RAWNSLEY PARK STATION, HAWKER
Stargazing from bed in a luxe eco villa seems like a cheat’s way to experience the bush – but no one here is complaining.
Bedroom skylights open with the touch of a button and the stars blink and wink, seemingly in time to the breeze buffeting the white cypress pines outside.
It’s the perfect end to a day of bushwalking, birdwatching, fossicking for treasures at bric-a-brac shops and enjoying sundowners on the rooftop of the ranges.
The working sheep station, 37km from Hawker, has a range of accommodation and the luxury eco villas are the jewel in the crown. Fashioned out of hay bales and hooked up to solar power, the cluster of one- and two-bedroom retreats are dotted along a secluded ridge overlooking the southern flank of Wilpena Pound.
Huge wraparound balconies are ideal for watching the sunset, flushing Rawnsley Bluff with a palette of different hues.
The decor ushers in the outdoors, with modern earthy-coloured furnishings and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Our tour guide, Phil, a bush-based Steve Irwin, takes us on a rough-and-tumble 4WD tour for sunset cocktails, high up on a hill overlooking the Chace Range.
“When I see emus, I see dinner,” he laughs, while I – the city-slicker journalist – snap away at the wildlife with my iPhone.
Western grey and red kangaroos hop around us at dusk and Phil floors it up a near-vertical hill in a rush to make the evening show.
We are treated to canapes, sparkling wine and spectacular 360-degree views at the top as the sun sinks. It’s silent and special.
We make sure to save room for the sumptuous slow-cooked lamb with red wine jus at the station’s refurbished Woolshed restaurant, which is paired with delicious