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Lorella Springs Wilderness Park
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Lorella Springs Wilderness Park

Nathan River Road Gulf Region, Borroloola, Northern Territory 0854 Australia
Nanny's retreat
Traveller (180)
Room & Suite (12)
Pool & Beach (3)

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About

4.0
#1 of 1 small hotel in Borroloola
4.2 of 5 bubbles
Location
3.5 of 5 bubbles
Rooms
3.9 of 5 bubbles
Value
4.3 of 5 bubbles
Cleanliness
4.2 of 5 bubbles
Service
4.4 of 5 bubbles
Sleep Quality
Lorella Springs Wilderness Park is located on the Savannah Way in Australia's Northern Territory. Natural hot springs, safe swimming holes and waterfalls, bird watching, bush walking, 4WD tracks, fishing at billabongs, creeks or at the coast. Scenic helicopter flights and coastal tours to the Gulf coast. Choice of accommodation from camping, en-suite Deluxe rooms or air-conditioned cabins. "Remote", "untouched", "peaceful" and "friendly" are some of the words described by our guests about Lorella. Come and check it out for yourself!
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Property amenities
Parking
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Children Activities (Kid / Family Friendly)
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Self-serve laundry
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
3.0 of 5 stars
HOTEL STYLE
Great View
Hidden Gem

Location

Nathan River Road Gulf Region, Borroloola, Northern Territory 0854 Australia
127Reviews3Q+A25Room tips

Reviews
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Detailed Reviews
Alisa B wrote a review July 2021
Rylstone, Australia
3.0 of 5 bubbles
It is beautiful there. And for that alone I would recommend going. However I feel the need to share an unfortunate experience. There are huge privacy issues on the campgrounds. Especially with the hot showers. We were set up close to the wood fire block.
One of the teenage girls in our group had a man pull open the shower curtain ( a flimsy, cheap, ripped one fastened with a square of Velcro) whilst she was in there showering. He Opened it fully and had a good look at her before scampering off. Another one in our group saw someone leering to look at them on the toilet.
I brought the incident up with the cleaners (who were very sympathetic) and then to reception, only to get a response of “Wow, why would anyone want do that? That’s never happened before” I then asked if there were any showers available on the block with doors. And got a gruff “It’s on our to-do list along with a million other things, everything has to come from Darwin you know and it’s a very long way…” (a rather passive aggressive guilt trip for daring to ask). After being told that “it was our choice to shower there” Her advice was to use the colder central shower block instead which has female/male sections. I left bewildered and was later shocked to find out that this lady who unconsciously condoned questionable conditions, was one of the owners. 🥺
There was no apology or care towards our kids feeling violated at all. Just a dismissive “I get it”. And I’m saddened to see that this issue has been brought up in a previous review from 2 years ago. Everyone has a right to personal privacy. We left the following day feeling unheard and obsolete.
Lorella Springs is a beautiful spot with breathtaking scenery. And most of the staff there are more than accommodating. I just feel compelled to warn others of the potential risk that we unfortunately encountered there. This man was a visitor. And I fully accept that the owners have no control over his decision to invade ones personal space. But doors aren’t a huge ask. Even if they’re tin ones. Just something that can be secured. However after the response I got, I don’t see it ever happening. Just something to be wary of when visiting.
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Date of stay: July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fiona C wrote a review July 2021
4.0 of 5 bubbles
We heard about Lorella Springs while chatting with other travelers on the Savannah Way. Our plan was to drop in for a night and visit the Lost City the next day. Well! 5 nights later after exploring Lorella Springs and camping out in the wilderness some nights, camping by the homestead and bathing in the warm springs, we reluctantly dragged ourselves out to see the Lost City (which is amazing).
Staff were welcoming and helpful, food was great, limited supplies and diesel available and a beautiful wilderness full of adventure and wildflowers to explore. Tracks 4WD and not for the feint hearted but fabulous.
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Date of stay: July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neale C wrote a review Sept 2020
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Very disappointed. The brochure is very misleading. The roads getting to the place are terrible. Facilities are very basic. No door on showers or toilets,no basins,no mirrors,no power sites, The place is very dry and many places with in the park are closed. Exorbitant prices. Diesel $2,50 lit. All meals $36. Park fee $25 per adult. $38 for bottle of Jacobs Creek.
This place is well over priced for what it offers
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Date of stay: October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HW08 wrote a review Aug 2023
Port Macquarie, Australia
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Our three night stay at Lorella Springs was both interesting and disappointing. Accommodation was nice with ensuites but no tv or wifi. Nice meals were provided by our hosts Rhett and Maria. The hot spring right near the homestead was handy for a dip.. With around 1,000 km of tracks it was disappointing that we did not see very much of the million acre station. Being the only group on the station, it was also disappointing that more of the public could not share this outback attraction.
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Date of stay: July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rhett Walker, Owner at Lorella Springs Wilderness Park
Responded 24 Aug 2023
Thank you for your review, whilst we are always happy to receive feedback as an opportunity to improve our offering, in this instance I will admit that I am finding your comments in part irrelevant to our business and somewhat unfair as it should have been posted as a review of the tour company that brought you to our property. The fact that your tour group did not take you out to enjoy the many natural wonders we offer on Lorella, is no fault of ours. I am also very sorry to read that, as one of the very few visitors lucky enough to be able to enjoy Lorella this year, having one-million acres of wilderness including unpolluted views of our outback night sky, as well as a private campfire, canoes and a hot spring just outside of your room, was disappointing due to our lack of TV and internet access.
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dimich2018 wrote a review July 2022
Darwin, Australia
2.0 of 5 bubbles
The road into Lorella Springs is only 31km long and took 45 minutes. It is the worst stretch of road between Darwin and Cape Crawford. Unfortunately that and the amenities tainted the experience for me, considering what you pay to stay there.
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Date of stay: July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tomleem wrote a review July 2022
Perth, Australia
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Love this place. Second July school holidays in a row. Amazing variety of adventures, good facilities and great support and advice from the team. Yes the road in is hard (lost a tyre pressure two on the way out for the second year in a row) but that just makes it feel more remote and hard earned. Driving around the challenging tracks is great fun. The opportunity to camp absolutely anywhere is fantastic.
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Date of stay: July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kakadu087 wrote a review May 2011
Darwin, Australia
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Rhett & Phee & Family were our hosts and I cant recommend going to Lorella Springs MORE highly. Go there and enjoy it BEFORE it becomes more well known.

This park is a MUST SEE destination and stop over (short or long).
Its natural environment and your chance to really experience an NT Wilderness experience is 5 stars. Lorella's basic, but all you need accomodation and amenities are certainly extremely good value and most of all its genuine, friendly hosts.

Its also accessible. That is as a visitor you can actually get to experience the environment.
Unfortunately our National Parks (especially Kakadu) basically stop visitors getting the real experience, but at Lorella, at least for now its NOT all behind fences or locked up with the "no you can't go there" , or "that waterhole is CLOSED" "you might stub your big toe, so we can't let you risk that" or "you can ONLY go there on a expensive guided tour" problems that you get in our National Parks and that are so damaging to our tourist industry and make it only possible for a select few to have access.

REAL, yes REAL Bush Camping is also available, which is a very rare thing these days - excellent!, You can of course also stay in the Camping or Caravan areas right adjacent to the spring and creek.

Negatives? Well most of the negatives are acutally positives in my view.
But certainly this is NOT a 5 star rating commercial caravan park. Its got flushing toilets and hot showers and all the basics. But it is at that basic, rustic level and thats the beauty of it and the experience. So I guess it will really depend upon your expectations, so if having to stoke the fire (with the supplied firewood) before you can have a hot shower is a problem for you, then thats something to consider.

There are a lot of spots and natural attractions to see, fish to catch, places to swim, walks to do, places to relax, places to have a beer, sit around the fire.

Anyway no more talk, as you can see we really enjoyed it - Just go there! you won't be dissapointed.
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Date of stay: April 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lovetotravel976 wrote a review Apr 2014
Brisbane, Australia
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Visited in July 2013. Terrible road is an understatement. Absolutely disgusting! most of it is government owned, however the last 10 km belongs to station and that's just as bad. Saw a lot of damage on different setups, including "off road Caravans and camper trailers"

Expensive to camp..your charged per person, per night.

Poor customer service with lies relating to the actual current condition of waterfalls/swimming holes. Poor fishing, even though we had been given an "all time" report" from the owner Rhett on the phone and in person.

Lots of rubbish blowing around from the over flowing dump located only 50m from entrance $3.00 P/L for diesel - expect to buy some due to amount of driving needed to get anywhere interesting. (80km of bad road from homestead to rosies river fishing camp).

When we were there, there was no machinery on the station meaning all the roads were in pretty bad condition. some tracks had been made with an old 4X4 which has left all the inch by inch stumps in the ground just waiting to rip tyres apart.

Toilets were dirty and no paper on 3 occasions. No grassy site like we were told on phone - just dust. No signs on some tracks and a really bad map made me and several other couples lost for hours... wasting fuel.

Disappointing to have the young boy behind the bar talk all the swimming holes and waterfalls up so much and even show videos only to arrive to green slime and flies. - JUST TELL THE TRUTH - people will be more understanding. Same goes for the fishing report. People wont mind if you say "its been a little quite"

I'm sure after a good wet season all the attractions on this station would be nice, however we just lucked out with the info that the station provided and the poor wet season the year before.

Wouldn't go back and wouldn't recommend it.
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Date of stay: July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RhettWalker, Owner at Lorella Springs Wilderness Park
Responded 11 July 2014
Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to read that your experience of Lorella Springs did not meet your expectations. As you will have seen on TripAdvisor we've always had excellent reviews of Lorella, so it is very important to us that our guests help us improve our facilities and services by sharing their feedback. We fully agree with you about the road conditions and are glad our guests are talking about it as we often quote our guest reviews when we petition to the authorities to improve the condition of the Savannah Way and also our driveway which is 100% government owned (including the last 10 kilometres). With a million acres to chose from we have plenty of activities and places to visit on Lorella throughout the year. Some of our waterholes are spring fed from the mountains therefore dry out later in the year, however, we have many permanent water springs on Lorella which are flowing throughout the year. All our billabongs, lakes as well as the gorge also keep their water which our guests love to paddle down later in the year. Admittedly Lorella is very different from any caravan park by the road, and with a thousand kilometres of tracks to reopen on the property, it takes a while to re-open all the places, which is why we insist so much, during your introduction at check-in, on our guests to come and see us before heading anywhere on the property. We understand that not everybody is interested in going on adventure on our property and we do want to try to please all our guests, therefore we continually try to improve our services. That includes us offering fuel as a service to allow our guests to explore our huge property without worrying about running out of fuel. However, yes we are expensive at $3 a litre which is what we have to pay when we buy fuel one thousand kilometres away from our station, with all the inconvenience that that trip causes - including flat tyres, accommodation for our staff, repairs and maintenance on our vehicles etc - only to bring a couple of thousand litres of fuel at a time... It is reviews like yours that will hopefully help us obtain state funding for a workshop and fuel bowser, hopefully by next year. So again thank you for your feedback. Regarding our price, I would like to reassure you that we do not set our prices any higher than our competitors. We have done extensive research before setting our prices and have actually had to up our price this year after finding out that we were the lowest on the Savannah Way for the last few years. The difference between Lorella and any station or park in the region is also that almost all our competitors offer a fee which only includes camping/ caravan overnight stay. Most places offer an additional permit fee to access their property. Our overnight fee, however, gives you access to one million acres of wilderness, including nearly a thousand kilometres of 4WD tracks and access to all the natural springs and swimming holes, fishing spots, bush walking tracks and canoe/ boats available for use at various billabongs and swamps, as well as mud maps on top of your overnight camping fee. In addition, there is a beautiful hot water spring in the campground, as well as camp kitchen, amenities and a free choice of camping site on the main campground, and we also allow remote camping anywhere on Lorella - all included in your $16 fee (this year's price is now $20). This is a small amount in return for the activities and facilities that you can enjoy in such an untouched, remote and natural area. We do try to cater for everyone but admittedly we are very different from any other basic caravan or camping park. We like to think that our guests like Lorella because it is so unique, remote and untouched. Kind regards, Rhett Walker
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JoyMargaretRiver wrote a review July 2012
Margaret River, Australia
5.0 of 5 bubbles
We were told by Queensland couple on our travels of this place, we are glad we did make the journey out there.
A great camp on a real station, so many springs on the property about 100 over the whole station.
You can fish there in the billabongs or drive the approx 100kms by 4x4 to the coastal area. While we were there a couple caught a Barramundi and shared it with us - sooo lucky!
Simple campsites with a donkey hot water system, you have to help stoke the fire with the supplied firewood. A licensed bar plus meals on request are avaiable.
No powered sites.
Great drives over the property, directions given with maps.
Good swimming holes as well, but best is the hot springs right at the main camp.......
Also a Nudie Hot Springs but main camp one is bigger & nicer I think.
Fantastic scenery.
Just remember to close the gates.
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Date of stay: June 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
T0J057 wrote a review July 2012
Melbourne Australia
4.0 of 5 bubbles
We just spent four nights out at Lorella Springs Station in our tent. The campgounds were ok and there are flushing toilets and hot showers fueled by a wood Donkey. There is a bar with happy hour starting at 5pm. You can also buy a meal there as well. Prices are a little $$ but that's expected considering the remoteness of the property. Take in your own food. They don't sell any supplies at all.
Plenty of places to visit and enjoy on this vast cattle station. The are a few swimming holes crocodile free, good fishing along the river (don't swim there though). Waterslide Rock Pool was very refreshing. Back at the campgrounds there is a fantastic Hot Spings Rock Pool to relax in after a day out exploring the 1 million acre property. Plenty of bird life out there to see as well. The drive out to the coast (Gulf) is about 90km one way but well worth it. You can also camp out that way as well at Rosies Camp.
The only downside if any is the workers/owners dogs, they can do a bit of barking at times. So camp well away from the main Office/Bar/Restaurant area and you should be ok. Road into the property is dirt and a little rough in small patches.
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Date of stay: July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Answer from Carol H
7 contributions1 helpful vote
You would need a 4 wheel drive high clearance 4wd. The road from Darwin across to Boorooloola gets graded at the start of the Tourist season. By August the weather is lovely but the road is corrugated. The creek crossings are tidal. The tracks at Lorella Springs are sandy and there are creek crossings. Quite an adventure.
Answer from Carol H
7 contributions1 helpful vote
It is 900 kilometres from Darwin & probably 500 on unmade roads. There are creek crossings, some subject to tides. Too far for 4 days. Large family groups do go there. I suggest you ring for costings & the closing date as wet season approaches. My suggestion is to go when you have more time. You can make the trip a worthwhile adventure.
Answer from Justin H
Geelong, Australia6 contributions2 helpful votes
Hi Sue I took my dog there when camping with my boys. We took him everywhere with us, although had to carry him over some of the rocks at times. We had him on a lead at times and at times he just trotted along beside us. Also, there is plenty of space to camp away from others if you need to. I have been living in the Top End for over 10 years now and thought the prices there were very reasonable for my 2 sons and I - there are costs in transport and storage in remote areas that are not issues elsewhere.
HW08 wrote a tip Aug 2023
Port Macquarie, Australia400 contributions129 helpful votes
4.0 of 5 bubbles
"Keep an eye out for Agro."
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Jane A wrote a tip July 2022
East Victoria Park, Australia24 contributions7 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
"Road is rough so expect to go slow and enjoy the journey"
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Tomleem wrote a tip July 2022
Perth, Australia6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
"You need to be up for an adventure and rough roads. A typical caravan park this is not, which is the whole point. If you can go early"
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SydneyAussieCouple wrote a tip Aug 2021
Sydney, Australia67 contributions51 helpful votes
2.0 of 5 bubbles
"We camped so I can't rate the rooms at Lorella Springs."
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PeterJT46 wrote a tip July 2021
Mandurah, Australia2,839 contributions277 helpful votes
2.0 of 5 bubbles
"I wouldn't recommend going during the build up"
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LOCATION
AustraliaNorthern TerritoryTop EndBorroloola
NUMBER OF ROOMS
24
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LORELLA SPRINGS WILDERNESS PARK - 2024 Reviews (Borroloola) - Photos of Hotel - Tripadvisor

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