October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

As the anchor drops into the seabed, I give it a gentle tug to ensure it’s secure enough to keep my boat from drifting into the rocks. While shredding the underside of a borrowed dinghy at a luxury resort would make a great story, it’s not the one I have come to Orpheus Island to tell.

Instead, I’ve come to experience extreme barefoot luxury at Orpheus Island Lodge, which reopened in July after a six-month, $10-million upgrade. But this was no casual lick of paint; Melbourne firm Dubois (Portsea Hotel, Daintree Ecolodge) was enlisted to give half the lodge’s 14 rooms an overhaul that includes motorised blinds and pergolas to control both shade and privacy, and outdoor bathrooms in some suites.

Rising early to the sound of gently rustling palm trees and having my pick of three showers – indoor, outdoor and on the deck – is definitely not how a day normally starts at my house, but it’s something I could get used to.…