Meaningful, authentic and exclusive experiences crafted and hosted by local experts, allow guests to really get under the skin of a place and explore the homegrown identity behind the Luxury Lodges of Australia’s remote regions.
Guests frequently have an element of exclusivity of access to many of the great characters of the region. The true luxury and privilege of these local connections is in experiencing a home away from home. Warm, welcoming and laid-back Australian hospitality with informative activities and personalised experiences. Meet a few of Our Storytellers.
Mark Godbeer | Executive Chef, Silky Oaks Lodge
After training in a Michelin-starred restaurant in England, and years spent travelling the world as a chef on luxury yachts and at Uluru’s Longitude 131°, South African born Mark Godbeer fell in love with Tropical North Queensland. Today, the Executive Chef of Silky Oaks Lodge channels the resourcefulness he developed cooking in remote locations into delivering guests a dining experience that’s as extraordinary as the environment it is created in.
Mark is a self-described “mad scientist”, with a reputation for experimental use of native Australian ingredients (many of which his guests have never tasted before). Fostering strong ties with surrounding communities, Mark makes use of local produce: a remarkable Mt Uncle gin from the nearby Atherton Tablelands, for example, stars in a beetroot and gin-cured salmon, which is paired with salmon caviar, yuzu gel and coconut aioli. Mark’s passion for sharing these native flavours extends beyond the kitchen. His latest project is an ambitious kitchen garden, where guests can familiarise themselves with uniquely Australian flavours such as Davidson’s plums and lemon myrtle, and see tropical ingredients such as vanilla, cocoa beans, papaya and finger limes grown at the source.
Louise Lanyon | General Manager, Longitude 131°
Louise Lanyon has always lived and worked in remote parts of Australia. She met her husband, Ben, on Dunk Island on the Great Barrier Reef and the two of them have worked together in some of Australia’s most gorgeous places. After helping open Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, they now manage Longitude 131°, a luxury safari-style lodge overlooking World Heritage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia’s Red Centre. “Staying at Longitude 131°, with its dress-circle view of Uluru, is really an immersive experience,” says Louise. “From our guided walks around Uluru to the sundowner drinks at a waterhole and open-air bush-food-inspired dining experience, complete with Dreamtime stories and stargazing, we seek to interpret the world’s oldest living culture in one of the oldest landscapes on earth.”
Louise is particularly excited about Longitude’s partnership with Ernabella Arts, a remote Indigenous arts centre. “We finance their ceramics kilns, showcase artwork and sponsor an artist-in-residence program at the lodge,” she says. “I can even arrange for guests to fly out to Ernabella for a personal connection with the artists. We’re proud to help economically empower such a remote community, whose work we have now sold to guests from around the world.”
Mick Quilliam | Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist & Tour Guide, Saffire Freycinet
Tasmanian Aboriginal artist and tour guide Mick Quilliam offers a fascinating Connection to Country tour from luxury lodge Saffire Freycinet on the stunning east coast of Tasmania. Growing up in Hobart, Mick was lucky enough to have a grandfather who taught him about the bush. After his grandfather died, Mick “went off the rails” and found himself in jail – and that’s when he began to connect more deeply with his heritage. “I started painting, and that helped connect me to my culture,” says Mick. “Now, through my tours at Saffire Freycinet, I have another powerful way to explain the importance of my connection to the land as a Palawa man, respecting the past and moving forward.”
After connecting with his Tasmanian Aboriginal heritage, Mick did extensive historical research which informs and enlivens his two-hour Connection to Country walking tour. He explains to guests how his ancestors made string from bulrushes and rope from bark, how they built canoes and made fish traps and timber traps for ducks. And he shows them which plants are edible and which were used for soap, tea and insect repellent. He also tells stories about how Aboriginal Australians grew their own special wheat that only needed rain once a year and how they kept warm with hats and cloaks made from possum fur. “Tasmanian Aboriginals certainly weren’t running around naked all the time, which is the popular misconception. It was too cold,” he says, laughing.
Chris | Master Skipper, Marine Guide & Dive Instructor, Lizard Island
As a master skipper, marine guide, dive instructor and self-described storyteller at the luxury Lizard Island resort, Chris Fitzgerald gets to explore some of the most spectacular, relatively untouched parts of Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef for a living. On any given day, Chris may take guests out to see green turtles residing around this remote island at the far northern end of the reef or lead a nature walk through mangrove swamps, grass meadows and beaches. He may helm a cruise around the island, sharing stories of its topography and the history of its Traditional Owners, or he may guide a snorkelling expedition. But what he loves most is taking guests diving, dispelling misconceptions about the health of the reef while inspiring educated interest and care for its protection.
“My favourite experience is to visit the outer barrier reef, where we have famous dive sites like the Cod Hole, and show guests vast, beautiful coral that’s still in pristine condition, and all the marine life that thrives around it,” says Chris. “It blows people away. It also instils a passion in them when they understand that yes, there are parts of the reef that are under severe stress. It makes them want to help protect it.” And when guests return to their everyday lives, Chris says there’s plenty they can do: “They can share holiday stories of their amazing firsthand experiences of the reef, whether based on factual insights and new knowledge of the complexity of the reef and the challenges it faces, or day-to-day things like reducing their carbon footprint or thinking about water quality and wastewater.”
To meet other Luxury Lodges of Australia storytellers and discover why they are the glue that binds the Luxury Lodges of Australia to their remote and remarkable locations, visit.
