"Set the scene Set in the shadow of Mount Mulligan–a sandstone monolith 10 times the size of Uluru –on a 70,000 acre working cattle station in remote Far North Queensland, it’s the sort of place that inspires outback fantasies. What’s the backstory? This is the third lodge and the missing link for the Northern Escape Collection, a family-owned group that owns high-end lodges in Queensland’s most coveted natural corners: rainforest (Daintree Ecolodge), reef (Orpheus Island Lodge), and now the outback. It may feel like being in the middle of a vast nothingness, but there’s significant history etched into this rambling patch of landscape. It has been occupied for some 37,000 years, and the Mount Mulligan township, which boomed on the back of the gold and coal rush in the 1920s, is now a relic town. The few hundred locals dispersed when the mine shut in 1957, but the bones of a few buildings remain as a reminder of a once working community. Mount Mulligan Lodge opened in 2019 and is now in its new pastoral era as a cattle station and beautiful lodge allowing guests to partake in the going ons of a working farm. What can we expect in our room? All eight bedrooms, spread across four pavilions, offer a super-preened take on the quintessential Australian farmhouse, with iron roofs and timber verandas. Inside, it’s modern and handsome with chestnut tones and dark green timber finishes, butter-soft leather and generous brass and stone bathrooms. The sliding doors lead to private decks with deep corrugated iron bathtubs that look like old abandoned water tanks, overlooking the eucalyptus-fringed weir and beyond to Mount Mulligan. Each room gets its own electric buggy to whizz around the property. There’s no Wi-Fi in the rooms and that is intentional—this is meant to be a switched-off experience—though digital diehards can wander to the main pavilion to connect. How about the food and drink? Everything is included and emphasis is placed on local ingredients with 80 percent of the produce from the region and lots of wonderful Australian ingredients like wattle seed, finger limes, kangaroo, and even Vegemite on the menu. For supper, guests can choose to dine under the stars, by campfire or in the main pavilion. There’s also a huge variety of mostly Australian wine and spirits. If you choose to do excursions during the day, there will be picnics with homemade scones, jams, and just-warmed pastries. What’s the crowd like? With a maximum of 16 guests at one time, you may not see any other people. It’s not unusual for visitors to be doing two if not all three lodges in the Northern Escape Collection and you might even find that some have flown in on their own helicopter. What’s the neighborhood scene like? It sort of goes without saying that there isn’t one, but oh, the surroundings. They root you so firmly in your destination, the almost incalculable miles of eucalyptus forest… It’s a little head-spinning in fact, the sheer expanse of burnt-orange sandstone mixed with the endless scrubby green trees can feel a little overwhelming at first, but you quickly get used to the cosmos-like space. The difficult part is coming home, anywhere else feels slightly suffocating after a spell in the outback. Prepare for your street to look like toy-town in comparison. Anything to say about the service? Multi-talented. The small team is hands-on and are part ranger, part concierge, and part waitstaff. You can be on a cattle muster and served canapes by the same person on the same day. The staff all live on site so this is a lifestyle, not simply a day job, and you can feel that energy with everything they do. Anything else to add? Activities like cattle mustering, fishing, hiking, four-wheel driving, and scenic helicopter flights may be the draw card, but don’t miss spending a couple of hours by the pool doing nothing. Anything you’d change? A spa would be a welcome addition. Is it worth it? Yes. The Australian outback is hard to reach and few people have traveled it, so it feels like a privilege." - Chloe Sachdev
