Vicki Arkoff falls in love with Luxury Lodges of Australia’s jewel thanks to an irresistible eco-friendly wildlife encounter featuring some very special locals.
Nature lovers looking for a wildlife adventure in Australia have a wealth of options to choose from: kangaroos bounding across the Outback, salt water crocodiles in tropical Queensland, dolphins and whale sharks along the Western Australia coast, and the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. Now Tasmania’s getting in the game at the award-winning luxury lodge Saffire Freycinet, where the uniquely luxurious nature retreat has created the world’s only opportunity to view Tasmanian Devils up-close, while aiding their chances of survival in the wild.
Saffire has partnered with the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research and the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program to create The Tasmanian Devil Experience on the Saffire Freycinet property. It offers a rare glimpse at the ornery devils in a natural setting, while Tasmanian government naturalists wage a war to protect the species; this protected acreage on Saffire’s resort grounds is the peaceful battleground to find a vaccine to cure the facial cancer threatening the island territory’s wild population.
Led by guides, guests can visit Saffire’s open-range Tasmanian devil enclosure, where they’ll observe the resident population of Tasmanian devils – the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, and a bad tempered sort. Yet love is in the air, because this is a breeding center, insuring the survival of the species.
Several Tasmanian Devils have been fortunate enough to make the luxury lodge their home, but it’s also an idyllic sanctuary providing just 20 suites for lucky tourists seeking the ultimate wildlife vacation, while also being pampered with a state-of-the-art spa, fine dining, and exceptional amenities. I first heard of Saffire from proud Luxury Lodges of Australia executives at the Luxperience conference in Sydney, and was won over by its isolated location in a stunningly beautiful pocket of Tasmania’s rugged East Coast, bordering the region’s oldest national park.
Since its opening in 2010, Saffire Freycinet http://www.saffire-freycinet.com.au/ has become Australia’s newest extreme-luxury leader, surrounded by natural beauty and characterized by strikingly modern architecture. The lodge’s Signature Experiences deepen guests’ appreciation of the region with guided expeditions, private boat cruises, kayaking in and archery, and unforgettable culinary experiences such as white-table-cloth-dining in an estuary yielding fresh oysters straight from the beds at your feet. Saffire’s deep love for nature and desire to dazzle has made it not just the jewel in the Luxury Lodges of Australia crown, but also Australia’s #1 luxury property, and one of the world’s most inspiring sustainable-tourism triumphs.
