Bullara Station bounces back with strong tourist season after Cyclone Narelle devastation

Bullara Station, a popular tourist destination and outback cattle station, has concluded an unexpectedly successful tourist season, seven months after being ravaged by Cyclone Narelle.

The Exmouth Gulf property, located 1,200 kilometres north of Perth, made headlines in March when destructive winds and flooding caused widespread damage.

Station owner Edwina Shallcross said the cyclone "took us for six".

"We initially thought, 'This is amazing; we're actually going to get some decent rain,' so we were quite elated and joyous about it all, but then it quickly turned around, and we realised we were in a lot of trouble," she said.

Devastation and Rebuilding

Ms Shallcross said they had experienced significant cyclones in the past, but Narelle was unprecedented. They were left without clean water and power for weeks, and had to rebuild the station from scratch as more than two metres of floodwater rose across Bullara's 100,000 hectares.

"In terms of infrastructure, everywhere you looked, everything went under," she said.

"The cost to the business has been really extensive, and of course the emotional and physical pressures that come with something like it, it's been a lot."

A Successful Tourist Season

Despite the challenges, Ms Shallcross said that, due to the team's hard work, they were able to open the station to tourists just weeks after the cyclone.

"We're so grateful and proud of all our team; they've just stood by us and been really incredible," Ms Shallcross said.

The iconic red dirt and vast rangelands have made a comeback, but in the days following the cyclone, the station was unrecognisable. Video footage showed livestock wading through neck-high water and smaller animals finding shelter in floating cars.

"I remember watching a cow reversing in towards the wind just outside my window and thinking, 'Gosh, they're amazing, just how they know to put their backs to the wind,' and it was just head down," Ms Shallcross said.

"It was quite fascinating; they just try and get near something quite solid and try to find some high ground; they're pretty switched on."

Silver Linings

Seeing the damage to the infrastructure, Ms Shallcross was initially worried about how the station's livestock survived.

"Last week we finished trucking out our cattle, and the silver linings are those shiny healthy Droughtmasters," she said.

"They couldn't be in better condition and just the feed on the ground; it's so positive to see the country coming back again, so there's always a silver lining."

As the season came to a close earlier this month, Ms Shallcross bid farewell to the final tourists of the year and sent the last of the cattle off to market.

"We're looking forward to a bit of relaxing now, and hopefully we don't have to go through that again."