Best B&Bs in the Northern Territory

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Our guide to the best B&Bs in the Northern Territory

ALICE STATION

This modern, architecturally designed home was constructed from recycled Ghan railway sleepers. Nestled into a tranquil bush setting against a rocky escarpment just outside Alice Springs town centre, the house has four guest rooms, all of which feature sloping ceilings and timber beams.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Alice Station is popular with overseas visitors, and one look at the backyard will tell you why – it can get absolutely crowded with mobs of visiting kangaroos. Red kangaroos, wallaroos and western and eastern greys all come to have a fossick in the grass. Pink and grey galahs are regular guests here too.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

Visit Olive Pink Botanical Gardens (a short walk away); find out about the ancient habitats of the area at Alice Springs Desert Park; shop for art and crafts in Todd Mall; check out the Araluen Arts Centre.

 

CONTACT: Deborah Rock.

25 The Fairway, Alice Springs

(08) 8953 6600; www.alicestation.com

EDEN AT FOGG DAM

This is a B&B with a very big difference – the backyard is an extraordinary heritage-listed wildlife sanctuary, Fogg Dam in the Adelaide River wetlands region of the Northern Territory. While the accommodation and decor is basic, it’s clean and comfortable and, really, it’s what’s outside the door that will have the biggest impact.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Eden at Fogg Dam won Best Hosted Accommodation at the 2010 Northern Territory Tourism Awards. Besides the welcoming, friendly service, there are 230 bird species at Fogg Dam. There are also melaleuca woodlands, lily and lotus-flower-covered flood plains, eucalypt forests, and wildlife including long-necked turtles, frogs,  wallabies and dingoes.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

Go birdwatching; take the Jumping Crocodiles tour on the Adelaide River; visit Kakadu (88km from the B&B); swim in waterholes and under falls at Litchfield National Park.

 

CONTACT: Heather Boulden and Jeremy Hemphill

Off The Arnhem Highway between Darwin and Kakadu

(08) 8988 5599.

FEATHERS SANCTUARY

Just 10 minutes’ drive out of Darwin, Feathers Sanctuary is a B&B&B – it offers bed, breakfast and birds, and plenty of them. Accommodation comprises four cute private bungalows with massive barn-style doors, corrugated iron roofs and indoor-outdoor bathrooms – because it gets hot up here!

SOMETHING SPECIAL

With a name like Feathers, you would be expecting some local birdlife, but what you find here is just astonishing. There are two large aviaries, but take a walk around the two acres of grounds and you’re likely to see a mix of native and exotic birds roaming around with you, such as ducks, egrets, kingfishers, bustards and brolgas. The owners have also established a breeding program for the rarer species on site.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

Visit Mindil Beach Markets; have dinner at the Wharf Precinct; explore Fannie Bay Gaol Museum and the nearby WWII bunkers; go in the Cage of Death at Crocosaurus Cove.

 

CONTACT: Suzanne and Peter McGrath.

49A Freshwater Road, Jingili, Darwin

(08) 89852 144; www.featherssanctuary.com

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This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

    Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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    Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington, like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

    We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

    A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

    inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes
    Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours. While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

    holding Portarlington mussels
    See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

    As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

    The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

    blue mussels off Portarlington
    Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

    Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

    Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli
    Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

    “Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

    a hand holding a Portarlington mussel
    Mussels are a sustainable food.

    Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

    But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

    guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard
    Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.