Travel WA: Why travellers are flocking to Bullara Station near Exmouth for the ultimate outback escape
From star-filled skies and burger nights by the fire to easy access to the turquoise waters of the Ningaloo Coast, this working cattle station offers travellers a truly authentic outback stay.
There’s something magic about the great, red, dusty expanses of Bullara Station.
Visitors have been flocking here for 16 years, unhooking camper trailers, rolling out swags and looking up, and out, across its vast, dusty West Australian plains.
It’s impossible not to be awed by the vastness of everything — the expanse of the night sky, the endlessness of the horizon; those long winding dirt tracks which swoop their way down from the property to Exmouth’s glittery, turquoise gulf. It’s one of the reasons visitors return, year after year, to experience the uniqueness of a Bullara Station stay.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“There’s this appreciation for the authenticity and stewardship of pastoral properties like ours,” says Bullara Station owner Edwina Shallcross, who’s been running the accommodation side of their family cattle business for 16 years, alongside husband Tim, who works the land.
“(Our visitors) like that connection to country . . . I think they appreciate the fact that there are still families out there actively farming, providing food for us, and we love talking to them about what we do out here, and the importance of caring for it all.”
Bullara is a giant lump of land — about 100,000ha, bigger than the entirety of the Mornington Peninsula — though significantly smaller than a lot of those expansive cattle properties further north.
Tim and Edwina are as dedicated to farming their extensive head of cattle as they are to showcasing their unique accommodation set-up to the travellers who roll in every year from eager for a true “outback” experience.
The property was recently captured as part of a WA storyline for stalwart Aussie soap Home And Away, and the results are now playing out on Seven.
It’s not hard to see why they decided to use the setting with the homestead acting as a character in the show. This the perfect spot from which to travel to the show’s other filming locations, which included Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, Coral Bay, Charles Knife Canyon, plus Yardie Creek, Turquoise Bay and Shot Hole Canyon in Cape Range National Park.
Cast and crew pitched up at Bullara during filming, which was facilitated by Tourism WA, enjoying the property in their downtime.
April to October is the perfect time to visit, when the weather’s not too hot, or too wet; when those monolithic whale-sharks (the region’s biggest drawcard) are cruising past and the turtles are hatching — this is the area at its sparkling best.
Bullara offers travellers a peerless base. It’s a 40-minute drive from Learmonth airport (where flights arrive daily from Perth), another 40-ish to the stunning, nearby Coral Bay, and an hour or so to Exmouth and Cape Range National Park, home to World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.
The property might have a “middle of nowhere” feel but is remarkably accessible and easy to get to, with no four-wheel-drive required.
“International travellers can get a bit ‘woah!’ when they look at us, and see where we are, but you can literally turn off the highway on a push bike — in fact, we have had plenty of travellers roll in that way,” says Edwina.
Once on the property, there are a range of accommodation options to choose from — powered and non-powered sites, two rustically beautiful cottages, safari huts, bell tents, and the Shearer’s Lodge.
There’s a communal camp kitchen, the property’s famed Lava Tree outdoor showers, and every Friday night Bullara hosts its Burger Night — think a giant, roaring fire pit that sees plump, succulent beef patties sizzle and spit over hot coals.
It all takes place beside the old woolshed, twinkling festoon lights casting shadows over long tables laid out with chatting travellers, who gather to enjoy the unique ambience of the property before returning to “real life” beyond the rustic gates.
Bullara recently won a coveted Regional Chef Of The Year award as part of the WA Good Food Guide, thanks to resident husband-and-wife chefs Toby and Maree Fisher, who fell in love with Bullara after visiting in 2023 and stayed on to cook at the property.
They offer farm-to-table dinners during tourist season with the menu designed to showcase locally-grown produce. There’s also a cafe on the property, serving great coffee and globally-famous scones and brownies.
Four-wheel-drive adventures, star gazing trips and dive expeditions can be booked through the property, with walking trails across Bullara, which also boasts a stunning wildflower season stretching through spring and peaking in September.
“Every night there’s something,” says Edwina of her property’s drawcards.
“There’s station talks, a pizza van comes in, there’s the burger nights, and events through the years with music. We have the wildlife, the birds, the kangaroos . . . all of that at your fingertips.
“You can do a little, or a lot at Bullara. It’s a place where you can take a breath, take it all in . . . look up, and look out.”
