In the modern world, truly dark skies are a rarity. Carrie Hutchinson for Gourmet Traveller discovers that it’s the reason more travellers are seeking out places where the stars seem within reach.
“Western Australia’s remoteness – 80 per cent of the state’s residents live in Perth – offers remarkable night-sky tourism opportunities, but the skies are big and dark elsewhere, too. Each Luxury Lodges of Australia property has a stargazing experience, from Constellations by Campfire at Spicers Peak Lodge to Dining under the Stars on Orpheus Island.
“My approach with the luxury lodges has always been, ‘Well, you don’t need to wait to 2029 to see an asteroid fly past,’” says the company’s executive chair Penny Rafferty. “Every night in these places, the sky is phenomenal.”
Some lodges now include an Indigenous element in their stargazing programs. Pretty Beach House, north of Sydney, collaborates with Girra Girra Aboriginal Experiences for its Dark Sky Storytelling Tour, while cultural stories are shared at Longitude 131°’s outdoor dining experience.
“We talk about luxury being rarity of access, not just to place but also to the knowledge that goes with it,” Rafferty continues. “This is learning in a beautiful way, along with access to these incredible locations that offer a bird’s-eye view of the night sky.”
She remembers a night at Bullo River Station in the Northern Territory, where staff member Ben Cook pointed out the Southern Cross. “The sky was just this carpet of velvet,” she says, “and there was the feeling you could reach up and almost touch the stars.”
Read the article in Gourmet Traveller.
