You can cuddle cows and chat with crocs at this Top End cattle station

The motor of our airboat has been switched off. Our guide Brad has spotted something among the water lilies. Without the industrial blast of noise from the motor, a cacophony of birdsong can be clearly heard. But it's not the abundance of Northern Territory wetland birdlife that's piqued the interest of our burly tour guide. With his thick beard, Akubra and barrel chest, he could pass as a doppelganger for Australian country-rock singer Brad Cox.

"Muuuuutttt," Brad calls out across the wetland channel. I have no idea what that means, but clearly a resident saltwater crocodile does. There's a trail of ripples snaking its way towards the boat. Brad is down on his knees, patting the top of the water.

I've seen the famous jumping crocs on the Adelaide River and viewed the prehistoric reptiles countless times in zoos, but this experience is different. This is no gimmicky feeding exercise. Just a croc in his natural environment, checking out who has entered his domain.

Brad tells us in his free time he enjoys sitting on his airboat, sinking a few beers while chatting to the various crocodiles that live around Finniss River Station, home to Finniss River Lodge, where we're staying. It's hard to decipher if he's serious or if he's playing up to the territory image for the benefit of this southerner. This is a bloke, after all, who likes to say, "There's a fine line between lying and bullshit."

What is true is that every year the station loses a dozen or so cattle to crocs. Unlucky cows that bend down for a drink get pulled into water by their nose and drowned in the dreaded death roll. It's the cost of the business in the Top End.

During the 90-minute airboat tour that explores the station wetlands, we view countless birds. In fact, a large portion of visitors who come to stay here are birdwatchers or "twitchers". The 50,000-square-hectare station boasts magpie geese, pied herons, brown falcons, white-bellied sea eagles and much more. Brad might present as a chilled and masculine bloke more interested in crocodiles than birds, but even he gets excited when we spot Finniss's resident pair of white-bellied sea eagles. The species is monogamous, and mates always remain within each other's field of vision.

While the adrenaline-fuelled airboat is a highlight of the five-star Finniss River Lodge, this is a resort built for enjoying the ruggedness of the Top End with a healthy dose of luxury. It's all about intimacy. The resort, which doubles as a working cattle ranch, only accommodates 12 guests at a time.

Since opening in 2022, the lodge has dazzled visitors with its ecological diversity. The property boasts wetlands, bush, farmland, and even a beach. It's a 90-minute drive south-west from Darwin, but many of its well-heeled guests arrive by helicopter. A literal cow paddock doubles as the "Finniss River Lodge Airport".

There's plenty of time for casual conversations at the bar - as drinks and food are included in the accommodation package - with Finniss's various staff, including the affable Peter Taylor, known as "Fingers" due to the missing pinky on his left hand.

Another experience that sets Finniss River Lodge apart from other tourist offerings in the Top End is Cows and Canapes. The sunset event is a short buggy ride from the lodge, through verdant paddocks filled with skittish agile wallabies and termite mounds, which glow bright orange in the setting sun.

The station predominantly runs Brahman cattle, whose meat is in high demand in South-East Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The property's friendliest cows escape the abattoir's blade and are instead employed to delight guests, and charming they are, too.

I've spent time around beef cattle and dairy farms, but I've never sipped on a gin and tonic, and munched on bite-sized morsels of smoked salmon and kangaroo, while cuddling a cow. Unfortunately, one of the cute little calves doesn't get much of a look-in, with the resident "media star", Wardy, pushing the youngster out of the way to ensure he gets all the attention. Who knew cattle got jealous?

Back at the lodge, it's dinner time in what feels like a private dining room with its personalised service from the chef, who dishes up a delicious three-course meal of swordfish in a cream sauce, lamb tagine, and gelato served with passionfruit sauce and granola.

The six rooms are airy and modern, with large glass doors providing views to the wetlands below. The cowhide rug offers a rugged touch.

On day two we're up bright and early for the Birds, Buggies and Breakfast tour. It's a crisp 17 degrees at 6.30 and the Territorians are rugged up and complaining about the cold. Fingers is our guide and is promising a bush-style breakfast of foraged tucker. I'm quietly working myself up to the idea of eating witchetty grubs and god knows what else when our buggy bounces over the hill to find lodge chef Lachlan diligently cooking up a fancy feast on a camp cooker in the middle of a paddock. Fingers laughs. Another naive southerner caught in Fingers' joke.

It's a hearty breakfast of bacon, poached eggs, spinach and mushrooms - not a witchetty grub in sight - while we watch the golden sunrise over the farm plain. It's magic.

The beauty of Finniss River Lodge is there's no set itinerary. If you want, you could laze around in the pool and drink cocktails, or you can join in on the working-farm activities.

It's muster day, so after breakfast we head out on a buggy to help round up 400 cattle to be shipped live to Singapore. It's organised chaos as our three buggies zig-zag back and forth, corralling the cattle into a long, narrow paddock that ends at the crush. There, the meat inspector will run his eyes over every beast, choosing only unblemished beasts for the ship ride to Singapore.

One night is definitely not enough. It feels like I've only scratched the surface. Fingers and Lachlan offer firm handshakes and broad smiles as they bid us farewell. We haven't been at the lodge 24 hours, but it's like we're old friends. Finniss River Lodge is country hospitality, Territory style.

The writer was a guest of Tourism NT