This sparkling new (officially opened mid-May 2008) tropical resort on Groote Eylandt offers a Top End holiday tasting plate, presenting the attractions of sportfishing, golf and serious food along with the privilege of experiencing cultural tours to the bush and the beach with some of the island’s traditional landowners, the Warnindilyakwa people.
Commissioned by the local indigenous land council and built by the developer of the Darwin Airport Resort, the casual but smart property is set on the north-west coast of the island, near the town of Alyangula, which was created by BHP’s Gemco in the 1960s to service its still-operating manganese mine. Two rows of 26 bungalows and one of 34 suites are strung throughout an exotic landscape of rocks, cycads and slender eucalypts, with the seemingly painted-on backdrop of intensely blue sea.
The attractive, spacious bungalows feature calm wood and white interiors, with large ensuites, airconditioning and fans. Boardwalks and decks ensure nature’s gorgeous greens and blues are on view everywhere, from the landscaped pool to the impressive Seagrass Restaurant, where the high-style à la carte dinner menu suggests the barramundi you landed that morning may be served with a tiger prawn boudin and saffron-lemongrass sauce that evening.
Half-day fishing charters are available with the adjoining ET Escape Sportfishing and Wilderness Lodge and the golf course is a two-minute drive away. But the most amazing excursions are with the new indigenous-owned and operated Amuwarngka Cultural Tours. Switch off city time and go along with Ida Mamarika (who was born in the bush) or one of her guides to a rock art gallery where you’ll see the ochre outlines of sea creatures and a Macassan canoe painted by saltwater ancestors. You’ll hear ancient stories of the country and its creation, where birds, animals and geographical sites play spiritual roles. Today’s Warnindilyakwa people still tell their children these stories and when they go fishing, they still ask the crows and the parrots if it’s OK.
An outing might involve beach spearfishing or Mamarika and a few members of her family collecting “longbums” (conical shells) from the mangroves, effortlessly creating a fire from branches and casuarina needles and cooking the shellfish for a rich, mussel-like snack. Mamarika and co provide a glimpse of who our country’s original inhabitants were, how they lived, the layers of interaction they had with their land, and how different their complex society was – and is – from that of non-indigenous people. There’s also a cultural centre within the resort where you can purchase indigenous artworks featuring the distinctive black of the island’s manganese. As well as conference facilities, there’s Next G mobile coverage for those who can’t do without.
Nasties in the water preclude swimming at this ocean-side resort, but fish are plentiful in Arnhem Land during the run-off, when receding floodwaters force bait fish off the flood plains and into the river systems. Groote Eylandt is also renowned for its bluewater fishing. Boat tours can be organised via the resort or neighbouring ET Escape Sportsfishing Lodge. Satisfy cultural pangs with an Amuwarngka Cultural Tour. During the wet season, indigenous-run, half-day bush tucker tours are available through the resort.
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