Seven incredible places to sleep on a walking holiday

From a rest beneath the stars to the ultimate luxe retreat and the most spectacular views, we go in search of the most incredible places to sleep on a walking holiday.

Heaven is a place on Earth

If you get to stay at Injidup Spa Retreat just once in your lifetime, you’re doing pretty well. Blissfully isolated on the Cape to Cape Walk in Western Australia’s Margaret River region, you will wake up to uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean from your two-bedroom villa. Not to mention a fireplace, fully stocked kitchen (with complimentary wine), private plunge pool, and an exquisite onsite day spa. If heaven was a hotel…

Stargazer

With a canopy of glistening stars as your ceiling, Arkaba’s signature star beds during The Arkaba Walk in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges is the stuff that dreams – quite literally – are made of. You’re certainly not roughing it, with hot water bottles, hot showers and canapés at the ready. Lay back and let the sounds of the bush lull you into a slumber.

Room with a view

On Queensland’s Scenic Rim Trail, you stay at Spicers Peak Lodge, the highest non-alpine lodge in the country. Talk about a room with a view: situated at the very edge of the escarpment, some abodes overlooking the wilderness of rural Queensland.

Sail away

Some people love waterbeds, but what about going one step better? On South Australia’s Murray River Walk you get to spend three nights on a fully hosted houseboat, cruising along this famous river. Don’t feel like an early night? Relax upstairs on the top deck spa with a glass of local wine in your hand.

Mountain (wo)man

Getting to sleep within the bounds of a national park is a true privilege, but on Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain Huts Walk it’s part of the package. Supplies are helicoptered to the mountain huts in which you rest your head only twice each season, energy comes from renewables and the rain itself services the buildings. Now that’s what we call seclusion in comfort.

A song of sea and fire

Set some 40 metres above the crashing waves of Tasmania’s spectacular Bay of Fires, Bay of Fires Lodge, your home for two nights on the Bay of Fires Lodge Walk, has been designed to blend with the surrounding untouched coastal landscape. A fully-stocked library and roaring fire will keep you content late into the evening, and the award-winning spa embraces Aboriginal techniques to provide you with a well-earned moment of indulgence at the end of a long day’s wandering.

Outback luxe

If you’ve ever dreamt of experiencing real outback Australia without sacrificing comfort, the Northern Territory’s Classic Larapinta Trek in Comfort is for you. The trail’s safari-style tents are fitted with off-the-ground mattresses and floor-to-ceiling windows, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds: wild and content.

This feature was created by Australian Traveller and supported by Great Walks of Australia.