Good Weekend’s 52 Weekends Away: Great WA, SA and NT getaways

This story is part of the 52 Weekends Away Edition of Good Weekend.See all 15 stories.

Kangaroo Island’s feelgood find, Kakadu’s croc-spotting, the Territory’s safari experience – and Adelaide’s new, jaw-dropping swimming pool: fine reasons to head further afield.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Wonil Hotel Perth – Handwritten Collection

21 Hackett Drive, Crawley; [phone].

Wonil Hotel’s terrace overlooks Matilda Bay and the Perth skyline.

THE LOCATION The Wonil Hotel Perth – Handwritten Collection is on the banks of the Swan River within the Forrest Hall precinct of the University of Western Australia’s Crawley campus, a 15-minute drive from the CBD.

THE PLACE This is Australia’s first property under Accor’s new Handwritten Collection banner, a family of upmarket boutique hotels with individual stylings. The 66-room Wonil fits the bill perfectly. The hotel’s large outdoor terrace overlooks Matilda Bay, Perth’s skyline, and tall peppermint trees, or “wonil” in the local Noongar language. The sunlit open-plan lobby is a great place to hang out as well, with wood featuring in warm-toned Scandi furnishings, offset by concrete ceilings and expansive windows. Rooms follow this design playbook, just on a cosier scale.

The hotel’s design playbook features plenty of wood and warm-toned Scandi-style furnishings.

THE EXPERIENCE The Wonil welcomes guests and locals – including students – to mingle or co-work in its lobby and cafe, with a restaurant recently opened. Guests have complimentary access to UWA’s gym and you can feel good about it all – hotel profits go to the Forrest Research Foundation. The stay may be five kilometres from the centre of Perth, but it’s a great base from which to explore more widely, affording easy access to Cottesloe and Subiaco. Kings Park is two kilometres away and nearby Matilda Bay is great for picnics, paddling and sunsets. With all those students, there are some good cafes – with great coffee – in the area as well.

DON’T MISS Enjoy movies under the stars on campus. The popular Lotterywest Films open-air screenings program runs November 20-March 31.

FROM $199 a night. Julia D’Orazio

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Vibe Hotel Adelaide

260 Flinders Street, Adelaide; [phone].

The Vibe’s pool, set on a suspended bridge one storey up, connects the hotel with an adjacent apartment building.

THE LOCATION A jewel of the new Flinders East mixed-use development in the South Australian capital’s East End, Vibe Hotel Adelaide is within walking distance of restaurants, shops, galleries, parklands and the botanic gardens.

THE PLACE Designed by award-winners Loucas Zahos Architects (other credits include Hotel Indigo Adelaide Market and McLaren Vale Resort & Spa), the talked-about “wow” factor of Vibe Hotel Adelaide is the 10-metre pool on a suspended bridge one storey up, which allows guests to swim between the hotel and a neighbouring apartment building. But a 15-metre-long, serpentine chandelier hanging from a raw concrete ceiling in the lobby gives it a run for its money and heralds an artsy exuberance. The guest rooms are smart and modern, with screens of slatted Tasmanian oak separating the bathroom from the sleeping area. Higher-priced rooms on the upper levels have freestanding baths beside floor-to-ceiling windows with views to the Adelaide Hills or cityscape.

Guests staying on the Vibe’s upper levels can look out to the Adelaide Hills or cityscape from their bath.

THE EXPERIENCE The hotel opened in March and still has a thrilled-to-be-here atmosphere. This is an 18-storey establishment with 123 rooms, but the staff are so friendly and the hospitality so personal, it seems smaller. The ground-floor Storehouse Flinders East restaurant presents excellent food in an unpretentious setting.

DON’T MISS Take a walk to the vibrant Adelaide Central Market, where stallholders have been selling the best of local produce for more than 150 years.

FROM $249 a night. Jane Cadzow

WanderPods

6208 North Coast Road, Middle River; [phone].

WanderPods in Kangaroo Island’s north-west coastCredit: Remy Brand

THE LOCATION Surrounded by a 100-hectare farm on Kangaroo Island’s north-west coast, about 90 minutes from Penneshaw ferry terminal, WanderPods’ position on a 150-metre-high grassy ridge affords captivating views of Snelling Beach.

THE PLACE After launching in Queensland’s Scenic Rim in 2021, this is WanderPods’ second installation, with more planned for other regional destinations. The company’s founding ethos is sustainable luxury and the four glass-fronted accommodation options on KI (one two-bed and three one-beds) rest gently on the landscape with no excavation or concrete slabs. Each has a spacious, open-plan living area with a four-seater dining table and a high-spec kitchen. Bedrooms feature premium king-size beds and midnight-black en suites with rain showers and refillable Leif toiletries. Where possible, solar power and rainwater are harvested and all greywater is recycled. The goal is a zero-waste system that complements rather than contaminates the environment.

The goal of the installation: a zero-waste system that complements the environment.Credit: Jacqui Faulkner

THE EXPERIENCE Despite these impressive eco-credentials, a stay here is unashamedly upscale. There’s no sense of sacrifice when you’re soaking in the egg-shaped outdoor bath, lounging by the cosy wood-fired stove or whipping up a latte using the high-end coffee machine. One gadget that is conspicuously absent is a TV. Not that you’ll miss this distraction when you’re relaxing on the deck with your favourite tipple, watching kangaroos graze at sunset.

DON’T MISS Outdoor dining specialist Gastronomo runs fabulously immersive experiences. Try lunch under the canopy of a sprawling 120-year-old fig tree or an eight-course dinner in a former shearing shed.

FROM $449 a night; two-night minimum stay. Rob McFarland

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Bamurru Plains

Swim Creek Station; 1300 997 194.

Bamurru Plains is about a three-hour drive from Darwin, on a floodplain that attracts myriad birds, water buffalo, brumbies, wallabies and dingoes.

THE LOCATION Swim Creek Station is 100 kilometres east of Darwin, a three-hour drive or 30 minutes by light plane.

THE PLACE Inspired by African safari camps, the 300-square-kilometre private property, Bamurru Plains, sits on the coastal floodplains of the Mary River on the edge of Kakadu National Park, giving you an immersive box seat in a significant Australian ecosystem. There are 10 safari bungalows (for two), the Jabiru Retreat (two connected bungalows with a private plunge pool), and the family-sized Kingfisher Suite. The style is rustic-luxe, with king beds, plush linen, and private en suites where you can shower with rainwater while standing on a flagstone floor using a sculpted tree branch for a soap stand.

The 300-square-kilometre private property is inspired by African safari camps.

THE EXPERIENCE It’s all about the animals. The floodplain attracts myriad birds, water buffalo, brumbies, wallabies and dingoes. While you can observe their comings and goings from your bed, there are twice daily guided tours, either open-top game drives or airboat patrols of the world’s highest concentration of estuarine crocodiles. All the tours are included, as is the
open bar and three daily meals with paired wines. Head chef Matthias Beer uses locally sourced ingredients, from barramundi and kangaroo fillets
to wattleseed, macadamia and desert limes. And if you feel the urge to go online, forget about it: there’s no phone reception or Wi-Fi.

DON’T MISS The Hide, a bird-watching platform on a tower among the trees.

FROM $1935 a night; two-night minimum stay. Tim Elliott

Yellow Water Villas

Cooinda Lodge, Kakadu; [phone].

Yellow Water Villas in Kakadu, NT.Credit: Belinda Jackson

THE LOCATION Three hours’ drive from Darwin, Cooinda Lodge is the heart of tourism in Kakadu National Park, with lodge rooms, campsites, pools, restaurants, a shop – and now five new Yellow Water Villas. The fully Indigenous-owned hub is managed by Accor.

THE PLACE “Villa” may be a deceptive name for the permanent canvas structures, which sleep up to two adults and two kids. Set on high platforms to minimise their footprint on the ancient earth, each is named after an animal in the local Kundjeyhmi dialect. The super-king bed is positioned for views into the bush, and a deep bathtub and barbecue on the deck complement the bathroom and kitchenette inside. The décor gives a sense of place, with cushions and throws woven with Indigenous designs, a stack of books on Aboriginal culture, and Kakadu Organics toiletries featuring desert lime and Kakadu plum.

THE EXPERIENCE The Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre tells Kakadu’s history, while the signature two-hour cruise on Ngurrungurrudjba (Yellow Water billabong) will satisfy all croc spotters, twitchers and water lily lovers. Cool off at nearby Jim Jim or crystal-clear Maguk freshwater falls, or take an art walk at Burrungkuy (Nourlangie Rock).

DON’T MISS The menus of the Dird Full Moon Feasts change to reflect each of Kakadu’s six seasons. Local Bininj man Ben Tyler of Kakadu Kitchen designs the starlit dinners, held once a month, to highlight the hand-foraged produce from Kakadu.

FROM $950 a night. Belinda Jackson

52 Weekends Away is published in partnership with Traveller. For more places to stay nationwide, see the full list here.

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