Cooktown Campout; brilliant, family friendly camping
After reading the sign at the Cooktown Racecourse about needing a ‘permanently plumbed grey water and black water system’, we left with our tails between our legs, in search of a new place to call home for a night. Cooktown Campout popped up on Wikicamps, and after a quick phone call we headed out.
This is a private property listed on Hipcamps with a heap of great reviews for families with young kids. It’s run by a young family themselves, and I was quite surprised at the property.
Where is Cooktown Campout?
You’ll find this place roughly 15 minutes drive from the centre of Cooktown, out towards the airport. It’s just off a well maintained gravel road, and is easily accessible for 4WD’s and 2WD’s.
What is at Cooktown Campout?
As mentioned above, this is a private property that has been opened up for camping, and the owners are doing a fantastic job. It’s got a big, fenced off area with a heap of animals, a beautiful dam (we’d probably call it a lake), and a number of really big, private camping areas.
These are all well signed, and off a track leading through the property and are perfect for larger groups who want their own little space to relax.
The animals are fed daily at 5PM, and you can wander up and have a pretty awesome time. We bottle fed a number of calves that were barely a couple of weeks old, which was pretty amazing to do.
What amenities are there?
Asides from a fire pit at each camp site, there are no amenities here, and you need to be self sufficient. Grey water is not required to be collected, but you need a toilet with you.
Watch our vlog
What does it cost?
Camping here is $25 a night, with kids completely free (exactly as it should be). On top of this, you’ll pay the Hipcamp fee, if you book through them.
Would we recommend Cooktown Campout?
I was really pleasantly surprised by Cooktown campout. The camping areas are just cleared parts of the bush (without amazing, perfectly manicured grass) and there was quite a few green ants around, but it was awesome being away from everyone and everything.
The animals were a huge highlight for our kids, who had a complete ball, and the owners are absolutely awesome. It’s also really close to Isabella Falls, which is well worth a look.
For the price, we really liked this place, and can’t recommend that you support locals like this any more. They’re doing an awesome job, and it’s a great place to stay, so check it out if you’re going through Cooktown.
