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The owner of Australia’s most remote luxury lodge and one of WA’s premium tourism experiences that was directly hit by Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina says it was not insured.
The destructive core of Fina, which laid waste to parts of the Northern Territory as it crossed the coast at the weekend and early on Monday, hit the Berkeley River as a category 3 system about 9pm, WA time.
Parts of Berkeley River Lodge were destroyed by Cyclone Fina.
Gales and damaging wind gusts reached 100km/h along the coast and inland areas between the King George River Mouth and the Cambridge Gulf.
The Berkeley River Lodge, an exclusive retreat on the northern Kimberley coast and a popular spot for cruise ships to stop, was directly hit and suffered significant damage.
Speaking with Radio 6PR on Wednesday morning, Berkeley River Lodge co-owner Rachel Bromage confirmed the lodge was not insured, after she had to weigh up having a viable business or having insurance.
“The insurance, the premiums just became unsustainable, and you have to balance the risk with viability, so yes it does make it all that harder, and the realisation is certainly there,” she said.
Trees have been uprooted all along the coastal retreat.
The retreat had just undergone three years worth of renovations before the cyclone hit, and two caretakers at the property were forced to hide underground sea container as the storm passed through.
“They pretty much had to bunker down for almost 13 hours,” Bromage said.
“They said the sounds were terrifying as you can imagine, and they came out and of course, you’re expecting it’s not going to be pretty, but there was a lot of shock and disbelief.”
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Out of the lodge’s 20 villas, three are beyond repair, but Bromage is optimistic at least 15 of them will be ready for the next tourist season in May 2026.
“What did hold up really well was the lodge, the lodge is great, a little bit of roof damage and some lost panelling, but other than that, the lodge is in really good condition, and that’s the same with the decking areas and the pool,” she said.
It is currently the wet season in the Kimberley, meaning many tourism businesses have shut for the summer months and no visitors were at the site when the cyclone hit.
However, the lodge was due to reopen or its 2026 season with fresh new refurbishments to welcome visitors.
Saltwater Properties’ Chris Banson said the lodge still planned to open next year, but Fina had ripped up parts of the new tourism offering.
The retreat was set to open with new work that had been completed over three years.
“We are still assessing the full extent of the damage and the impact that this will have on the 2026 season,” Banson said.
“Our plan at this stage is to still open in May for our planned full refurbishment.”
Fina has now weakened to a tropical low system as it moves inland, and has brought intense rain to parts of the East Kimberley. Emergency services are still warning about the possibility of flash flooding.
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