Luxury Adventure Starts Here

If you’d give up everything for a challenge – except your creature comforts – explore what’s on offer at the exclusive retreat of El Questro Wilderness Park. In August 2007, intrepid journalist Danielle McGrane did just that…and lived (in luxury) to tell the tale.

There's no way to sugarcoat it, the journey to Australia is long – but at no point after you step off the plane, feel the sun on your face and see the azure blue skies do you regret it.

I arrived in Kununurra airport in far North Western Australia, a place where arrivals and departures are written on a whiteboard with a marker, picked up my 4WD and set off into the Outback. Surrounding me on my journey were stretches of barren red earth, it was at this moment when it finally hit me that I was in the Kimberley Mountain Region, a world away from suburban Dublin.

Driving on the Gibb River Road leading to the Emma Gorge Resort at El Questro, I really didn't know what to expect. It was camping; I knew that, but my last camping experience was at some grubby music festival. So I was pleasantly surprised when, on arrival, I was led to a neat little chalet. My fears of roughing it were lessened once again by a gourmet meal of Szechuan Chicken at the decked outdoor restaurant.

Keen to experience this adventure holiday, Lara Croft-style, I took the advice of the staff about driving “at a good speed so you're skimming just on top of the gravel”, I took a jeep to the Township, the activities centre of El Questro. Boasting its own camping facilities (where people can actually stay in proper tents, not comfy versions like mine) this is a real family spot. With such a vast area of gorges, creeks, mountain ranges and valleys to explore, groups get their own ranger for guided tours and activities. Keith Primrose, a Perth man, takes our group along with Shane, an Aboriginal guide, off in a sturdy 4WD safari vehicle – a bit like sitting in an open air cage – to an incredible lookout point.

At the lookout point the view is spectacular. Surrounding mountains and valleys with names such as Cockburn Mountains, Pentecost River and Moonshine Gorge look like something straight out of The Flying Doctors.

The tour includes some ‘Bush Tucker’ and much to my delight, witchety grubs are off the menu! Instead, we feast on a flower called a kapok, which has a pleasant aniseed flavour and the nuts of the Boab tree which taste like condensed milk powder with a tangy aftertaste. How native Australians even discovered they could eat these things baffles me. “It was a process of trial and error” Keith explained, “but we also learnt a lot from watching what the animals did, and didn’t eat” Shane added.

Back at El Questro, after tucking into some delicious large scallops, it was time for bed, serenaded by the hypnotic sounds of the Cicadas. And it was just as well the beds were so comfortable because the next few days in El Questro were jam-packed with activities.

One morning, as I bemoaned the fact that the red earth had permeated every part of me, a trip to the Zebedee Springs seemed perfectly timed. A few blissful hours bathing in naturally hot water surrounded by palm fronds is the perfect antidote to four-wheel driving!

My ‘Action Woman’ pursuits had only just begun too because the next few days involved two impressive gorge walks – clambering over red rocks and negotiating sheer cliff drops is worth it when you're faced with a natural pool, complete with overhanging waterfall.

The pools with the unnerving possibilities of crocodiles are carefully marked, so there shouldn't be any unpleasant surprises, although it's the ‘salties’ (saltwater crocs) that are the dangerous ones. A large male can be 7.5 metres long and extremely territorial. The freshwater, or 'friendly', crocodiles are smaller at about 2.5 metres and feed on fish and frogs. They don't have the teeth to attack mammals but I still wasn’t keen to test this theory.

El Questro has a great habit of mixing the rough with the smooth, after the walks there was a cruise up Chamberlain Gorge. Drinking champagne on a boat under the inquisitive gaze of rock wallabies and fairymartin swallows is the best way to enjoy this 150km long river gorge.

During the wet season, when the water rises 30 metres,El Questro closes and the ninety staff on the property is reduced to seven caretakers. The flooding is so severe that roads in and out of the property are blocked off and food and supplies have to be airlifted in. All the staff are completely besotted with the million acre property, camping on their days off in never-before explored areas to see as much as possible during their seven months there (El Questro is only open from April until the end of October every year).

There are three types of accommodation on the property: the Emma Gorge tented cabins (chalets), camping facilities and bungalows at the Township and then the luxurious Lodge. One of Kylie Minogue's favourite haunts, and popular with members of the Aussie cricket team, the Lodge houses just 12 guests and includes a chef who’s on call at all times, for the ultimate in private luxury.

On my last morning in El Questro I took a helicopter ride to take in the breathtaking views of the rivers and valleys. No doors on the aircraft means the picture taking opportunities are fantastic, but the fear factor is high.

OK, maybe Lara Croft was a bit of an exaggeration, but if you want adventure you will find it at El Questro, with a dash of champagne to wash it down. It's ready and waiting for all those budding Crocodile Dundees who, nevertheless, want to come home in one piece. And, yes, it's worth the long journey to Australia.

Danielle McGrane is an Irish travel and features writer contributing to The Irish Mail on Sunday and The Irish Daily Mail, and has recently taken up the post of Deputy Editor with the Wicklow News.

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For more information on how to combine your own luxury Voyages properties call one of our Austravel Designers today.