Pelorus Private Island rental on the Great Barrier Reef
This one comes with a butler, smart bungalow and activities team. It might be the splashiest new holiday home in the country.
No man is an island – but he can soon rent one on the Great Barrier Reef and lord it over everyone else. Launching this summer is Pelorus Private Island, a sultry hideaway promising serenity, exclusivity and rarefied digs for affluent travellers.
If privacy is the new luxury, then occupying your own coral-fringed casa might be the ultimate status symbol. Pelorus, which lies 15 kilometres off the Queensland coast between Townsville and Cairns in the Palm archipelago, will debut a single sprawling residence in November. The holiday abode comes with four suites, chef-prepared meals and a support staff that includes a butler, manager and experiences team.
The price? $20,000 per night with a three-night minimum stay.
“The intimate dwelling is best shared with family and friends looking for a truly memorable getaway on the reef,” says Chris Morris, executive chairman of Northern Escape Collection. Morris, the founder of share registry Computershare, is a travel titan with a portfolio of luminous resorts. The NEC group includes Mount Mulligan Lodge in the Queensland outback, Beechmont Estate in the Scenic Rim and nearby Orpheus Island Lodge.
Well-heeled wayfarers have long gravitated to the reef’s toniest resorts, including Bedarra and Qualia, where a single night’s stay is upwards of $1000. At Haggerstone Island, cashed-up lodgers can “buy out” all five rustic villas for around $7000 per night. Last year, The House at Lizard Island appeared on a granite bluff, a brutalist edifice designed for sensualists, alongside the existing 40-room retreat.
By nabbing an entire unspoilt island, and restricting the number of guests to eight, Pelorus raises the stakes somewhat. Reached via a 30-minute helicopter hop from Townsville or on a superyacht, the sun-drenched locale spans 400 hectares of pristine habitat, including endangered littoral rainforest. The island is encircled by shallow azure water and blessed with dazzling fringing reef.
“The secluded and highly private nature of the residence will attract a calibre of premium travellers not often seen in this part of the world,” says Morris. Pampered guests can feel like a castaway – albeit one with access to Beluga caviar, painted crayfish and magnums of Dom Pérignon.
The beachside dwelling was conceived by Melbourne-based design studio Dubois, which also fashioned several other NEC hotel properties. The free-flowing structure has a central living, dining, kitchen and entertainment zone located under a low-slung roof.
Activities include diving and snorkelling, guided jet-ski and seabob outings, reef fishing, boat charters and visiting the Museum of Underwater Art. Intrepid guests can also explore the hiking trails on nearby Hinchinbrook Island, with its kaleidoscopic colours, cascading waterfalls, and plentiful wildlife.
The Morris group acquired Pelorus in 2017 and spent $12 million redeveloping it. Previously, the island was known for off-the-grid camping and now comes a bivouac of a statelier kind. “It’s a rare offering on the Great Barrier Reef,” adds Morris. So much so that reservations have already opened.
