By Neena Bhandari

Australia is known for its ‘rough around the edges’ vibe, often evoking images of rugged landscapes and a host of unique—almost prehistoric—creatures and creepy-crawlies. But tucked amidst unique landscapes—from the World Heritage-listed rainforests and reefs to pristine coastal destinations and the vast, wild outback—are some of the world’s premier eco-lodges that allow you to enjoy the country’s natural wonders without having to rough it out.

Though equipped with plenty of bells and whistles, these luxury eco-lodges adhere to the highest sustainable standards, allowing you to indulge guilt-free. The limit imposed on the number of guests they are willing to accommodate at a time allows one visual and acoustic privacy and a chance to peacefully interact with nature.

At the Silky Oaks Lodge located on the banks of the Mossman River amidst 88 acres of tropical rainforest in Far North Queensland, the 45 elegant tree-houses and suites exist in complete harmony with their surrounds. Incorporating custom designed furniture made from local, sustainable timber, open plan living areas with daybed and hammocks on large balconies, they offer a tranquil escape. Here, guests wake up to the symphony of birdsongs and they are lulled to sleep by the soothing sounds of the cascading river.

A 30-minute drive from Port Douglas or an hour’s drive from Cairns international airport, the Lodge is a good base to explore the World Heritage Listed Daintree National Park (world’s oldest living rainforest) and the Great Barrier Reef. Guests can also enjoy swimming, kayaking and canoeing on the river; self-guided walks through the rainforest or take a mountain bike ride to Mossman Gorge, a significant Aboriginal site providing insight into the lives, culture and beliefs of the indigenous Kuku Yalanji people. The Lodge has its own helipad for guests who may prefer their own private tour of the Great Barrier Reef and remote coral cays.

As Paul Van Min, Managing Director of the Lodge says, “Australia is not just an outback barbecue destination. Luxury eco-lodges are raising the bar”.

The Lodge has a Healing Waters Spa, where guests can indulge in signature treatments designed to harness the power of nature through the use of clays from the earth, and flower and plant essences. The main attraction is the semi-open fine dining Treehouse Restaurant, perched amongst the rainforest overlooking the river, where guests are treated to a lavish spread inspired by seasonal local Tropical flavours. The Lodge abides by a stringent Integrated Environmental System ensuring that the long term impact of tourism on the local environment is zero.

Unwired, these abodes of peace and quietude provide guests an opportunity to connect with nature and oneself. In the World Heritage listed Greater Blue Mountains region, a scenic 2.5 hour drive from Sydney [New South Wales], is Australia’s first carbon-neutral resort – Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley. It has 36 Heritage suites (twin share) boasting their own indoor/outdoor swimming pool, three Wollemi Suites (that sleep up to four guests), and the Wolgan Suite (that sleeps up to 6 guests) with a wrap-around veranda and a swimming pool built into the deck.

The resort, formerly a grazing property, sits on 7000 acres on Australia’s Great Dividing Range between the Wollemi National Park and the Gardens of Stone National Park, home to over 1,500 species of flora and fauna, including the Spotted Tail Quoll, Diamond Firetail Finch, the Powerful Owl and Australia’s iconic wombats.

Here, guests are encouraged to participate in conservation experiences such as creating nesting boxes for birds, possums and gliders, tree planting to bird watching. It is an ideal getaway for nature walks amidst the Wollemi pines, one of the world’s oldest and rarest trees, or take a guided nocturnal night safari or mountain biking or an Aboriginal interpretive tour. The resort also has a well-equipped stable.

The epicentre of the resort’s heritage is the original 1832 heritage homestead, which offers an exclusive dining experience. Gourmet meals are prepared with produce sourced from within a 160 km radius, thereby reducing the carbon footprint.

From mountains to one of the world’s most scenic coastal touring routes, the Great Ocean Road, visitors will discover The Great Ocean Ecolodge that has taken ecotourism to a new level.

Built with minimal environmental impact design, materials and technologies by the Conservation Ecology Centre (CEC), the Ecolodge, adjoining the Great Otway National Park in the southern Australian state of Victoria, is an ideal place to immerse in nature against a backdrop of sustainable comfort and spectacular scenery.

While the Ecolodge does not offer spa baths or fine dining – you will not even find a television in the bedroom, there is no compromise with comfort. One can enjoy hot showers of pure rainwater warmed with solar energy and fresh organic food from the kitchen gardens. It is a place, where visitors can watch kangaroos grazing the lawns outside the bedroom window, koalas dozing in the trees and encounter the endangered Tiger Quolls. With only five bedrooms, it can be a very personal experience.

All profits generated by the Ecolodge support the CEC programmes, such as the Endangered Species Surveillance Network and the Great Ocean Road Koala Habitat Rescue Programmes. Besides financial support, visitors can participate in ecological monitoring and habitat restoration projects. “Many of our guests have become long term supporters of our work and life-time partners on the conservation journey”, says Chief Executive of CEC, Lizzie Corke.

The Ecolodge makes one realise that it is possible to live in comfort and yet in harmony with nature. Perhaps, that is the ultimate luxury.

The ethos of these lodges has been to embrace the environment, even where nature has been unforgiving. The Rawnsley Park Station in South Australia, 430 kilometres north of the state capital Adelaide, is the place to be if one is seeking indulgence in the Outback.

Fourth-generation sheep farmer Tony Smith and his wife, Julie, have converted their nineteenth century 3000-hectare sheep property into a sustainable resort. It offers eight self-contained eco-villas (6 single bedroom and 2 two bedroom) strategically built on a secluded ridgeline amidst native pines, providing sublime vistas of the oxidised sandstone cliffs of Wilpena Pound and the rugged mountains and gorges of the Flinders Ranges.

Each villa has high ceilings and long verandas, concrete-slab floors and straw bale walls, which work as natural air-conditioners. Designed to blend in with the natural landscape, the villas have their own rainwater tank for drinking water, and fully equipped kitchen and laundry facilities. For dining, the Woolshed Restaurant on the station caters modern country fusion cuisine.

The most innovative and distinct feature is the electronic remote-controlled retractable fabric ceiling and roof skylights in the bedroom that enable guests to enjoy the starlit night sky from the comfort of their bed.

Visitors can enjoy guided bushwalks, sheep shearing demonstrations, horse riding, scenic flights or four wheel drive tours to explore the Flingers Ranges National Park, world-renowned for its geological history, Aboriginal rock art and fossil remains, and native wildlife such as the kangaroos, emus, the yellow-footed rock wallaby, and the wedge-tailed eagles.

Australia’s landscape is one of the oldest and its flora and fauna have evolved in isolation for 45 million years. It is home to more than 20,000 plant species and 2,300 animal and bird species, including the kangaroo, wallaby, koala, wombat, echidna, platypus, emu, galah, cockatoos and the iconic kookaburra.

The luxury eco-lodges provide an opportunity to be one with nature and marvel at its wonders. Here, men and animals are not vying for space as in most other parts of the world.

http://www.silkyoakslodge.com.au/

http://www.oneandonlyresorts.com/oneandonly-wolgan-valley.aspx

http://www.greatoceanecolodge.com/

http://www.rawnsleypark.com.au/

Published in JetWings International December 2015.

© Copyright Neena Bhandari. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article.