A station stay in Western Australia will be an experience you won’t forget

Western Australia’s station stays are something special: rustic, raw, and nothing short of outback realness. A vast number of working sheep and cattle stations — some over 100 years old — are situated in far-flung coastal and inland locations across the state, opening their farm gates to those who yearn for a change of pace and scenery. And what a change awaits.

Behind those gates are some of the most unique, genuine travel experiences to be had. There’s no holiday fluff here. These stations offer a glimpse into rural living in lands that can sometimes be unforgiving — dry climatic temperatures, sheer remoteness, and the need to accessorise with a fly net.

There are few activities to get involved in — 4WD adventures, camp oven cooking lessons, bushwalking, birdwatching, walking trails, and voluntarily getting your hands dirty with station tasks. In a constant world of beeps, rings, and distractions, station stays are a safe haven to appreciate the simple things in life and connect with the land and — most of all — the present.

Daytime itineraries may change from day to day but rest assured, when the sun begins to set station guests make their way around the campfire, drinks in tow, to lap up an atmosphere that couldn’t be more authentic. As fire burns, bonds grow deeper, and so does the colour of the sky, slowly morphing from pastel lilacs, pinks, and blues to a silver sequined blanket of stars. It’s simply magical out there — and don’t the country folk who run them know it.

Deep ochres and vivid yellows

MURCHISON HOUSE STATION

If only Murchison House Station’s homestead walls could talk. Dating back to 1858, the greenlit pastoral station is one of the oldest in Western Australia and offers an outback-meets-ocean experience.

Less than a 15 minute drive from coastal town Kalbarri, 575km north of Perth, the working cattle and rangeland goat station is vast, covering a whopping 350,000 acres with 60km hugging the Indian Ocean coastline and over 30km fringing Murchison River flood plains. If you are up to it you can go from one extreme embarking on topsy-turvy 4WD adventures along coastal sands to having more of a chilled-out aquatic session in river gorge country. Alternatively, you can find your own slice of paradise as the station has plenty of natural beauty spots to uncover.

Steeped with history, the original homestead ‘von Bibra’s Cottage’ was constructed using flaming red Tumblagooda sandstone and built by Charles von Bibra and convict helpers. Its so-called ‘Depreciation Row’ offers a glimpse into the state’s wartime past, with a collection of military vehicles positioned beside earthmoving farm machinery and vintage cars.

Sandwiched by water bodies, the station is abundant with wildlife and birdlife and pops with colour added to the shady gum tree scenery when wildflowers bloom from late July to early October. Self-guided walking tours, quad bike tours, and canoe safaris are available to soak up the best of its landscape.

The station welcomes visitors from April to October with both RV and camping sites available.

The beauty of isolation

HAMELIN OUTBACK STATION STAY

A station that isn’t really in the middle of nowhere is Hamelin Outback Station Stay.

The former sheep and goat station is owned and operated by the not-for-profit environmental organisation Bush Heritage Australia and is deemed a nature reserve. Located 1km off sealed Shark Bay Road, the 202,000-hectare property sits on the doorstep of Shark Bay — a UNESCO World Heritage site. In other words, the 1884-built station is a convenient starting block to some of the state’s most renowned natural splendour.

There’s Monkey Mia, home to dugongs and over-friendly dolphins; Francois Peron National Park, a 4WD playground with its French flag scenery — think beautiful blue beaches, white sands, and red cliffs — and Dirk Hartog Island, an unspoilt eco-destination.

The station also has direct access to Australia’s most westerly point — Steep Point. It’s a renowned spot for fishing and catching the mainland’s final sunset.

Back at the station, there is still much to see and do. Explore the station’s lake and wetlands to play bird bingo with over 125 bird species spotted in the area. Drive five minutes across the station to closely inspect Hamelin Pool stromatolites, the oldest living fossils on Earth, along a boardwalk trail, or go on a self-guided tour to learn the pastoral station’s past by visiting the historic Shell Quarry and Old Telegraph Station.

The station offers accommodation in its renovated shearers quarters and has plenty of unpowered camping and RV sites, varying in sizes and shielded by natural bush. Communal amenities include a large shower and toilet block, a fully equipped kitchen, barbecue area, and the old woodshed as a multi-purpose area with historical artefacts.

A stay in the outback will give you plenty of time to reconnect with nature

MELLENBYE STATION

Far from the coast is the working cattle station Mellenbye Station. Lying between Morawa and Yalgoo just 6.5km from sealed roads, Mellenbye Station is 430km northeast of Perth. If coming from the coast, it’s 221km east of Geraldton.

The 1895-established station receives very little phone reception, so it is the ideal place to well and truly switch off and make the most of its vivid surroundings. With good rainfall, the station bursts with colour in the wildflower season with endless fields of flowers. The sight of everlastings, orchids, bottlebrushes, and the stunning wreath flower Lechenaultia macrantha is a cause for natural celebration. You can also follow the drive trail or join a tag-along tour to check out other natural attractions including its salt lake chain.

You are invited to tap into your creative side with the station’s painters’ easels free to use with canvas, and paints available to purchase if you didn’t think you’d be channelling an outback Van Gogh on the go.

When it comes to retiring for the day, guests can mingle in the historic stone shearing shed and enjoy activities such as movies or games or, if wanting to scare the local wildlife away, karaoke nights.

There is a range of accommodation with self-contained cottages, and the station’s historical shearer’s quarters. Sites for RVs are unpowered, though power can be accessed in the communal kitchen. Mellenbye Station is open from July to October.

These stations offer up an abundance of fascinating history

GABYON STATION

A two hour drive north of Mellenbye is Gabyon Station, the secondlargest station in the shire of Yalgoo and with the historical mining town 54km away.

Covering over 271,500 hectares of red earth country, the sheep station offers various activities to make it more than just a nightly pitstop: horse-riding, prospecting, shooting, self-drive trails, mustering on a motorbike (seasonal), and wildflower spotting to name a few. The big station is not short of jobs and welcomes volunteers. It’s perfect if you are keen to don an Akubra and immerse yourself in outback living a little longer.

Station owners Gemma, Mike, and Helen Cripps also offer a restaurant in the outback experience, flaring up the kitchen of the 1891-built homestead to prepare home-cooked meals and woodfired pizzas in an old ‘donkey heater.’

Gabyon Station offers accommodation in its homestead cottage with shearers quarters alongside unpowered camping and RV sites.

MELANGATA STATION

Melangata Station manages to crisscross two continents without the long travel slog.

Situated 69km north of Yalgoo, the working pastoral station is small compared to the stations listed, covering 125,000 hectares. Still, it packs a punch with unique experiences, with owner Jo Clews proclaiming it “the outback experience you can have without having to go right into the outback.”

But is it the outback? The sight of its postcard-perfect homestead may catapult you to the streets of Europe instead with its century-old stone structure designed by celebrated architect and priest, Monsignor John Hawes. The architect adopted inter-war Romanesque with Spanish influences into his one-off outback design, and it has remained iconic ever since.

Grand architecture aside, guests can connect to the outback by taking part in camp oven cooking classes, tag-along tours to stunning locations, birdwatching, and bushwalking activities. For a half day trip head to Walga Rock, an open-air art gallery to the most extensive collection of Indigenous rock art in the state with nearly 1000 preserved drawings on its massive overhang.

The station’s accommodation ranges from budget to luxe with homestead rooms, shearers quarters, and offbeat bell tent stays. Unpowered RV and camping sites are also available.

No shortage of peace and quiet

Category: Destinations
Written: Sun 01 Aug 2021
Printed: August, 2021
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