camp on the edge of Kakadu with 4WD safaris, airboat tours, river cruises and some of the country's best birdwatching – you can even sleep in the tree-top bird hide if you want to. See bamurruplains.com.
Lee Atkinson travelled to Mt Elizabeth Station at her own expense.
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