Northern Territory

Bullo River Station

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There are clear nights and then there are the clear, starry nights at Bullo River Station (hotel.qantas.com.au/bulloriver station), a 202,000-hectare cattle property three hours drive from Kununurra across the border in Western Australia. Here, the night sky looks like someone upended a bottle of black ink before sprinkling it with handfuls of glitter. Something about this raw stillness lures kids away from their screens and most nights you’ll see guests at the homestead gathered around the campfire roasting marshmallows or playing games of chasey beneath the Milky Way.

But as magical as Bullo River Station is for children, for adults it feels like another dimension altogether. The guest quarters were designed by Sibella Court and brim with country-luxe touches such as wrought-iron king-sized beds in the 12 rooms, plus cabinets of curios, like crocodile skulls and boab seeds, and fridges stocked with drinks and homemade biscuits in the lounge. Tailored, private-dining-style meals are served at the campfire or in a cabana near the pale-green pool and often feature the property’s own beef, as well as a constant flow of wine and cocktails.

Days are spent immersed in the Territory’s rugged beauty: take a helicopter flight to picnic on a rocky outcrop in the outback, appreciate ancient Aboriginal rock art or fish for barra in the Bullo River, keeping an eye out for crocs, who are just as keen on the fish.

And those dark, still nights? It’s all about being pampered beneath shimmering stars. “People get dirty and dusty,” says Janine Carter from The Landsmith Collection, the group behind the homestead. “Then they clean up and relax in comfort as one of the family.”