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Bamurru Plains is a luxury safari eco lodge that offers guests exclusive access to 300 square kilometres of floodplains and savannah woodland on the Mary River. Set on the edge of Australia’s largest national park, Kakadu National Park, this lodge offers a unique bush experience to guests that want to explore Australia’s biodiversity with a touch of luxury.
Bamurru Plains offers an exclusive experience for just about 20 guests at any one time within its 10 safari-style bungalows. Built on stilts, these bungalows are spacious, airy, and offer stunning views of the floodplains. With mesh screen walls on three sides, guests are surrounded by the sights and sounds of the park. These bungalows come complete with a comfortable bed outfitted with organic cotton and a pillow menu, an ensuite bathroom, aboriginal artwork, and lantern lighting.
Dining is an experience itself. Nightly guests can enjoy a three-course dinner of Australian bush-inspired recipes hosted by a field guide. Breakfast is an assortment of hot and cold items like wild berry muffins, ‘bush eggs’, or vanilla bean yoghurt while lunch is served on the observation deck. Each meal incorporates and highlights native and locally-sourced uniquely Australian produce.
Our team loves this property’s wild safari adventure style. It is a true escape from modern life without needing to rough it.
Spacious and cool, each of the nine safari bungalows are built on stilts overlooking the floodplains, frequented by a myriad of bird and animal life. Mesh screen ceiling to floor walls on all three sides around the bed provides an experience in which guests can hear, see and almost touch the wildlife and wilderness around.
The focus is on a supremely comfortable bed, organic cotton linen, pillow menu and a spacious en suite bathroom with high pressure showers. The decor reflects the region's earlier indigenous, hunting and pastoral history, with buffalo horns, explorer's maps, Aboriginal artwork and fish traps as well as old photos providing a sense of the human heritage of the area. Each room has a cold water thermos, local flora and fauna reading materials, species list and binoculars. There is no internet access, no television or mobile phone coverage.
The Kingfisher Suite reflects Bamurru's core philosophy of blending the accommodation as closely as possible with the surrounding bush. It is designed to allow guests a superior sense of seclusion while retaining a spectacular outlook on the Swim Creek floodplain. The sense of scale in the floodplain setting is accentuated by the size of the suite and Bamurru's trademark ceiling to floor mesh screens allowing guests an intimate sense of exposure to the wildlife and wilderness outside.
With 81 square meters of space in the bedroom alone, the suite features a king size bed, lounge area and space to accommodate a family of 5 in comfort. Deluxe swags are provided for children to sleep out on the enclosed suite veranda. The proximity and sounds of the bush at night provide a sense of excitement while securely tucked up behind the screened walls of the suite.
For honeymooners looking for a sense of privacy, the Kingfisher Suite allows for in room dining, with a camp table setup for an intimate candlelit dinner with only the sounds of the bush as company. Meals are served by staff members from the main lodge with wines chosen from the lodge wine list.
The bathroom features twin basins and showers, within a decor of rustic chic timber and corrugated walls utterly in tune with the environment and pastoral heritage of the area. For maximum exposure, the suite also offers a shower with full ceiling to floor views across the floodplain and surrounding paperbark forests.
Property Facilities
Activity Desk, Bar, Communal Dining, Eco Friendly, Library, Malaria Free, Pool, Restaurant
Room Facilities
Dressing Gowns, Electrical Outlets, En-Suite, Fan, Hair Dryer, Pure Cotton Linen, Shower
Services
Airport Shuttle (Available), Credit Card
Bamurru’s signature experience is a thrilling ride across the floodplains by airboat. This wildlife-packed journey takes you from wide open grasslands to a lagoon surrounded by peeling paper bark trees. Feel the rush as you skim the surface at speed then float in silence listening to the sound of nothing but the bush.
The floodplain wetlands of the Mary River catchment are the key natural feature of this area and some of the most important in the country, home to thousands of Magpie Geese, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Egrets, Ibis and a host of other birds. These beautiful birds will take flight as you zip across the floodplains on your airboat, flocks sometimes thousands of birds strong!
Our guides will provide you with a hands on demonstration of the many uses of the flora from the wetlands whilst floating amongst a forest of melaleuca trees or looking out for crocodiles slowly swimming amongst the grasses of the floodplain. A morning trip out on the floodplains in an airboat is utterly exhilarating and the only way to truly experience this environment.
The Mary River catchment is home to some 236 species of bird, many of which are found at Bamurru Plains. The significance of this particular property comes in the variety of habitat: black soil floodplains, paperbark swamps, savannah woodland, river mangroves and coastal beaches support an extraordinary diversity of birdlife. Even in the dry season the floodplains on the property still retain large areas of water where the birdlife congregate in extroadinary numbers rarely seen elsewhere in Australia.
The birding spectacle on the Swim Creek floodplain and surrounding Mary River region is second to none in the Top End due to both the extraordinary volume and variety of birdlife and Bamurru’s 300km2 allows birding groups a private and exclusive experience. At particular times of the year, the floodplain will host hundreds of thousands of Magpie Geese and species that are associated with the life cycle of the geese, particularly raptors.
The richness of the floodplain also supports dense populations of other waterbirds, with thousands of egrets, whistling ducks, jacanas, crakes and strong populations of jabiru, brolgas and raptors. The surrounding paperbark swamps and savannah woodland provide a huge diversity of species for keen birders.
The Sampan Creek, which is part of the Mary River System, forms the western boundary of the station. During the dry season (May-October) the crocodiles will regulate their body temperatures by basking on the banks in the sunlight. During these months, the numbers of crocs sunning themselves will give you an idea of the size of the population.
It’s not just the crocodiles, many bird species call this mangrove lined environment home. Relax in the shade provided on our canopy covered cruise as you meander along this creek system, learning about these animals from our skilled guides and enjoying sunset canape’s as the light begins to fade.
One of the best ways to see the variety of wildlife that teems here is on an open-top game drive, more akin to an African safari across the savannah.
With the recession of the waters from much of the floodplain in the dry season, the plains become accessible to 4X4 vehicles and a journey out with one of our guides will provide a unique insight to this fragile yet very important environment.
Our open sided safari vehicles feature shaded canopies with comfortable and raised seating to provide the best possible vantage point to view agile wallabies, estuarine crocodiles, wild horses, buffalo’s and some of the 236 bird species on the property.
Our guides will describe the Aboriginal uses for some of the local flora and fauna while you enjoy a cool drink and bite to eat.
A guided walking safari at Bamurru is the perfect antidote to a busy life. You’re compelled to slow down and absorb the sights and sounds of the bush, understanding how every element has its place. At this pace, nature has a way of showing you what’s important.
Look for ant trails that criss cross the ground at your feet, or the birds calling up in the tree tops before settling in for morning tea amongst the beauty which is Bamurru.
Head out with our guides away from the main lodge on a short drive before continuing on foot learning the Indigenous uses for the various plants and animals on Bamurru or learning how to track different wildlife through the forest.
Walking safaris are individually tailored to your interests and tend to be run in the latter part of the dry season.
Raised 6 metres above the ground in the tree canopy, the 24m2 screened platform allows a unique perspective on this fragile environment. The Hide is the ultimate eyrie from which birdlife and other wildlife can be observed undisturbed in their natural habitat.You will have a 360º view overlooking the Mary River floodplain, canopy and background woodland.
Perfect for photographic or ornithological groups as well as individuals, adjustable flaps allows cameras and binoculars to be focussed on the surrounding wildlife, birdlife and floodplains and there’s a Nikon Prostaff fieldscope has been fitted for maximum visibility.
Criss-crossing between floodplain savannah, monsoonal forests and dry, open areas dotted with termite mounds alongside buffalo and brumbies, explore Bamurru from the wheel of your own quad bike.
This leisurely safari will take you to areas inaccessible by our regular 4WD vehicles, while our knowledgeable field guides lead you to some of our favourite secret spots.
While technically not a real activity, some of our guests prefer to do absolutely nothing. The best bit is that the wildlife will come to you. Watch hundreds of birds take flight from around the infinity-edge pool, see buffalo roam and Agile wallabies hop past your bungalow as you wake to sounds of thousands of Magpie Geese. If all you want to do is switch off, chill out and get away from the hustle and bustle of life then Bamurru is one of the best places in the world to do it.
Just a short hop by light aircraft across the river systems that separate Bamurru Plains from Kakadu brings you to the heart of this country. Rock art galleries reveal stories of Aboriginal people and their ancient culture. Textures of colours, vistas across savannah woodlands and floodplains provide a sense of the spirituality of this ancient landscape.
From rock overhangs and caves at Ubirr Rock (think classic scenes from Crocodile Dundee) to the meandering waters of the East Alligator River that drains from the stone country of Arnhem Land and marks the boundary between Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land, this day will expose the senses to country that is rich in Aboriginal culture, flora and fauna.
Travelling with Wild Bush Luxury’s field guides in our custom built vehicle, your day will include a scenic flight into Kakadu, a bush picnic lunch and the chance to spend time with an Aboriginal guide on the waters of the East Alligator River before returning overland, with a stop at the Bowali Visitor Centre, returning in time for sundowner drinks, canapes and the comfort of the safari lodge as the sun sets over Bamurru Plains.
Included on a shared basis on the Ultimate Kakadu Experience package, also available to be booked at $750 per person subject to availability on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The floodplain wetlands of the Mary River catchment are the key natural feature of this area and some of the most important in the country, home to thousands of Magpie Geese, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Egrets, Ibis and a host of other birds. These beautiful birds will take flight as you zip across the floodplains on your airboat, flocks sometimes thousands of birds strong!
Your guide will provide you with a hands on demonstration of the many uses of the flora from the wetlands whilst floating amongst a forest of melaleuca trees or looking out for crocodiles slowly swimming amongst the grasses of the floodplain. A morning trip out on the floodplains in an airboat is utterly exhilarating and the only way to truly experience this environment.
The Lodge
Incorporating native and locally sourced produce to provide a gourmet experience integrating authentic, yet contemporary Australian recipes, from kangaroo skewers to crispy barramundi with finger lime salsa and Quandong ice-cream.
Breakfast is generally light as guests are up early to experience the wildlife first thing, start the day with freshly baked wild berry and wattle seed muffins, 'bush eggs' any style on sourdough toast with bacon, tomato, warrigal green and kutjera relish or house blend bircher muesli with Manuka honey, bush apple and a dollop of vanilla bean yogurt.
Lunch is generally served on the wildlife observation deck overlooking the floodplains, where guests might enjoy citrus and fennel warm chicken salad with roasted macadamia nuts. Canapes out in the wilderness while enjoying the afternoon activity are followed by a three course dinner hosted by the field guide featuring more Australian bush inspired recipes.
