The setting of Pelorus Private Island in Australia's North Queensland
In order to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, you only have to step off the sandy, coral beach. Arrival is only by helicopter or private yacht. And once there, you’re the only residents on this 988 acre island. Pelorus Private Island is the most secluded and exclusive island in Australia’s North Queensland; it opened for bookings last month.
The project began when Australian billionaire Chris Morris, founder of the financial technology company Computershare and founder/Executive Chairman of the $272 million hospitality company Morris Group, saw that there was a growing market of guests booking out the group’s Orpheus Island Lodge for private use with their friends and family. That was in line with a trend he’d seen for high net worth travelers seeking ultra luxury experiences. He acquired Pelorus in 2017 and started the development process two years ago.
The deck of the infinity pool
“Pelorus Private Island caters to guests very similar to those that enjoy the group’s superyachts on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and the Mediterranean,” explains Morris. “They are seeking the ultimate in privacy and seclusion, as well as an experience uniquely designed to their bespoke needs, very similar to the guests of the group’s superyacht business. Up until now, this was the missing gap in Morris Group’s portfolio, which also includes Morris Aviation, offering helicopter transfer and tours to the group’s guests and a recently added private jet.”
One of the five suites within the residence.
The four main suites (a fifth suite is designed for accompanying staff) are designed in contemporary lines with natural materials-whitewashed hardwood timber, limestone, quartzite-and decorated with handmade furniture and linen fabrics. They measure 560 square feet with 258 square foot terraces all facing the Coral Sea. Elsewhere in the residence are open, light filled lounges, a dining area and an open kitchen to observe what chef Grant Logan, a veteran of high level Cape Town restaurants and superyachts, is creating from seafood brought in by local fisherman and other native ingredients. Key presentations include an Australian barbeque of local reef-caught fish such as Coral Trout, Red Emperor or Giant Trevally or freshly caught Northern Bluefin Tuna prepared sashimi-style. But given his superyacht experience, Logan is used to providing whatever guests request.
Cruising the Palm Island archipelago and the coral underneath.
Central to the appeal of Pelorus, though, according to Morris, is the range of experiences available to guests, which can be coordinated by an activities manager. They can start the day with sunrise beach yoga and a swim in the solar heated pool. Invariably, they then snorkel or dive the diverse Palm Island archipelago including a visit to the Museum of Underwater Art in which art installations have been placed on the sea floor alongside the coral,. Other activities include fishing the reef, cruising the archipelago on guided tours of the sandy cays and pristine wilderness or exploring the sea with jet skis, kayaks or paddleboards. Guests can also cruise over to Hinchinbrook Island, Australia’s largest island National Park, for hiking through dense rainforest, home to an array of flora and wildlife, to cascading waterfalls.
Mulligan Falls on Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland, Australia.
Protecting the surroundings and minimizing environmental impact is a major element of this project, from the all-solar operation of the residence providing a self-sustainable energy supply to a fund to help preserve the reef. The Reef Keepers Fund, created by Morris Group, supports organizations working to safeguard the reef including the Forever Reef Project, an initiative to collect living specimens of the world's coral species and preserve them in a living ‘coral ark’. The area near Pelorus Private Island was selected due to the diversity in species of coral. The same coral which guests of the island can freely observe.
