Outback stations in Australia: Amazing outback properties where you can stay overnight

By Lee Atkinson
Updated January 26 2017 - 11:13am, first published January 22 2017 - 12:15am
Wrens Gorge one of the many swimming spots along the Munja Track. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Wrens Gorge one of the many swimming spots along the Munja Track. Photo: Lee Atkinson
The Painted Desert is at its most spectacular at sunrise and at sunset. Photo: Lee Atkinson
The Painted Desert is at its most spectacular at sunrise and at sunset. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Wunnamurra Gorge is one of half-a-dozen swimming holes on Mt Elizabeth Station. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Wunnamurra Gorge is one of half-a-dozen swimming holes on Mt Elizabeth Station. Photo: Lee Atkinson
The Lorella Springs cattle station is criss-crossed with a network of 4WD tracks that lead to rivers, billabongs, swimming holes, gorges and swamps.  Photo: Lee Atkinson
The Lorella Springs cattle station is criss-crossed with a network of 4WD tracks that lead to rivers, billabongs, swimming holes, gorges and swamps. Photo: Lee Atkinson
The Painted Desert is just 11 kilometres from Arckaringa Station. Photo: Lee Atkinson
The Painted Desert is just 11 kilometres from Arckaringa Station. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Bamurru Plains is a stylish safari camp on the edge of Kakadu. Photo: Supplied
Bamurru Plains is a stylish safari camp on the edge of Kakadu. Photo: Supplied
Grevillea Gorge is one of the must-see spots at Charnley River Station. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Grevillea Gorge is one of the must-see spots at Charnley River Station. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Wooleen Station has campgrounds on the banks of the Murchison River. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Wooleen Station has campgrounds on the banks of the Murchison River. Photo: Lee Atkinson
Bamurru Plains has a tree-top bird hide you can sleep in. Photo: Supplied
Bamurru Plains has a tree-top bird hide you can sleep in. Photo: Supplied

It was an Indiana Jones moment. We'd been swimming in a pool beneath a waterfall in a little-visited corner of the Kimberley, down a remote 4WD track so rough and rutted that we'd almost given up. Now, barefoot and dripping, we were rockhopping along the river bank, clinging to the side of the gorge, when we rounded a bend to find a rocky overhang covered with images of sacred Wandjina figures, the wide-eyed, lightning-crowned spirits that control the weather and created the landscape of the far north-west. The ancient artwork was so vibrant and alive it looked as if it been painted yesterday, the power emanating from the paintings almost palpable, but what made it truly extraordinary was that there were no signposts to get here, no track, not even a dusty footprint, other than our own wet ones, and not another soul in sight. It really is true: the things you discover on your own are always the most exciting.

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