Finniss River Station: The new Top End luxury lodge with wildness at its heart

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This was published 2 years ago

Finniss River Station: The new Top End luxury lodge with wildness at its heart

By Julietta Jameson
Finniss River Lodge comprises six suites furnished in simple luxury that have panoramic views, a wet-edge pool and gourmet dining overseen by Travis Crane, formerly of Brisbane's City Winery.

Finniss River Lodge comprises six suites furnished in simple luxury that have panoramic views, a wet-edge pool and gourmet dining overseen by Travis Crane, formerly of Brisbane's City Winery.Credit: Richard Lyons

Wildlife experiences are right on the doorstep of a new Top End luxury lodge on a 200-square-kilometre Brahman cattle station south-west of Darwin.

The Venturin family, owners of Finniss River Station, 90 minutes' drive or a 25-minute charter flight from Darwin, conceived the lodge idea from a desire to share the property's vast wetlands that meet the Indian Ocean, as well as dry savannah, paperbarks, and remnant rainforests.

"It's impossible to ignore the landscape's glittering, albeit surreal, natural beauty which transforms throughout the day to culminate in the most intense, fiery sunsets that must be seen to be believed," says Robert Venturin.

Finniss River Lodge comprises six suites furnished in simple luxury that have panoramic views, a wet-edge pool and gourmet dining overseen by Travis Crane, formerly of Brisbane's City Winery. Beyond that, the cattle station beckons with wildlife encounters, including flocks of magpie geese and brolgas in their thousands and given the wetlands, plenty of saltwater crocodiles.

Property manager Michael Hurley says Finniss River Lodge will be a birdwatcher's and photographer's paradise with misty mornings and those spectacular sunsets. Guest activities include getting involved in station life, airboat rides to encounter crocs, barramundi fishing, and Indigenous culture in nearby Litchfield National Park.

"We want our guests to have immersive and unforgettable experiences and that means providing a range of extraordinary activities with exceptional guides. Learning bush survival skills and hunter-gathering dinner ingredients will be all part of our Finniss River Lodge story," Hurley says.

The property is family-friendly, welcoming children aged over six.

From $1200 a person a night twin share. All inclusive.

See finnissriverlodge.com.au

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