SKY SAFARI
Sky Safari - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Sky Safari | |||||
| By: Michael Gebicki, Issue 26 - Autumn 2006 | |||||
| (Northern Territory, Australia) | |||||
| SOME OF THE MOST REMOTE AND EXTRAORDINARY LOCATIONS ON EARTH CAN NOW BE EXPERIENCED FROM ABOVE ON A TRULY LUXURIOUS, PRIVATE TAILOR-MADE HELICOPTER TOUR. | |||||
| The journey from Darwin to Broome is one of the greatest of all Australian adventures. By any number of yardsticks – wildlife, rock art, fishing, the sheer overwhelming grandeur of the landscape – this is one of the Earth’s special places. However there’s also a problem. It’s about as accessible as the dark side of the moon. Even with a four-wheel drive and a month to spare, there are many highlights that you won’t get to see. But there’s a solution hovering in the wings – literally. A small number of commercial helicopter operators have begun helicopter safaris in this region, hopping clients from one stupendous overnight location to the next – and taking in some jaw-dropping scenery along the way. For keen photographers especially, the chance to hover above the Bungle Bungles in the early morning light to get the perfect shot – or zoom in low on a five-metre croc – is absolutely priceless. Itineraries are one-off, tailor-made to suit clients’ exact requirements. It’s also fast. Helicopters cruise at around 130 knots – about 240 kilometres per hour – which means you can gallop when you need to. But the trip is not for everyone. Some nights you’ll sleep in luxury, some in a tent with the rustle of canvas and the crooning of dingoes; but all have some thing that sets them apart. If you want to experience something remarkable, climb aboard, strap yourself in, slip on the headset while the turbine warms up and let magic happen. | |||||
| Day 1 Darwin to Mount Borradaile Flying time: about 90 minutes. | |||||
| The first leg of the journey involves an easterly detour, but it’s worth it. Mount Borradaile is one of Australia’s wildlife and Aboriginal art wonders. The flight takes you along the coast, across the wetlands and open savannah of Kakadu National Park. At chopper altitude you might spot some crocs lurking in the wetlands, and keep an eye out for brolgas and jabirus. Time it right and you’ll arrive for the late-afternoon champagne cruise on Cooper Creek, the main artery of Mount Borradaile. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in Australia. Brolgas, crocodiles, sea eagles, egrets, jacanas, freshwater crocodiles, monitor lizards, jabirus, black cockatoos – Cooper Creek is an open-air zoo, a roll-call of Australia’s bird and reptile species with the emphasis on the exotic. Located just across the East Alligator River from Kakadu, Mount Borradaile is a safari camp operated by ex-buffalo hunter Max Davidson on land that he leases from the Ulba Bunidj clan. While Mount Borradaile’s wildlife, waterfalls, rock-hole swimming pools and barramundi fishing all rate as sensational or better, it’s the Aboriginal presence that dazzles. The low, weathered sandstone outcrops that dot the plains of Mount Borradaile are honeycombed with caves that once provided shelter for the Aboriginal people of the region. Where they camped, they painted the walls with ochre and white clay, creating galleries of art that date back 60,000 years – the longest continual chain of creative expression anywhere on Earth. Accommodation is in screened tents with fans. There are hot showers and everything is included – all meals and transport, guides, wildlife galore, unsurpassable barramundi fishing and probably the world’s finest outdoor gallery of primitive art. Spend a second night at Mount Borradaile. | |||||
| Day 3 Mount Borradaile to Bullo River Station. Flying time: about four hours. | |||||
| Fly south over the stone country of southern Arnhem Land to Bullo River Station, a 200,000-hectare cattle station at the northwest corner of the Northern Territory. Bullo is owned and operated by two remarkable people, Marlee Ranacher and her husband, Franz. Marlee is the eldest daughter of Sara Henderson, the acclaimed author, and it was Bullo that provided the inspiration for her writing. Staying with Marlee and Franz in the guest wing to one side of their homestead is a rare opportunity to experience life, work and play on a cattle station on the thirsty plains of the Top End. Except when safety dictates otherwise, guests are welcome to take a front-seat view on station activities, anything from mustering work to branding of cattle in the yard – a fascinating insight into a very different way of life. Stay a second night at Bullo River Station. | |||||
| Day 5 Bullo to El Questro via the Bungle Bungle Range. Flying time: about six hours. | |||||
| An early-morning flight will take you across the town of Kununurra, over the luminous expanse of Lake Argyle and south to the Bungle Bungle Range, one of the supreme wonders of the Outback. Erupting from the flat desert landscape, these ancient, weathered sandstone domes are striped with alternate bands of orange silica and black lichen, and clumped together like a hive full of bumble bees, heads down in the honeycomb. The Bungle Bungle Range cries out for exploration at ground level, but it’s only from the air that you get a sense of its sheer scale. After exploring the Bungles, turn northwest to El mQuestro and spend two nights at the Homestead. Perched on the edge of the Chamberlain River Gorge, this is a touch of silk, a chance to wash off the dust, sip cocktails under the palm trees while the setting sun ignites the river below, and sit down to a gourmet dinner prepared by the homestead’s own chef. This 400,000-hectare cattle station is a showcase for all the Kimberley has to offer – and if you want to experience the awesome majesty of the Kimberley cocooned in a serene, luxurious oasis, nowhere else beats El Questro Homestead. There’s plenty to do here, but don’t miss Zebedee Springs, where mossy rocks form a series of natural swimming pools. You deserve a second night here. Enjoy. | |||||
| Day 7 El Questro to Kimberley Coastal Camp Flying time: about three hours. | |||||
| This leg of the journey takes you northwest, to the Kimberley coast and one of the most intriguing small lodges in the country. Just above the high-tide mark on the eastern shores of Admiralty Gulf and accessible only by helicopter, Kimberley Coastal Camp is a scattering of gazebos and open sided pavilions set among red rocks and spinifex. Amenities fall somewhere short of luxury, although corrugated iron, shells, driftwood, miscellaneous ironmongery and fishing tackle are combined to create something far more chic than the sum of their individual parts. And the camp’s natural credentials are five-star. In the sandstone overhangs around the camp are some exquisite examples of Bradshaw art. Dating back around 30,000 years, these fluid, stylised figures are one of the great enigmas of Kimberley art, suggesting a culture of leisure and sophistication – which only increases the potent spell that these works cast. Presiding over this engaging and eccentric Gilligan’s Island is the affable Rocky Terry, who lives to fish and, for the duration, so will you. Although it is possible to visit Kimberley Coastal Camp and not fish – and there are many other persuasive reasons to go there – this is probably one of the hottest fishing spots on the entire coast, a name whispered reverently among the cognoscenti of the piscatorial world. The gulf is legendary for its barramundi, which run strong in April and May, at the end of the run-off. At other times of the year there are fingermark, mangrove jack, tuna, barracuda, giant trevally, coral trout and shark, and plenty of mud crabs among the mangroves. Since you’ve got a helicopter at your disposal, don’t miss the chance to visit Mitchell Falls, one of the sublime wonders of the Kimberley coast. Two nights is the bare minimum at Kimberley Coastal Camp. Plan three and you’ll thank me. | |||||
| Days 9 and 10 Kimberley Coastal Camp to Broome via the Buccaneer Archipelago Flying time: about six hours. | |||||
| Get set for a blockbuster day. The Kimberley coastline is mind-blowing, a wild kingdom of waterfalls that plunge straight into the sea, crystalline beaches with sea-turtle tracks etched in the sand and basking crocs and sharks – and today gives you a chance to explore, following some of the rivers upstream to waterfalls where few have ever gone before. A highlight is King Cascades on the Prince Regent River, one of the loveliest sights along the entire Kimberley coast. North of Derby, sandstone hills creep into the sea to become a mosaic of islands. This is the Buccaneer Archipelago, one of Australia’s lost corners – a thousand palmy islands set in tropical seas. Yet despite their white sandy beaches and the coral that freckles their bays, these islands are far from inviting. The tide can rise by 12 metres, creating whirlpools and such amazing phenomena as the horizontal waterfall in Talbot Bay, caused when the water flows through a narrow slot between two islands. There’s no fresh water, and the sea is filled with species higher up the food chain than you are, which will not hesitate to make a meal of you if you so much as dip a toe in the water. Your destination is Broome, where you’ll be recovering from your adventures in McAlpine House, with its timber pavilions or the upmarket Cable Beach Club Resort. Savour this. Watch the sunset from Cable Beach, take in an outdoor movie at Sun Pictures or, better still, buy yourself a pearl, a small treasure to celebrate a journey that is itself a treasure. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| - Outback Encounter in South Australia specializes in itineraries in remarkable parts of Australia. Details, (08) 8354 4405, www.outbackencounter.com. - Helicopter operating costs are extremely high, and for two, the price is close to $30,000 per person. However, for four, the cost drops dramatically, to about $17,000 per person. - Australian Tourism and Promotions custom make flying and cruising tours to the Kimberleys and Northern Territory, 1300 133 822. | |||||
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