The soon to be released Baz Luhrmann’s Australia Movie is bound to spark interest in the Austalia’s iconic cattle stations. Nicole Kidman stars in the movie  as the unlikely heiress of a cattle ranch - or station as the Australians would call it. In many  ways the cattle industry has come a long way since the 1940’s that Australia Movie is set in. But many of the basic elements: the landscape, the Federation style homesteads, the isolation and the people haven’t changed at all.

For the tourist who is curious and wants to experience a working Australian cattle station there are several options: most of these fall into the luxury accommodation bracket so read on for a comfortable experience:

Bullo River Station, Northern Territory
Bullo River Station is located in the Kimberleys and consists of 200,000ha of savannah grasslands just on the Northern Territory side of Western Australia. The property run 8000 Brahman-cross cattle but is also home to wild wallabies, buffalo, crocodiles and the prized fish: barramundi. Though not up to super-lux standards Bullo offer a dozen comfortable rooms in a purpose built annex and guess can trip to a stock camp and aborigine rock art sites. A helicopter will whisk you away to a remote spring fed sandstone gorge. The location is remote and access is from Kununurra in the Kimberleys.

Angorichina Station, South Australia
Located in the spectacular Flinders Ranges Angorichina Station has been in the same family for four generations and they make genial hosts. This is small period propertywhich offers:

two guest rooms sleeping up to 2 guests each, one located in the main homestead with the other being a separate garden cottage that once functioned as a school room. Both have private bathroom facilities. For single parties booking the station exclusively, it is possible to utilise further rooms in the homestead for up to 8 persons in total (shared bathrooms).”

Located some 500km north of Adelaide the drive is easy but the owner Ian Fargher is a light-plane enthusiast who will be pleased to fly you up himself. The Flinders Ranges are a barren, spectacular environment which is a mecca for anyone with any interest in 600 million years of Australia’s geologic history. This is an intimate property, don’t come here if you want a sophisticated cocooned experience (El Questro in the Kimberleys would be a better choice). If you are looking at meeting some real Australians and getting an intimate look at both a historic cattle property and also some of Australia’s lesser known landscapes this is the choice for you.

Angorichina Station, South Australia

Burrawang West, NSW
This cattle station has an unusual history. Once part of a 2000 sq km station it was bought by a Japanese company in the 1990’s and set up as a plush retreat for stressed  Japanese executives. No expense was spared with guest accommodation in four double-bedroomed cottages all lavished with hand-made furnishing, spectacular art and gourmet kitchens. The Japanese corporation is long gone but the current owners run Burrawang West as a very up-market retreat on a working cattle station. As well as original station buildings dating from the 1800’s there are also the modern additions of a 20m heated swimming pool, all-weather tennis courts under lights and even an archery range. Burrawang is approximately 435km west of Sydney - a day’s drive or a short flight. The nearest town is Parkes, famous for its radio telescope which was part of communications for the original NASA moon landing. The air is clear and still and perfect for astronomy buffs. Alternatively the station is a haven for all types of wildlife and guests can also participate in normal station activities.

Until recently the Top End, as the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia is known locally, was the preserve of those who were prepared to get down and dirty. However gradually more luxurious options are becoming available. Its timely too because the release of Baz Luhrmann’s epic Australia will have three stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and the Kimberley landscape.

Wet Season, Kimberleys

The Kimberley region stretches from a few hundred kilometres inland from Broome in the west to Kununurra at the eastern end of the Gibb River Road. The GBR is best road through the Kimberley region: which makes it 4WD only at the best of times and closed to visitors during the Wet (November to April).
Your luxury options are limited for most of the route but as you near the Kununurrua end of the route you are suddenly spoilt for choice.

Home Valley, Gibb River Road
Is run by the local Indigenous Land Corporation and to be frank don’t book if you want smooth, 5-star luxury the whole way. However if you want to combine stunning natural beauty, fantastic wild life and you actually want to interact with the real locals, the Aborigines then this one is for you.

Home Valley Horse and Stockman

The Home Valley’s accommodation ranges from camping and up but luxury option is to choose one of the eight “Grass Hut” bungalows are set to take advantage of stunning views over the Bindoola Creek River. The open sided restaurant is good too and of course features the local beef. Appropriately named the Dusty Bar & Grill is the epicentre for night time entertainment. Here guests can mingle with the Station’s local wildlife up close, including snakes and our resident kangaroo. Keep an eye out for the pool playing dog too. The after dinner program includes local entertainers playing country music and storytelling around the camp fire.

Dusty Bar, Home Valley

Located west of the notorious Pentecost River visiting Home Valley is open year around (except December) - making it one of the only accommodation options for experiencing the remote Kimberleys during the Wet, though you will have to fly from Kununurrua.

El Questro Homestead

El Questro Homestead

Is the 5-star branch of the El Questro Station. Run by Voyages Hotels & Resorts a recent $1.9 million renovation has replaced the Homestead’s Asian-influenced decor with a more rustic Australian feel. Updated balcony bathrooms feature in several of the exclusive rooms The egg-shaped stone tubs and double-headed showers make washing off the day’s dust a joy. With just six rooms the Homestead is an exclusive retreat cantilevered over the magnificent Chamberlain Gorge. Visitors are encouraged to choose from a selection of dining locations, from a private cliff top to the Homestead’s spacious verandas, but almost always under a canopy of stars.

Decorated with modern pieces set against rustic authentic Australian furnishings, the Homestead really is an oasis from which to appreciate the untamed beauty of the Kimberley. Surrounded by lush tropical gardens, the Homestead has a swimming pool and tennis court, for the exclusive use of Homestead guests.

Chamberlain Suite, El Questro

The premier suite is the Chamberlain Suite which is cantilevered over the Chamberlain Gorge, the Chamberlain Suite offers panoramic views and features a wrap-around veranda with floor to ceiling windows to enjoy the magnificent sunset and sunrise over the gorge.

If you want to see some of the locations where Australia, the movie was filmed then sign up for The Big Day Out: a full-day tour which loops around the spectacular cockburn Ranges. Closer to home the Zebedee Springs is a tropical oasis lush with palms and padanus to which Homestead guests an arragne private visits. Emma Gorge with it bridal-veil falls is a short and popular hike.

If you’ve seen Australia, the movie, you will know what the appeal of the Top End’s tropical landscape it.

Buffalo, Northern Territory

Of course the Northern Territory has beautiful National Parks: but they don’t cater for 5-star luxury, more the camping and family holiday scene. Now taking note from the luxury African safari model comes to the Northern Territory in the form of Bamurru Plains located on the edge of Kakadu National Park, and only 3 hours drive from Darwin.

Bird Life, Bamurra Camp

The brainchild of adventure tourism entrepreneur Charles Carlow, who also runs the just-opened Sal Salis at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, Bamurru Plains was launched in early 2007. It has been a resounding success making it on to the hotlists of influential US and British travel magazines and providing what could well be Australia’s first African-style safari option. The brags in the visitors book point to adventure aplenty: “We saw a jabiru at sunset with snake in its mouth and dingoes rounding up wallabies”

Bamurru Plains is a safari camp on Swim Creek Station, a privately owned pastoral lease on the flood plains of the Mary River delta east of Darwin. The property runs 10,00 head of buffalo and 1500 brahmin cattle. At only 303sqkm its tiny by Australian standards but the area is a paradise for the visitor looking for the unusual and beautiful.

Fine Dining meets Camping

Camping Glamour Style

Bamurru offers the “glamping” experience as glamour camping is getting know as. There are no tents to put up and not a sleeping bag to be seen. Instead the ensuite fixed tents include lemmongrass-scented ssoads, feather-filled pillows and a powerful shower (hot and cold available) attached to a tree trunk in the tin-and-timber bathroom annex. The lack of noisy generators and the large, mesh covered windows means that you will probably wake early to the sounds of the blue-winged Kookaburras, or the sound of a buffalo splashing around in the floodplains not far from your bed.

With no telephones, TVs, CD players or the typical features of a hotel room to distract you, your focus turns to the surrounding environment. Only 3 of the 9 rooms have air-conditioning and you will have to book it and pay extra too. Meals are family style in the central dining room and menus feature local produce including buffalo and baramundi. So basically camping with a comfortable bed, a hot shower, a guide and cook thrown in - I could get used to that!

Some movies are good for country’s tourism industry and we predict that Baz Luhrmann’s new movie, Australia should do wonders for Australia’s Top End tourism industry.

Nicole Kidman in Australia

The Australia’s Tropical Far North is a truely amazing wilderness but off the radar for most luxury destination tourists. We think Luhrmann’s Australia may just change that.

Australia movie is set around a fictional cattle station, which Nicole Kidman’s character has inherited. Aristocratic Nicole Kidman descends on rough colonial Australia and of course falls for the local bad boy (Hugh Jackman). The action includes the 1942 Japanese air raids on Darwin as well as massive cattle drive across the Northern Territory of Australia. Although the advance publicity includes some eye-catching pics of the stars getting hot and steamy, the real star of the show will no doubt be the beautiful Australian landscape.

Filmed on location the cast spent months in remote northern Australia at locations that included the little northern Queensland town of Bowen, standing in for 1940’s Darwin and the majestic Kimberley region.

Far Northern Queensland and Northern Territory

Normanton, Gulf Country, Northern Queensland

The dilemna of course, for the luxury traveller, is how to see all this beauty without having to actually rough it? Typically you have had to have been prepared to rough it a bit even if you take to the air to cover the vast distances involved. Traditional luxury lodgings include items such as pools, air-conditioning and gourmet food. This involves an infra-structure that just not exist in most of outback Australia. Sure you can often get air-conditioning - its practically a necessity with the temperatures - but the noisy diesel generator is not pleasent to be around, or good for the environment.

There are some solutions: the magnificent Kimberley coast can only reached by cruise ship, and the addition of a helicopter will get the visitor to areas which would take literally weeks of hard travel overland. We reviewed luxury cruising in the Kimberleys previously but obviously it restricts you to the coast: beautiful though that it is.

A number of working properties now offer luxury “ranch” stays, such as Wrotham Park These stations are large enough to be self-contained anyway so the addition of a handful of larger guest rooms isn’t so much of a problem. These luxury station stays tend to be an after thought: the cattle came first, the tourists are a second string of income so the locations are not always picked for their exotic locale. Cattle country is basically dry country - the cattle can’t survive tropical wetlands. However tropical wetlands attract amazing wildlife, particularly birds and also, of course tourists.
Kimberleys and Broome

Boab Tree, near Derby, Kimberleys

A new development in Australia’s Top End Tourism is of eco-resorts which try to adopt an environmentally light foot-print to their usually purpose built cabins or safari tents generally in extremely remote areas. The key is to get the electricity right: diesel generators are noisy and not environmentally sensitive, not to mention expensive to run. Solar power is fantastic but will not run air-conditioning, though good for hot water and lighting.

Here’s a preview of what we are looking forward to see in Australia Movie:

Photo Credits: Emigrating to Australia