Glamping Series Part Two: Australia!

Day two of my HotelChatter Glamping Series picks up in the land down under, Australia, glamping's next frontier. Outback ranchers, beachcombing environmentalists, mystical motorcycle enthusiasts, and even English princes (I'm talking to you, Harry!), can all find a glamping experience to enjoy thanks to the variety of properties on the massive continent.

The piece starts with two "stations," or ranches as they're called in the U.S., in South Australia's Flinders Range, a region of prehistoric rock formations that is hauntingly beautiful and desolate. Arkaba Station is a converted 19th century homestead that offers luxury accommodations, and five-star overnight camping (or, "swag") experiences, while the newly expanded Rawnsley Park Station offers guests the latest eco-villa lodgings (with moon-view retractable roofs) in Australia. Both are working sheep stations.

From there, it's a quick jaunt east to Queensland for the tented delights of Spicers Canopy , with its gourmet dining and drool-inducing wine collection. Then we head all the way west to the Indian Ocean for some environmentally friendly beach bumming at Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat Broome.

Finally, I had to mention Australia's best-known glamping destination, Longitude 131 Degrees Luxury Wilderness Camp Ayers Rock, which is near one of Australia's most visited tourist sights, Ayers Rock (or Uluru), right in the center of the country. It is here that you can survey the mystical deserts of the north from the back of a camel...or the back of a Harley.

Want to find out more? Read my full story here: http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/3/23/202543/781/hotels/Glamping_Australia_If_Prince_Harry_Can_Do_It_So_Can_You