Arkaba Homestead in South Australia offers a luxury bush escape in the Flinders Ranges

“Head out and get some dust in your nostrils.”

Blunt, if cherished words, of a late uncle and a proud Riverina farmer who counted sheep in six figures on a property that’d easily dwarf any European principality.

His want was for us “city kids” to make sure we got out and experienced the land. Smelt the scrub. Embraced the air. Snorted some dirt. I’ve long carried his words with me and heeded their instruction. Because we need the bush and its healing — a boundless OG wellness centre far superior to anything Bondi and its ilk can manifest. Time loosens in the bush. You come to recall that landscapes are meant to be felt, not framed.

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It’s these familial memories, these mental meanderings, that ride shotgun on a recent ride out to Arkaba Homestead.

Point a car — in this case, a rather small rental that shudders with fear on sighting oncoming road trains — five hours north of Adelaide and you’ll find the place, rubbing shoulders with Wilpena Pound in South Australia’s famed Flinders Ranges. The drive is worthy of some words, given it’s a route where the surroundings change and roll across the increasing remoteness.

Cut a path up through the vineyards and valleys of the Clare, onwards through the brilliant colour of the canola, under the giant shadows cast by enormous windfarms and through country towns rightly spoken of as “specks” and which, in the case of Carrieton, meant a memorial hall and a pub, so too an emu stood in the middle of the road holding a stop sign.

OK, there was no stop sign but as I rubbed my eyes the emu proved real and its positioning meant a necessary halt. Even for an Aussie, it’s fun to find an emu in the middle of the only street of a dusty outpost you’d struggle to call a town, a reminder that city living is far removed from the day-to-day out here.

Beyond the bird and it’s onto some chalky red dirt, an unnecessary GPS detour it turns out and time spent dodging basking bobtails (bluetongues, shinglebacks ... you know the ones) as crows pick off what’s left of fallen roos.

It’s remote. It’s real. The eventual reception at Arkaba is upbeat and warm in its welcome. A chilled face towel served with a smile and an awakening lemon myrtle and ginger tea.

It’s an announcement that neatly speaks of what time here is about, an Australian adventure touched by simple luxury and which melds insight, history and the brilliance of the bush, all set under the extended ochre gaze of the craggy Elder Range.

Today, under the guidance and ownership of Charlie Carlow, the remaining sheep have been cleared and a bush conservancy created in their absence with dedicated rewilding and conservation programs now central to the daily rhythm of Arkaba life. It’s seen a return of certain species — wallabies, birds, quolls, red and grey kangaroos — and a diverse, flourishing and annual explosion of colourful native habitat and flora. Work remains, as rabbit warrens are still ripped and destroyed by tractors almost daily. Feral cats, which can eat on average seven native animals a night, trapped and studied back in Adelaide, while goats are regularly hunted. Many who come to Arkaba actually arrive on foot, having completed the four-night Arkaba Walk, one of the Great Walks of Australia. The guided 45km outing departs Wilpena Pound, traversing a land of gums and Paper Barks and red earth; a land of stories built across 65 million years.

Still, on offer was a chance to explore the property, learn more of the impressive conservation efforts and come to appreciate the successes to here. Heading out in an open-top Land Cruiser — picture an African safari — means a chance to indulge this outback and its varied landscapes; a chance to view native animals in genuinely natural environments. Riding with guests from America, France and Canada means viewing this harsh, if beautiful, country as an outsider; to stare down kangaroos and appreciate just how truly odd they are. Emus, too. Echidnas also.

There’s a sense of calm that comes from shifting the car into silence and watching the colourful displays of red rump and ringtail parrots, the iridescent brilliance of shy rainbow bee eaters (the only of its kind in Australia) and the dance of kingfishers.

To witness such sights is to be still, cloaked in the tangible hush and wonder of this vast land, as we did in watching the spell cast by a soaring wedge-tailed eagle, the country’s largest bird of prey, and the ease of its arcs across the sky, which belie its wingspan and size. A lunch of loaded sandwiches and fruit is held in the shade at Dorothy Creek, framed by mulgas and various gums, some felled by recent winter rains you can’t envisage given the encompassing sense of the dry.

Still, it’s a pappardelle ragout of kangaroo tail (with local veal and short rib) that remains a stand-out and a dish that had the French doing something the French rarely do, praising the culinary craft of a country that’s not theirs. The inclusive wine list — know you’ve access to all bottles on display across the homestead — run fairly deep and cover local SA regions in showcasing the Eden, Clare and Barossa valleys, the wonderful McLaren Vale too.

Accommodation at Arkaba covers four well-equipped rooms within the main homestead, each with a modern bathroom, and the adjacent and separate Coachman’s Cottage.