Australian Financial Review, August 9, 2023
Luxury travel is usually all about the marble en-suites. So what makes a “back-to-basics” stay so popular? Whale sharks and a World Heritage setting helps.
By Carolyne Jasinski
With his feet in the sand and a glass of wine in hand, New York banker Brian Egnatz proclaims: “This is paradise.”
“Then again, paradise is different for everyone,” he qualifies. “I might think this is heaven, while others might feel like they’re in hell.”
I’ve asked Egnatz what he thinks of Sal Salis – the luxury eco-lodge perched on Western Australia’s World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.
It’s a $2290 question – that being the cost of a night for two at Sal Salis. “We live in a big city,” Egnatz says. “And we love it. But every now and then I need some grounding. I need to know there is still space to move and to soak up that freedom.
“You don’t get much more open than this. It’s totally unexpected … in a good way. It’s right on the beach.”
Indeed, Sal Salis is virtually camouflaged given the operation is tucked into low-lying sand dunes sandwiched between two natural wonders – the ancient Cape Range National Park and Ningaloo, the world’s longest fringing reef at 260 kilometres.
The property began as a few tents scattered in the sand, only morphing into a luxury safari-style camp in 2009 under the Wild Bush Luxury banner. Then in 2015, Perth couple Stewart and Sally Cranswick took sole ownership and joined Sal Salis to the Luxury Lodges of Australia marketing umbrella.
In 2019, it was bought by Journey Beyond, which also operates The Ghan train among numerous other tourism assets. Back then and way ahead of the pandemic curve, Journey Beyond recognised the potential for premium wilderness experiences such as Sal Salis. (In early 2022, the American travel and transportation group Hornblower also saw the silver lining of Australian regional travel, buying Journey Beyond for $600 million.)
Arguably of greatest interest over the past four years since Journey Beyond took possession of Sal Salis is how little has changed. Sure, this season a new chef (Paul Seymour) and camp manager (Leith Graham) have been hired from Seven Spirit Bay at Cobourg Peninsula. (More on them later).
But Sal Salis remains, essentially, a row of 16 tents in the sand. Do people feel they get what they paid for? “We did think it’s expensive … until the first morning,” Egnatz says. “When you wake up, you realise those things you might have thought were missing actually would be totally out of place here.”
So, what works in an upscale eco model
The tents have been tweaked and soft finishes refurbished over the years, of course. And they sit on raised platforms connected by boardwalks to help protect the environment. But what is instantly refreshing is that there’s no room hierarchy here – no penthouse or junior suite tents. Although the Honeymoon tent is a little more secluded and has a private beach.
All tents face the water with front-row seats – or rather hammocks – from which you can watch glorious golden skies as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean.
Just 50 metres from each tent is the turquoise water; the white sand dotted with shells, pebbles and coral fragments washed in from the living coral gardens.
Some eyebrows are raised on arrival, when confronted with the rustic nature of the safari-style glamping tents. There’s no air-conditioning, no turn-down service, no daily towel change, no fridge, not even a kettle.
Nor is there phone reception or Wi-Fi for that matter.
Rest assured, the tents are cleverly designed with two covers – one shade cloth and one solid canvas, creating a channel for airflow. Windows on each wall capture sea breezes, and 12V fans take over in the still of night. It’s all run by solar panels, of course.
When it comes to the daily bathing ritual, reef-friendly sunscreen and toiletries provided mean that precious shower water can safely drain straight onto the sand.
Some guests do have initial concerns about the “open-air” showers, even though they are completely private. Tents have their own bathrooms with corrugated iron walls and a zip-up canvas shade that separates it from the bedroom. The toilet is a composting long-drop – which genuinely frightens one American guest until she lifts the lid and can only smell sawdust.
All these measures can be looked at as the price you pay for protecting the environment.
Don’t be too frightened, though. There are still plenty of creature comforts.
The missing mini-bar in our safari suite is replaced with a well-stocked “maxi-bar” just metres away in the communal lodge tent. We have 24-hour access to all the wine, beer, spirits, tea and coffee we want.
Would more luxury out here necessarily better serve the market? “No way,” laughs Egnatz on his second night. “The location and style of these tents and the lodge is the biggest drawcard.”
Like most who come here, James and Kate from Gerringong in southern New South Wales wanted somewhere that was “comfortable and more luxurious than camping, but not in complete contrast to the surroundings,” James says. Their expectations are well met.
The real X factor
Like most guests, I’m only here for a few days and, like most guests, I spend them lazing around, hiking in the national park and snorkelling to spot turtles, manta rays, a variety of cold water coral-loving fish like wrass, groupers, parrot and damselfish.
There are varied reasons why these guests have chosen Sal Salis – significant birthdays, special wedding anniversaries (aren’t they all special), young couples flexing their “double income, no kids” muscle, time-poor business owners looking for a short break that packs a punch, and those who just want to spoil themselves.
One family of eight has combined a 50th wedding anniversary, two 40th birthdays and two job promotions into their celebrations. Two couples came all the way from London for that particular glamping party.
Egnatz and his wife Ariel have come to decompress and, of course, to swim with whale sharks. These toothless sharks (the biggest fish in the ocean) are the key drawcard at Ningaloo. No-one I meet during my stay can escape the pull of these massive magnets. Most guests, in fact, book three nights, so they have time to fit in a full day out with the sharks.
Dinner times around long shared tables are full of talk about coming face-to-face with their mouths – one-metre wide when open.
While Sal Salis is not about silver service, the food is five-star and that’s thanks to new chef Paul Seymour. Suggest that he has a challenge cut out for him to cook to a $2290/night standard in such a remote location, and he laughs it off.
“Sal Salis is not isolated,” he says, despite the property being a 10 to 13-hour drive from Perth, from where the kitchen team source all proteins, dry goods, fruit and vegetables.
“When I ordered food for Seven Spirit Bay, it would come by barge. Here we have an abundance of fresh seafood available in Exmouth. I can get as much scampi, shellfish, prawns and snapper as I need – and we’re working on buying it straight from the boats, so we get the freshest options, reduce our carbon footprint and help the local economy.”
The feasting begins with breakfast choices of avocado on toast, mushrooms and spinach or an acai bowl.
Light lunches can include smoked duck salad, or vegetarian options like chilli corn fritters. There’s no set menu – it depends on what’s in season and available.
From 6pm, sunset canapés and cocktails are served followed by a three-course dinner, often with fresh seafood as the star ingredient. Seared scallops, and sautéed mussels are on the menu during my visit.
“I don’t like overcomplicating dishes,” Seymour says. “I keep it simple and let the produce speak for itself.”
New camp manager Leith Graham acknowledges the X factor of this wilderness experience is mainly down to the landscape: “Outback, ranges and reef … it’s hard to beat that combination,” he says.
“Here, you have a lodge on the beach, the reef just steps away, and the ranges only two kilometres behind us are a backdrop and another place to explore.”
With a history of managing remote lodges across the Top End, Graham was thrilled to take on a property that has natural appeal and is more accessible than what he’d been used to.
“We have roads in here, a town and an airstrip about an hour away,” he says. “I call that accessible.” His take on the lack of silver service and other five-star amenities is that it simply “wouldn’t work” out here.
Another part of the appeal of Sal Salis is that almost all guided tours are included in the price. “We provide the means to experience the best parts of this region,” Graham says.
Guides host two tours daily – snorkelling or hiking – depending on weather and water conditions. “They will take you to their favourite places whether that’s to see turtles or manta rays on the reef or up into the ranges to point out fossilised shells and talk about our First Nations history,” he says.
I bond with fellow 50+ adventurer Kate over one of those tours – a hike to Mandu Mandu Gorge in the neighbouring Cape Range National Park.
Kate didn’t much like the 5.45am start but is glad she made the effort. Glad she was able to walk along a once-raging riverbed that hasn’t held water for 35,000 years. Glad for the history lessons, rare black-footed rock wallabies and proof of an ancient seabed now sitting high on a craggy escarpment. I was glad I had the chance to tackle it – and ecstatic I didn’t have to call a rescue helicopter to get me down.
And now, with our weary feet in the sand and a glass of wine in hand, we say cheers to another day in paradise. If this is hell, we’re all in.
The writer was a guest of Journey Beyond.
Need to know
- Rates | From $2290 for two in a King/Twin safari-style glamping tent. Minimum two nights. Includes meals, drinks, guided hiking and snorkelling (whale shark tours are extra). Tel: (08) 9949 1776
- Getting there | Sal Salis is 70km south of Exmouth in the Cape Range National Park. It’s a two-hour flight north from Perth to Learmonth Airport, just outside Exmouth. From Learmonth, you can book a 90-minute transfer to Sal Salis for $140.
- Whale sharks | Tours from about mid-March to July. Humpback whales pass Ningaloo Reef from August to October.
Footloose Jasinski 