Pinnacle Hotel Camping; a brilliant spot behind the pub
We camp at a huge variety of different places, and don’t mind a good pub stay from time to time. When Sarah suggested we take up the offer of the Pinnacle Hotel Camping, and try some of their famous pies, I was quick to agree, and we ended up staying for 3 great nights.
Where is the Pinnacle Hotel?
The Pinnacle Hotel is located in between Mackay and Eulunga, on the main road. It’s in Pinnacle itself, and not far from the amazing Finch Hatton Gorge, which we visited whilst staying at the pub.
What is the camping like?
We’ve stayed at a number of different hotels on our Big Lap of Australia, and some are certainly much better than others. The Pinnacle Hotel has a huge grassy area out the back that has a heap of room for all types of rigs. On our last night, there would have been about 30 different setups staying, and there was still quite a bit of room for more.
We liked the location, the hospitality, and the cane trains were fascinating too. The amenities here are great, and there’s certainly much worse places you could stay.
What are the pies like?
The Pinnacle Pies are very well known, and we thought we’d give a couple a try to see how they rated. We had the steak one, and an apple pie, and our eldest son had a kids pie. The were pretty good, but the pastry on our steak pie wasn’t cooked, and Sarah mentioned she didn’t think the chocolate sauce went with the apple pie, but it was delicious overall.
These pies are certainly better than your average bakery pie, and with new owners perhaps things are still being ironed out. We’ll try some more another time, and the rest of the food was decent.
What does it cost to camp?
Camping is $10 per vehicle per night, or you can have drinks or a meal (or both) to support the hotel, and then its free. This is great value, especially with the amenities that they have.
We had a meal at the hotel as a family, and were only planning on spending two nights, but pushed it to a third after realising the Mia Mia state forest 4WD tracks are literally just down the road!
What amenities do they have there?
There’s a single toilet, and single shower (nice, big, and really warm) outside that you can walk to and use. There are toilets inside the hotel too, if the one outside is taken, and they even have a washing machine, and a dryer, which are ‘free of charge’.
I’m going to say that using their dryer without a very good reason is probably pushing the friendship, but if you’re going to use their amenities, support them in what their doing.
You’ll hear the cane trains
One of the unique things about this property is the cane train track runs right past the bottom of the camping area. We knew this, and camped about 15 metres away from the railway, and saw it come past a number of times. You should know that these are noisy, and long, and they come through at night time too; we heard it come through a few times late in the evening (like 12AM).
We didn’t mind this at all, and actually enjoyed the uniqueness. The kids would always pump their arms and the train drivers would honk back, giving everyone a good smile. One of the beauties of travelling Australia is that we usually get plenty of sleep, and a bit of disruption doesn’t bother us much!
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Attractions nearby
Mia Mia State Forest
I mentioned above that we only realised late in the piece that Mia Mia State Forest (and Captains Crossing track) is literally just down the road, and this would be another great place to camp. We called in for half a day to have a look at the camp sites and 4WD tracks, and the kids had a heap of fun at the river.
Finch Hatton Gorge
We’ve done dozens of gorges all over Australia, and they’re always different, but Finch Hatton Gorge stands out for us. Its incredibly beautiful and has a great, semi challenging walk that allows you to see scenery beyond this world. Absolutely visit Finch Hatton Gorge; its unreal.
Eulunga
After the Pinnacle Hotel, we went into Eulunga and stayed a few nights at the Diggings Camp site, which was truly magnificent. Eulunga though, is stunning, and is your best place to find a wild platypus, and it has a number of its own walks and attractions that are stunning.
Is it worth a stay?
Yes, without a doubt. What’s not to like? It’s cheap (or basically free) camping that is really decent, in an area that has quite a bit to see, and you’re supporting a great country hotel. Visit the Pinnacle Hotel and support them; they’re doing an awesome job.
