They can
come and go as the owners decide to open or close them for visitors,
but what is on this page right now is four places, all north of
Cooktown, starting with the closest ones as you drive
along the
Endeavour Valley Road.
The first two,
however,
are not along the highway, there is a further road in, and in the case
of Alkoomie Station it is a serious four
wheel drive track.
Alkoomie
Station
The
closest turnoff to the town, but the rest of the trip is the longest of
all Cooktown farmstays. In the end there is a steep
climb up the mountain range, and it will cost you $50 just to drive
in - which they don't encourage. UPDATE late 2014
I hear the station has been sold, hope for better times!! :-)
Endeavour
River Escape
Endeavour
River Escape also has a drive, but it's just a normal road and not a
hard four wheel drive track. It is a welcoming and friendly place, with
many different camping sites, campfire sites, a camp kitchen, BBQ and
amenities, as well as friendly farm animals that you can pat.
Hilltop
Farmstay
Hilltop
Farmstay is a little further along the main road, but is
almost next to the highway so no more tracks to drive. It is one of the
friendliest Cooktown farmstays and an organic farm, with home grown
fruit and vegies and farm animals. There is a cabin, a safari tent and
a camping
/caravan site, and group camping can be arranged.
Hazelmere
Farmstay
Hazelmere Farmstay is further out, near the Endeavour Falls Caravan
Park. There is homestead accommodation with breaky included, a lake for
fishing, bush walking tracks to Endeavour River, farm animals, bird
watching, and tropical fruit fresh from the trees.
Hilltop
Farmstay
Cooktown
Hilltop
Farmstay is north of Cooktown. And it's not your average camping ground.
On top of
the
accommodation they run tours,
and not only that - even courses,
workshops
and learning adventures.
They are a super eco-friendly
organic fruit and vegetable farmabout 15 minute drive north
of Cooktown.
They have accommodation
in
a
self-contained cabin and safari tent, both twin-share; and also one
powered camping /
caravan site (takes 2WD caravans, 4WD caravans, camper
trailers and tents).
They also
have group camping
by arrangement.
The
guests have exclusive
use of all
the facilities, including swims in
a croc free dam, a library with guide books and maps to discover the
local area, separate shower and toilet (eco friendly but odourless),
washing machine and drier (solar powered), verandahs great for dining,
cooking facilities, BBQ and fireplace (wood supplied).
And they do breakfast
packs, and guests can purchase fruit and veggie boxes.
You can meet their farm animals,
there are kids' farm activities, there
are farm tours
in case you are
curious about solar hot water, how they grow their super
organic fruit
and vegies, how
they generate
their own electricity, or how they operate a closed loop system for all
their organic waste.
They can tailor their tour if
you have any
particular interests, and can for example include working with and
harnessing their heavy horse Marcus.
They welcome
students and groups, and they
even run courses and workshops. These include innovative
farming
practices, tropical cooking, permaculture
design and weekend exploring retreats.
Get
this 50 pages
guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
If
you liked the books or
this website, let others know about it!
Link to it from your website, your blog, your forum post... Share it on Facebook, Tweet
about it...
Every link helps other travellers!
Thank you for doing the
right thing and letting others know :-)
This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.