El Questro in Kununurra, Australia

Australia is marked by contrasts as violent as they are strange. While ninety percent of its population lives in large cities, more than nine-tenths of the country is uninhabited. The bush, a huge red spot in satellite photographs, is an incredible almost desert expanse that is never more than a few hours' drive from any city. And yet, it remains curiously foreign to most of the natives. When Australians travel, they go to Asia, Europe or America rather than Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu or the Bungle Bungles. The average Australian is ignorant of the bush. Not surprisingly, he does his shopping in malls, ride in a Ford, BMW or Toyota, and watch the same stupid TV shows we do.
Australian writer Philip Adams, columnist and former advertising guru, was able to call Australia most suburban nation in the world. But, a curious irony, it is the bush - the final frontier - that most tourists want to see. Impossible to describe in words such an immensity, limitless space which gives a fairly good idea of ​​the infinite. It was this vastness, unmatched on the planet, that made an indelible impression on Will Burrell. A young pupil of Eton, he had come to Australia to do an internship as jackaroo (farm boy), and ended up at the head of a breeding farm and five hundred thousand hectares lost in the depths of the northwest of the continent.
The El Questro Hotel is in the Kimberley region, which boasts the oldest geological strata in the world. Craggy sandstone peaks rise above wide jagged gorges with crocodile infested waters. The plain is dotted with rubber trees and pockets of tropical forests. December, January and February are too wet for tourism: a colossal monsoon turns the ground into reddish mud - if monsoon and bush seem incompatible to you, remember Australia is so vast that El Questro is found. in fact closer to Jakarta than to Sydney.
At first, Burell and Celia, his Australian wife, planned to keep this wild land to themselves. The house, which today so spectacularly overlooks Chamberlain Gorge, was originally designed for them by Queensland architect Geoffrey Pie. But, along the way, the house turned into a hotel. By the way, "el Questro" does not mean anything, in any language: it is a pure invention.
The day begins at 6 am, with coffee and a stroll in the early morning freshness. The excursions are classified from 1 to 5 according to their difficulty. Among so many possibilities, you can choose to climb Emma Gorge (level 3) or walk to the Zebedee Hot Springs (level 1). Everyone is back around 10:30 am for breakfast, before starting again in the afternoon, when the Australian sun has lost some of its ferocity. El Questro is equipped with every imaginable toy: an always-ready four-seater helicopter (in this secluded corner there is no other way to round up the cattle), specially made four-wheelers, horses and a flat-bottomed boat with an electric motor to sail silently in the gorge '. Unlike most luxury hotels, El Questro adapts to different budgets. First there are the bungalows (with air conditioning all the same), along the Pentecost river. Then a series of well-appointed, Out of Africa style tents, pitched in Emma Gorge. And, finally, the house itself. Whatever solution is chosen - some take it in turns to take all three - everyone is entitled to the most wonderful gift: an Australia that remains as it was millions of years ago.

Address: El Questro, PO Box 909, Kununurra 'Western Australia 6743 - Australia
Telephone: +61 8 9169 1777 - Fax: +61 8 9169 1383
Website : https://www.elquestro.com.au/