Mount Mulligan might just be the most magnificent place in Australia you’d never heard of.
Explorer James Venture Mulligan described Mt Mulligan as “a mountain once seen, never to be forgotten” when he chanced upon the escarpment on a gold-prospecting expedition to Tropical North Queensland in the late 1800s.
A quick flick through the guestbook at the eponymously named Mt Mulligan Lodge suggests the magnificent conglomerate and sandstone tabletop mountain still has the power to inspire awe. The property is one of three key Luxury Lodges of Australia in Tropical North Queensland. What surprises a lot of visitors to Ngarrabullgan (Mt Mulligan) is the fact it almost 10 times the size of Uluru. And while visitors are forbidden from climbing the mountain, guests at the lodge can seek refuge here to do as little or as much as they like. Yes, the location is remote, but that’s part of the appeal. Get amongst it.
Exquisite Mount Mulligan views from the weir. (Image: Wilson Archer)
Location
The lodge sits in the shadow of the vast monolith, known as Ngarrabullgan, in the heart of Djungan country in the Tropical North Queensland outback. As well as being a place of great significance to the Traditional Owners, Mt Mulligan is the site of Queensland’s worst mining disaster, a tragic event that blew the heart out of the local community in 1921. The former mining town is about 160 kilometres north-west of Cairns in the Shire of Mareeba.
Mount Mulligan Lodge blends into the mountain backdrop. (Image: Jason Lerace)
Style and character
Building design and interior architecture firm dubois: has brought a look and feel that will wear and weather as beautifully as nature’s palette. Built around an existing weir on a 28,000-hectare working cattle station, the expansive property is rugged and rural and brings visitors in touch with the elements.
The design exudes an elevated ranch-style aesthetic. (Image: The Rambler Co.)
Facilities
The lodge features four different types of accommodation: two Outback Retreats, six Outback Rooms, two Outback Suites, and four Outback Tents.
In addition, there’s a beautifully designed main Pavilion with a dramatic exposed stone feature wall, an infinity pool and Sunset Bar designed in the Australian vernacular – all timber and tin – which dates back to our pioneering past.
Each guest is assigned an electric buggy so you can zip to and from the Main Pavilion or Sunset Bar. The all-inclusive lodge sleeps just 28 guests, including children of all ages. The low-set building surrounded by gums is exceptionally chic and a top spot to join fellow guests for a chat around the open bar of beer, wine and spirits.
Unwind and get cosy by the fire. (Image: Courtney Atkinson)
Rooms
Wood, wool, leather, linen, timber stone. It makes sense for Mt Mulligan Lodge to feature natural materials, fibres and recycled timbers that bind us to our past. Forget the chintzy excesses of a city hotel. The rooms are resplendent with considered artworks and floor-to-ceiling doors that open to the greenery of a tropical garden reflected in the mirrored surface of the weir.
The eight guest rooms have a dark and earthy colour palette. (Image: Lee Besser)
Each room allows glimpses of Mt Mulligan beyond. Bunker down in the corrugated outdoor tub on the vast deck in order to admire the generous folds of the monolith as it changes in the light. All the rooms are dotted along a grassy shoulder of land overlooking the weir.
The rooms are fitted out with iPod docks, Bose Bluetooth speakers, LaGaia bath products, a desk, air con, minibar, free bottled water, tea- and coffee-making facilities and a working fireplace (in the Outback Retreats and Outback Suites only). Want to elope? There’s a package designed for your private outback wedding.
The modern bathrooms open out onto decks. (Image: Elise Hassey)
What is the food and drink offering at Mt Mulligan Lodge?
Take a seat on custom-designed canvas folding camp chairs around a solid timber table to enjoy a superb set menu on the verandah of the Main Pavilion while overlooking the infinity pool and surrounding landscape.
Relax and diner by the outdoor swimming pool. (Image: Mt Mulligan Lodge)
Request a bespoke Dining under the Stars experience or enjoy the daily-changing menu, which pays respect to the diverse producers of the Atherton Tablelands and rich Indigenous history of using native ingredients.
Listen to the chorus of cicadas over linguine carbonara with barramundi pancetta followed by a dessert of wattleseed, coffee and banana. Dining is all-inclusive and there’s the option to pair lunches and dinners with Australian wines.
Food is served with a nose-to-tail philosophy. (Image: Elise Hassey)
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