Northern Territory, Australia
Finniss River Lodge
Expertly blending the fascination of a genuine working Australian cattle station with luxury accommodation and phenomenal wildlife encounters, Finniss River Lodge is easily accessible from Darwin. With only a handful of guests at any one time, its feeling of personal exclusivity is exceptional. Expertly blending the fascination of a genuine working Australian cattle station with luxury accommodation and phenomenal wildlife encounters, Finniss River Lodge is easily accessible from Darwin. With only a handful of guests at any one time, its feeling of personal exclusivity is exceptional.
Expertly blending the fascination of a genuine working Australian cattle station with luxury accommodation and phenomenal wildlife encounters, Finniss River Lodge is easily accessible from Darwin. With only a handful of guests at any one time, its feeling of personal exclusivity is exceptional. Expertly blending the fascination of a genuine working Australian cattle station with luxury accommodation and phenomenal wildlife encounters, Finniss River Lodge is easily accessible from Darwin. With only a handful of guests at any one time, its feeling of personal exclusivity is exceptional.
Location
Sharing a boundary with Litchfield National Park and stretching to the tropical Timor Sea, Finniss River Lodge is a working cattle property in Australia’s Northern Territory. Within its 200 square kilometres of pastoral land is a mixture of savannah woodlands, paperbark forests, seasonally flooded wetlands and pockets of monsoonal rainforest.
Within living memory, this place was truly isolated, and Darwin was a full day away by vehicle. It still feels utterly remote, but road improvements now mean that the Finniss River Station is merely a couple of hours by car from the airport. Naturally, this being Australia, you could also transfer here by helicopter or small plane.
Follow the river downstream and you’ll end up on the coast of Dundee Beach. Is this the inspiration for ‘Crocodile Dundee’? Perhaps. There are certainly enough crocodiles to make swimming the last thing you should consider doing.
Within living memory, this place was truly isolated, and Darwin was a full day away by vehicle. It still feels utterly remote, but road improvements now mean that the Finniss River Station is merely a couple of hours by car from the airport. Naturally, this being Australia, you could also transfer here by helicopter or small plane.
Follow the river downstream and you’ll end up on the coast of Dundee Beach. Is this the inspiration for ‘Crocodile Dundee’? Perhaps. There are certainly enough crocodiles to make swimming the last thing you should consider doing.
Accommodation
While the family running Finniss River Lodge may be in their third generation of cattle raising, there’s no attempt here to be anything other than forward-looking. Don’t expect a restored Victorian homestead, for the accommodation here is super-modern, and that means sleek, sophisticated and luxuriously comfortable.
Designed to make the very best of the uninterrupted views to a distant horizon, the low-profile lodge is almost one long floor-to-ceiling picture window. That means if you’re in your huge bed in your indulgent room or sunk into a deep tan leather sofa in the long room, you’ll feel as if you’re immersed within the panorama of a widescreen cinema.
Designed to make the very best of the uninterrupted views to a distant horizon, the low-profile lodge is almost one long floor-to-ceiling picture window. That means if you’re in your huge bed in your indulgent room or sunk into a deep tan leather sofa in the long room, you’ll feel as if you’re immersed within the panorama of a widescreen cinema.
We love that the focus is on a personal experience, guaranteed by the fact that there are never more than 12 guests here. That’s small enough to consider booking Finniss River Lodge for exclusive use, though there’s just a chance that you might have most of the place to yourself anyway. Whether that’s the case or not, the outlook over the vast floodplain from the windows and decks of each of the six air-conditioned ensuite rooms is one that gives a sense of remote privacy.
Step outside from the lodge and you’re on a deck that invites sundowner drinks, with an infinity pool perching into the landscape while truly reflecting the ever-changing hues of an enormous sky. That’s also the backdrop to your meals, which embrace the ingredients of the setting and region while employing contemporary and innovative flair. The chef forages for wild plants and loves roasting ingredients in paperbark or cooking over open flame. Mouthwatering crocodile tail must be tried!
Step outside from the lodge and you’re on a deck that invites sundowner drinks, with an infinity pool perching into the landscape while truly reflecting the ever-changing hues of an enormous sky. That’s also the backdrop to your meals, which embrace the ingredients of the setting and region while employing contemporary and innovative flair. The chef forages for wild plants and loves roasting ingredients in paperbark or cooking over open flame. Mouthwatering crocodile tail must be tried!
Experiences
Activities at Finniss River Lodge are governed by the seasons, of which they reckon there are more than a dozen each year. You could return multiple times and have a different set of experiences each time.
- Enjoy a bucolic bovine time when you have canapés with the cows. The docile Brahman cattle are the best of company for glasses of champagne and mini kangaroo burgers.
- Head out in a four-wheel-drive or buggy to Top Swamp or Quartz Hill, the property’s highest point. End the day with the sunset over the red rock beach and a fire-cooked dinner.
- Thrilling adventures by airboat along the meandering river and over the flooded plains take you to Sweets Lagoon for plenty of education about crocodiles.
- Whatever your outing, you’re likely to encounter daily pastoral life on the station, often a fascinating coordinated effort involving dogs, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters. Watch, learn and be impressed.
- Take a walkabout safari with an expert local. You’ll be told about the folklore of the land, discover carnivorous plants and perhaps find the colourful sanctuary of a bowerbird.
- You don’t even have to leave the lodge to experience the environment. Apart from those views, there are inspiring photos everywhere, and there’s a live webcam of the wetland billabong in the Long Room.
We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Custodians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Elders past, present and emerging, on whose land Finnis River Station stands. In sharing elements of their history, heritage and culture we honour their deep connection to country.
Positive Impact
We prioritise working with properties that address location-specific needs from education to conservation and environmental sustainability. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to.We prioritise working with properties that address location-specific needs from education to conservation and environmental sustainability. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to.
Environment
The hot water at Finniss River Lodge is all heated by solar power. Huge tanks collect rain water which is filtered and treated for guests to fill the stylish provided water bottles. Greywater maintains the gardens, and there is a strong ethos of waste recycling.
Conservation
Practices on the cattle station combine commercial good sense with sustainable techniques and maintain local endemic habitats so that cows coexist with crocs and every other animal that’s meant to be there.
Community
Third-generation pastoralists, the owners of Finniss River Lodge are fully immersed in their local community and prioritise their product sourcing and employment opportunities to the benefit of the Northern Territory.
Why Travel with Journeysmiths
We are a boutique travel specialist. For over 30 years we have been crafting the finest tailor-made holidays to the world’s wild places. Your time is precious and with a world to see, we understand the importance of getting it absolutely right for you every time.We are a boutique travel specialist. For over 30 years we have been crafting the finest tailor-made holidays to the world’s wild places. Your time is precious and with a world to see, we understand the importance of getting it absolutely right for you every time.