FAIR DINKUM AUSTRALIA
Whether you prefer a tent, backpack or a luxury cruise, here are three great ways to get off the island and spend some time in nature interstate.
Glass House Mountains Ecolodge, Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Named by Captain Cook, who thought the jagged rock peaks resembled the glass furnaces of Yorkshire, the Glass House Mountains are one of the Sunshine Coast’s most distinctive landmarks. Surrounded by rainforest, the Glass House Mountains Ecolodge — a former soldier-settler pineapple farm — is at the foot of Mt Tibrogargan.
Accommodation ranges from motel-style rooms, a self-contained bungalow and a restored 125-year-old church to two restored train carriages. The orchard has more than 60 tropical fruit trees and you can help yourself to anything ripe. A continental breakfast with fruit from the garden is served on the deck beside the dining train but, other than that, it’s cook your own or head to one of the local eateries.
Short walking trails on the property include a bush-tucker rainforest track, art walk and a hide-and-seek trail for kids.
Australia Zoo is a 10-minute drive up the road, the Glass House Mountains National Park is on the doorstep and the hinterland villages (Maleny, Montville, Mapleton) and beaches of the Sunshine Coast are all in a half-hour drive.
The ecolodge is at 98 Barrs Rd, Glass House Mountains, about 70km north of Brisbane. How much? Midweek getaway from $128 a night per couple. When to go? Any time. Winter’s drier.
Coongie Lakes, SA
Waterfront camping and birdwatching in the Strzelecki Desert
Outback lakes in Central Australia are ephemeral. More often than not, they are dry or have turned to salt. Not so Coongie Lakes, two hours down a corrugated 4WD track from Innamincka in northeastern South Australia.
Surrounded by the blood-red dunes of the Strzelecki Desert, this astonishing wetland rarely runs dry. More than just one vast body of water, Coongie Lakes are part of the floodplain of Cooper Creek, one of the world’s largest rivers still in a natural state, and one of Australia’s most historic. Explorers Burke and Wills perished on its banks in 1861.
The channels, waterholes, lakes, lagoon and swamps attract waterbirds, sometimes in migratory flocks of up to 70,000. The 200 bird species include pelicans, cormorants, herons, ibis, spoonbills, ducks and waders. The almost-permanent water supply also attracts red kangaroos, turtles, water rats, dingoes and a few feral ones such as camels. The lake is an important place for the Yandruwandha and Yawarrawarrka people and is rich in sacred sites.
Getting to Coongie is half the adventure. First you need to get to Innamincka, via tracks that snake across the desert landscape. From Innamincka it will take about two hours to negotiate the 4WD track to Coongie Lakes, much of it following Cooper Creek. It’s worth the trek. Every campsite is a waterfront one. There are no facilities or toilets – you’ll need to be totally self-sufficient with drinking water and use a fuel stove, as no campfires are allowed.
Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park is 100km northwest of Innamincka, 1100km northeast of Adelaide. Access is 4WD only. Book your site before you go at environment.sa.gov.au, check part closures before setting out and check road conditions on 1300 361 033. How much? From $12 per campsite per night. When to go? Best time is winter.
True North, WA
Cruise the Kimberley Coast aboard a luxury expedition vessel
The Kimberley Coast is wild and remote. Beyond Broome, Derby and Wyndham, there are no proper roads to the coast so the best way to explore the coast is by sea. Expedition cruise company True North Adventure Cruises specialises in Kimberley cruising on the coast between Broome and Wyndham. For spots that even the Truth North can’t reach there is a flotilla of six small adventure boats and a helicopter. You cruise red rocky escarpments, swim in plunge pools beneath waterfalls so secret they are not even on the map and visit rock-art galleries inaccessible by land.
Itineraries are activitybased, with fishing, mud crabbing, hiking, scenic tours, remote picnics and flying above waterfalls in your private helicopter.
The True North carries just 36 guests in 18 cabins, along with a crew of 22, including six tour guides led by the ship’s biologist. Cabins have ensuites, satellite phones and TVs. Soak in the views on the sundeck, forward observation lounge, ship’s lounge and an alfresco bar.
Cruises depart Broome (2.5-hour flight north of Perth) and Wyndham, 101km north-west of Kununurra (an hour flight from Darwin). Transfers to and from Kununurra airport or accommodation are included. How much? The 8-day Kimberley Snapshot cruise costs from $14,595 per person. When to go? March to September.
These are edited extracts from Best Nature Escapes, Hardie Grant, $39.99