The Unexpected Romantic Getaway that’ll make you see the Outback in a Whole New Light

Just as you can’t bear to be just another couple dining in your ‘hood’s hottest new restaurant’, neither do you want to head for the same expected destinations when planning a romantic getaway.

Skip the rose petals on the bed and surprise your significant other with a long weekend at a Luxury Lodge of Australia in the outback instead. Just a few hours from Cairns, you can revel in understated luxury pared back with overwhelming landscapes, expansive vistas, and blissfully, no phone service.

Fusing nature, history, adventure and fine dining, a romantic getaway at Mt. Mulligan Lodge is a ticket to turning up the heat or rekindling the relationship flame.

Day 1

Check-in, cool drink in hand, and wind down – there’s 28,000-hectares to take in on this private heritage site and you’ve got days ahead of you to do it in.

Take a kayak on the weir, see if you can snag a barra (chef will even cook it for you for dinner), then head to the Sunset Bar for a tipple served with the shifting patinas of Ngarrabullgan (Mount Mulligan) at golden hour.

Dinner here is a romantic getaway in and of itself. Sourcing the best produce from the pastures of the Atherton Tablelands to the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, if your love of fine food and wine comes a close second to the person you’re locking eyes with, you’re in the right place.

Day 2

Breakfast in bed is nice, but breakfast with views over this majestic landscape will shake you out of any Groundhog Day routines you’ve fallen into back home.

This morning is all about diving into the history of the Mount Mulligan old township, coal mine and cemetery. Not the first thing you’d call to mind on a romantic getaway, perhaps? But through understanding the tragedy that underpins this special place, you’ll likely feel more connected and grateful (and that’s a great predecessor to romance).

After an à la carte lunch, spend your afternoon paddling on the weir, fishing from its banks, or soaking in your romantic outdoor bathtub.

Cocktails are served in the Lodge’s Main Pavilion tonight as stars frost the night sky – a fitting warm-up act to a romantic dinner for two.

Day 3

After a leisurely breakfast, spice things up by taking the wheel of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to explore boulder-strewn creeks and outback tracks, and learn about the culture of Traditional Owners, the Djungan people, dating back some 37,000 years. Your final destination is the picturesque south end of Ngarrabullgan (Mount Mulligan), known as The Branch – apt for a #couplegoals selfie.

Return to the lodge for lunch and an afternoon of reverie before drinks by the firepit and another intimate dinner.

Tomorrow morning the romantic getaway may be over, but reconnection is the best kind of souvenir to be taking home with you.