Robinson Crusoe could only dream of the luxuries found at Banubanu Beach Retreat in the Northern Territory’s East Arnhem Land.
On my 15-minute light aircraft flight from Gove Airport, I see masses of emerald and white rings of uninhabited islands looking like exquisite gems floating on the brilliant turquoise Arafura Sea waters. I instinctively know my destination will be unique.
There’s only one island retreat off the Northern Territory’s East Arnhem Land coast – Banubanu Eco-Beach Retreat. Sitting at the northernmost tip of tranquil Bremer Island (Dhambaliya in Yolgnu), it’s a diamond in one of Australia’s most unexplored regions.
After landing on the 600-metre airstrip, the island’s peacefulness and seclusion immediately wash over me, and I become one with the natural environment.
Owner Trevor Hosie dreamed of Banubanu after he first set eyes on Bremer Island in 1983 while working for the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority surveying Sacred Sites within the NT that classified the island as a protected zone. Twenty years later, with his wife, Alice Springs Arrente woman Helen Martin, they approached the traditional land owners who remembered Trevor.
In 2005, their dream began as a humble fishing camp. In 2014, they secured a 25-year Land Use Agreement lease with the Northern Land Council. Since then, they’ve worked tirelessly to create their dream luxury eco-resort with little or no disruption to the surrounding environment.