One station that’s worth stopping at

“We love people,” Edwina Shallcross says. It’s a phrase people in tourism are wont to utter but, in this case, it’s abundantly clear it is sincerely felt.

Edwina and husband Tim are the proprietors of Bullara Station, a working sheep and cattle station midway between Coral Bay and Exmouth which offers camping and station-stay experiences. It’s also the couple’s home, where they live with their three daughters, Olivia (11), Lucy (9), and Mimi (5). And it is, safe to say, a pretty special place.

Take my welcome, for example. No sooner than I’ve pulled up in my hire car and Edwina is on hand to greet me with a warm smile. Moments later, I’m seated on the veranda of the family homestead, mug of tea in one hand and a homemade scone with jam in front of me as I chat with Edwina and her mother-in-law Jen, who is up from her farm near Bindoon to help with catering. It’s a busy time at Bullara and while Tim pops his head in to say hello, he has his hands full with building projects and the day-to-day hard work of station life.

Tim’s grandparents owned Bullara but a manager ran the station until about 1970 when Jen and husband Richard took over to save the ailing property. Wool prices had bottomed out and the place was in a poor state of repair. “It was very remote then,” Jen says, as she shows me some historic photographs taken by the former manager.

These days, it’s considerably easier to reach Bullara. The property is accessible by car accessible and is about a half-hour drive from Learmonth Airport, from where regular flights to Perth take about two hours.

At 101,000ha hectares, it’s a small property by station standards but strikingly diverse, encompassing quintessential red-dirt outback landscapes, creeks and swamps, red sand dunes, and backing on to the ocean, meaning guests can enjoy snorkelling, fishing and the like. In season, everlastings can be found on the property and there’s an abundance of birdlife which has attracted birdwatchers to stay. “To me, Bullara is a snapshot of WA,” Edwina says.

Tim and Edwina took over the station a decade ago when Jen and Richard retired and headed south, and since then they’ve taken various steps towards diversification.

They no longer shear sheep here but run approximately 7000 damaras, a fat-tailed, goat-like sheep bred for its meat, and about 1200 cattle, plus their offspring. They started selling their own grass-fed beef last year following inquiries from guests and Edwina says they’ve been overwhelmed by the response, with people driving a considerable distance out of their way to pick up some steak. “The cattle are so chilled out — it is like living in a permanent day spa — and I think the quality and tenderness of the meat reflect this,” she says.

Their first foray into tourism came about 5½ years ago, when the couple converted the old shearers’ quarters to provide comfortable guestrooms. Edwina was so excited when her first guest arrived that she ran halfway down the driveway to greet him. “I’ve calmed down a bit since then,” she laughs.

Being attractively located for grey nomads, they’ve expanded to include camping and caravan sites — an affordable alternative to caravan parks in Coral Bay and Exmouth — along with the self- contained Cappock’s Cottage, which sleeps six.

Accommodation in the former shearers' quarters at Bullara. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

I’m staying in one of the old shearer’s rooms and a glance at the polished concrete floors, corrugated metal walls and rustic furnishings indicates Edwina has a knack with welcoming, country- chic interiors. It’s a feel that extends into the neighbouring Bull Bar — not a bar per se, but a shared living area for guests, complete with a well-equipped kitchen.

There’s also a selection of bathrooms — among them, open-air showers including the “lava-trees”, into which Tim has incorporated gnarled old tree trunks — plus a guest laundry and an outdoor kitchen set around the camp fire. The camp fire in particular encourages a communal atmosphere, with guests gathering around in the evening to chat and share travel tips.

In the early years especially, balancing running the station, looking after guests and the demands of family life was a bit of a juggling act, Edwina admits. These days, the older girls get involved in the business: animal-loving Olivia likes to introduce kids to the various pets and farm animals, while outgoing Lucy is quite happy to check in guests and show them to their rooms. “It’s really lovely to see them so proud of where they live,” Edwina says.

Among the menagerie at Bullara are the family’s two dogs, dachshund Indy and an old ridgeback named Tildy. The latter in particular sets a good example of relaxation for guests, alternating between nodding off on the deck and basking in a patch of sun on the lawn. And after lunch, I decide to follow her example and have a lie down before heading out for a look around the property.

In the old shearing shed, I examine the ageing bits of farm machinery, rusting but neatly displayed, and encounter Pepper, the family’s fat little pony. The building is a prime example of bush ingenuity — old metal drums hammered out flat to make fences, a roadworks sign reading “Reduce Speed” repurposed as a gate.

At the stockyards I find some bright-beaked finches twittering around the railings, and a pair of corellas perched in the branches of a gum tree. A little further on, a small flock of damaras picks at the abundant grass — the recent rains mean the country has come alive with green. I’m careful to approach quietly so as not to startle them, only for a few of the braver members of the herd — including one fellow with an impressive set of horns — to prove unexpectedly curious. They start wandering my way and it’s my turn to be startled.

The "lava-trees" open-air bathrooms incorporate old tree trunks into their design. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

Picking my way through the industrious columns of big, black ants, I find what seems to be the station’s automotive graveyard — a collection of rusting cars of various vintages, bits of machinery and metal, even an old semi-trailer. They’re picturesque against the vivid vegetation and the red earth. I’m lining up a photograph of the peeling paint on the rusting door of an old ute when I hear rustling in the cabin. I don’t hang around to find out what’s responsible.

The recent rainfall means it’s too muddy for me to head down to the coast but later in the afternoon Jen drives me over to Mingah Creek to see another aspect of the station’s diverse landscape.

As we wander between the ghostly gums and pools of water left over from the rains, we scan the sandy creek bed for fossils, which Jen says are abundant on certain parts of the property.

It’s apparent this is a family deeply rooted in this place, with a great affection for their property. Despite this, Jen and her husband didn’t particularly want Tim to take over at Bullara. “It’s a very hard life but a lovely life,” she says. Regardless, after boarding school and a mechanic’s apprenticeship in Perth, he moved straight back up to work on the station. “Tim has always been devoted to Bullara,” Jen tells me. Their daughter, who lives in Carnarvon, also loves the place and comes back to help with mustering. “Thank goodness we found our little place.”

The following day, after an early morning photo shoot with the family before the girls head off to catch the school bus into Exmouth, Edwina and Jen take me for a walk on the beer bottle trail, a walking route the family have marked out with old king brown bottles leading up to the red sand dunes.

Jen, in particular, is impressed by the transformation the recent weather has wrought on the landscape — not only is the vegetation green but the rain has brought out small white snails, fragile little mushrooms and thin black caterpillars.

The gums sweep low to the grasses, vines creep along the dunes and shoots of bright green push through the earth. This is a landscape we tend to think of as harsh, even extreme, but today its soft edges are on display.

The walk provides an opportunity to hear how Edwina ended up living here. She also comes from a rural family, having grown up on a property near Kojonup. During her adolescence, her parents moved her and her sister up to a station in the Kimberley (her family were pioneers in the region). Like Tim, she went to boarding school in Perth and had hoped to work in marketing.

After being accepted into uni, she took a gap year “which kept getting gappier” and was all set to head off to explore Europe when she met Tim at a 21st birthday party in Carnarvon. “I said to myself, I’ll go next year , and the next year, but I never went.” She plans to finally make the long- delayed European odyssey next year, n 2015, to celebrate her 40th birthday.

After a short while we reach the dunes, which are gorgeous. They’re popular with the children, who like to slide down the sands, and are ideal for a spot of outback croquet. The family has also hosted concerts here as part of the Sounds Outback festival. For the future, Edwina is buzzing with plans for the business. From next season they’ll have a range of new accommodation options, including the new Coolabah Cottage and Hale Hut, suited to families or couples wanting some privacy, plus 12 new ensuite rooms and some private camp sites with their own fire pits. She’d also like to turn the shearing shed into a museum displaying historic photographs, and offer Devonshire teas to guests and passers-by.

Later, after a cup of tea and another scone on the homestead balcony, it’s time for me to head back to the airport for my flight home. And as I drive out the gate, along the driveway and back on to the bitumen, I’m reminded of something I read in the station guestbook the previous afternoon. Among the glowing endorsements from visitors from as far afield as Sri Lanka and Sussex, Canada and Chile, Norway and New Zealand, someone has written: “Although I am a visitor, when I am here ... I am home.”

FACT FILE

Guests can stay at Bullara Station from Easter until the end of October. Camping and caravan sites are $13/night for adults and $7 for children under 11 (children under three free), rooms in the Shearer’s Lodge are from $110/night for two people and Cappock’s Cottage is $200/night for two adults and two children. bullara-station.com.au or 9942 5938.

Qantas operates daily flights from Perth to Learmonth and Virgin flies the route three times a week. qantas.com.au or virginaustralia.com.

For more information on visiting the Coral Coast, go to australiascoralcoast.com.

Gemma Nisbet was a guest of Australia’s Coral Coast tourism.