HIGH END AT THE TOP END
High end at the top end - Luxury Travel Magazine
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High end at the top end | |||||
| By: Mike Grenby, Issue 48 – Spring 2011 | |||||
| Australia | |||||
| MIKE GRENBY TAKES A LUXURY PRIVATE SAFARI TO VISIT ARNHEM LAND’S WILDLIFE. BAMURRU PLAINS, Australia – It’s 6 a.m. and the buffalo are silently walking by our safari bungalow, one by one, following a narrow but well-marked path. A couple of wallabies are boxing; a wild horse is rubbing up against one of the bungalow’s poles. Each day we feel like we are an integral part of their animal kingdom, not just next to them: waking up with them, going to bed when they are ready for the night’s rest. No ringing phones, no bombarding emails, no loud TVs; we are totally connected with nature. Breakfast awaits in the lodge, then an airboat trip out over the wetlands and the Sampan River to get up close and personal with more of the 280 different birds, 28 mammals, eight frogs, 25 reptiles, 19 snakes and 26 common trees, shrubs and wildflowers here in Australia’s Top End. My research had turned up several options for a Top End trip, including Lord’s Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris with a six-night Luxury Safari Lodge tour for A$19,762.50. I checked around whether an all-inclusive A$3,000 a day was the going rate for a private safari. “Who are you going with?” asked the various industry people I contacted. When I replied, “Sab Lord, and we’re staying at Davidson’s and Bamurru,” the response was highly favourable. Sab took over the business from his dad and has maintained the contacts with local indigenous people that give a trip that extra depth. | |||||
| Day One: | |||||
| Sab picks us up and on the drive to the Adelaide River, he regales us with stories of his many international clients. And you don’t mess with Sab – even if you are paying A$3,000 a day. “An anthropologist from the US booked me for three weeks,” he said. “But when she started touching Aboriginal artifacts even though I’d told her specifically not to, I told her the trip was over and drove her back to Darwin.” The “snapping handbags” are in fine form on our Adelaide River cruise, with even the elusive five-metre old man of the river saltwater crocodile jumping to take the raw meat bait dangled over the side of the boat. | |||||
| Day Two: | |||||
| After a night in Jabiru in Kakadu National Park, we head into Arnhem Land for a picnic lunch we will never forget. Our guide, Isaiah, tells us the stories of his ancestors as he takes us to see amazing rock art. In the meantime, Sab has taken a short cut to carry the makings for a deluxe picnic 220 metres up to a lookout spot on Injalak Hill (Long Tom Dreaming). Shaded by the rock overhang, we gaze out at the view over the floodplains and around the escarpment while we feast on fresh rolls, salad vegs, cold cuts and fruit. He’s already back at the 4WD by the time we hike a longer route down, waiting with iced towels to wipe the sweat from our brows. | |||||
| Day Three: | |||||
| After our first night at Davidson’s Arnhemland Safaris, at Mt Borradaile, a registered Aboriginal sacred site nestled against the Arnhem Land escarpment, we visit an amazing Rainbow Serpent rock art site, meet the brightly orange-coloured Leichhardt’s grasshoppers quietly feasting on their favourite bush, and cruise local rivers and billabongs in a flat-bottomed boat. At one spot close to shore, Sab does his imitation of a buffalo calf in distress – which attracts several large buffalos. At another spot, he leaps on to a sand bar to catch a small crocodile for us but it slips into the water. We enjoy fishing even though the dozen barramundi we catch don’t quite measure up to keeper size. A sunset cruise provides a return visit to the thousands of magpie geese, whistling ducks and other wildlife. | |||||
| Days Four to Six: | |||||
| Now we are at Bamurru Plains, west of Kakadu on the Mary River floodplains, which definitely lives up to its “Wild Bush Luxury” name. We stay in one of the nine safari bungalows, whose walls are airy screens through which we see the buffalo, wallabies and brumbies. We explore the area; our airboat trips take us skimming over the wetlands, startling buffalo splashing frantically out of our path, and through myriad “fields” of waterlilies and big-leaved lotus plants in flower. Like Davidson’s, Bamurru’s accommodation has ensuite bathrooms, a szwimming pool and communal dining. Bamurru also features an open bar. We even get room service one night when my companion didn’t feel well, prompting Sab and Chef Mick to bring a four-course dinner to our bungalow. | |||||
| Day Seven | |||||
| comes all to soon as Sab delivers us back to Darwin. Was it worth the money? For the experience, for the memories, simply for Sab – definitely. For more information call Lord’s Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris on +61 8 8948 2200 or visit | |||||
| lords-safaris.com | |||||
| Rates | |||||
| Bamurru Plains accommodation starts at A$930 per person per night twin share. The minimum stay is two nights and rates include accommodation, meals, beverages and scheduled activities. Air and land transfer rates from Darwin Domestic Airport are available on request. | |||||
| bamurruplains.com | |||||
| Getting there | |||||
| Virgin Australia flies to Darwin daily from all Australian capital cities. Return economy fares start from A$316 and premium fares from A$1,158. virginaustralia.com.au | |||||
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