Produced in collaboration with Dr. Oetker Remote Ristorante
Where Is It?
Dirk Hartog Island. What a beauty.
For those uninitiated with this out of the way oasis, it’s about 2 planes, a barge, and a 10-hour four-wheel-drive journey from Sydney. To put it bluntly, it’s OTHER side of Australia.
To be exact, it’s the country’s most westerly point and it’s a mission to get to but for good reason. It’s a place where scrub covered sand dunes meet the pristine Gascoyne Coast and all some of the world’s rarest species of native birds and turtles go to nest near the crystal clear waters, virtually unaffected by human impact.
Getting there requires the kind of mad odyssey that only adds further mystery to the place. Even after you’ve completed the back-to-back flights from the east coast to Geraldton, you then drive 4 hours to Hamelin Pool Campground.
It’s then a further 3 hours to Steep Point, where the road bitumen road ends and turns into bumpy corrugated dirt, but you’re flanked by stunning blue ocean and golden knolls of powder-fine sand so you hardly mind.
From there you take the island barge (which only takes 1 car and 1 trailer at a time) and then a 90km journey to the furthest point in the island to stay at Dirk Hartog eco lodge. This portion of the trip can take up to 3 hours, which gives you some indication of the kind of rugged routes you pass through.
But as you can see, it’s pretty worth it.
Who Runs It?
Keiran and Tory Wardle, whose history with the land dates back to the mid-60s, when Keiran’s grandfather, Sir Thomas Wardle, purchased the island from the Australian government and used it as a private retreat (as you do).
Fast-track to now, with the homestead expanded for up to 20 guests (plus camping grounds) for all who crave a truly sustainable escape and have the adventurous spirit to get there.
Why Were We There?
We have to be honest here, we never would’ve made it to Dirk Hartog without the help of Dr. Oetker Ristorante pizza. Frozen pizza no-less.
The Dr. Oetker Remote Ristorante, recreated a live-action working pizza restaurant, serving up slices on the very fringes of civilisation all in the name of convincing a bunch of foodies that frozen doesn’t mean inferior.
Incorporating the traditional fine dining touches such as white table cloths, flowers and mood lighting, we sat feasting on spinach, soft edam mozzarella and garlic slices while staring off into the ocean watching whales frolic in the distance.
Dramatic? Yes. Effective? Very.
While we don’t need to taken to the ends of the earth to appreciate a fine slice of pizza but we suppose sometimes you have to go the extra distance to prove a point.
And Dr. Oetker has a serious point to prove; whether you’re miles from anywhere on the edge of Australia or snuggled up on the couch at home, you can have restaurant quality pizza anywhere you want.
If only the breathtaking views came included…
