A Cattle Ranch As The Ultimate Toy?

Richard Branson owns an island in the Caribbean. Greg Norman has wineries in Australia and California. Why dont you consider a cattle station in central Australia?

A bold digital advertising campaign targeting high net worth individuals around the world is the centrepiece of an unusual marketing program for a cattle station up for auction in Australias Northern Territory. The digital ads are linked to a purpose-built website that showcases the cattle station

The campaign aims to plant the seed into potential investors minds that a cattle station is a better alternative to other options such as a luxury yacht, or a horse stud.

Mustering cattle is far more interesting than watching grapes grow, says the owner of MacDonald Downs, Charlie Chalmers. We muster by helicopter and quad bikes, I fly very low to the ground to find the cattle hidden under the vegetation and let the bikes know where to follow them up.

The cattle are taken to market up in Darwin by one of the worlds biggest road trains, routinely carrying around 300 head of cattle in three double-decker carriages for the two-day journey up north.

Its these boys toys that have prompted the Chalmers to market their property as the ultimate toy, the perfect sized cattle station to provide a healthy profit and an exciting lifestyle at the same time.

We know there are potential investors out there who have never thought of a cattle station as an investment. Of course you could move here and run the station day-to-day, or you could employ a manager and visit the property whenever you like.

The new owners wouldnt need to make the ultimate tree change, says Charlie, as there are plenty of talented station managers around who would love to be offered such a job.

They wouldnt even have to live in Australia.

The nearest town, Alice Springs has an international airport and the claim to fame of being the closest town to the geographical centre of Australia.

MacDonald Downs is about 285km northeast of Alice, and occupies about 2000+ square kilometres of the unique heart of Australia. It will have around 6,000 head of cattle at the time it goes under the hammer, on 18 June this year.

The vendors have produced a website that covers every aspect of the station, from the business to the lifestyle and everything in between, aiming to give potential buyers a taste of whats on offer.

The cattle pretty much take care of themselves, feeding on the shrubs and grasses that occur naturally on the land and doing things like reproducing without any interference from the humans, says Charlie.

Theres plenty of water in dams and bores that are connected to an extensive irrigation system. Theres plenty of opportunity for further crops and developments in eco-tourism.

Charlie wont publish the price hes hoping to achieve at the auction, preferring instead that anyone interested get in touch with him directly via the details on the website.

Lets put it this way, says Charlie. Its been a family business for three generations. Now we are retiring, and the kids have moved on to cattle stations of their own, its time for MacDonald Downs to pass into fresh hands.