Camping With Cows & Other Wild Stays

Seven places to pitch up somewhere a little different

Camping in Mackay Isaac can put you in some pretty different surroundings. One night you can be beside a dam in the high country beyond Eungella, the next on a working cane farm or a stretch of the Isaac Coast where you need a 4WD just to get there.

There are rainforest camps where platypus live nearby, beachfront sites in dugong country and a tourist park where getting up before sunrise puts you within walking distance of one of the region’s best-known wildlife experiences.

If you're travelling with a tent, camper trailer or caravan, these seven stays are worth knowing about.

 

1. Eungella Dam

Moo-views in the high country

You’ve driven up through the Pioneer Valley, climbed the range and found a spot to camp beside Eungella Dam. The tent is up, the chairs are out and then you notice you’ve got company.

A herd of Brahman cattle is wandering around camp.

It’s not something you expect when you pull into a campsite, but that’s exactly what makes staying at Eungella Dam so memorable. The camping area sits beside the water among open grazing country, where cattle are part of the landscape and might wander surprisingly close to where you’ve set up for the night.

Wake up the next morning and there could be cattle grazing nearby while you make breakfast, with the dam stretching out behind them. Travellers have captured the experience with vans and caravans parked beside the water and Brahmans casually moving through camp as though they’re the ones who booked the best site.

The campground itself is simple, with sites for tents, vans and caravans, along with toilets and showers. Bring your own food, drinking water and camping gear and settle in for a night or two.

There’s plenty to do around the dam once you’re there. You can take a kayak or jetski onto the water, go boating or fish for stocked barramundi and sooty grunter. Anglers aged 18 and over will need a current Stocked Impoundment Permit.

The drive also takes you past Broken River, where you can stop and look for platypus before continuing towards the dam.

Then set up camp and see who turns up.

Camping is self-registration. Check current fees, access and camping conditions with Sunwater before travelling.

Possible neighbours: a herd of curious cattle.

 

2. Notch Point

Off-grid with some friendly locals

It seems the cows know all the best places to camp.

Head out to Notch Point and you might find them already there, wandering between tents and caravans, grazing beside camp or simply standing around enjoying some pretty impressive views of the Coral Sea.

Cattle roam through the coastal grazing country around Yarrawonga and Notch Point Reserves, and they don’t always keep their distance from the campers. They might wander straight past while you’re making breakfast, settle in nearby while you’re sitting outside the van or stop for a look at whoever has turned up for the weekend. They’re very much part of camping out here.

And you can see why they like it. Notch Point puts you right on the Isaac Coast, with open grassy country running down towards the water and plenty of space to find a spot for the night. Camping is free and there aren’t any formal facilities, so you can find your own private patch where you’ll feel a world away. Getting there takes some preparation. Access requires a high-clearance 4WD and the track can be affected by tides and wet weather. There’s no potable water either, so arrive with your own drinking water, food and camping setup and take everything back out with you. The closest fuel, food and bait are at the Ilbilbie Roadhouse, so stock up before leaving the highway.

Once you’re set up, fishing and crabbing are popular around Notch Point, particularly for whiting and flathead, and there’s plenty of coastline to explore on foot. Or stay around camp, put the chairs out and watch the cattle go about their day. They were here first, after all.

Check the weather and tide conditions before setting off and don’t attempt the access track in a conventional vehicle.

Possible neighbours: cattle. Quite a few of them, by the looks of it.

 

3. Fern Flat Camping Area

Camp beside Broken River

Tucked into the forest near Broken River, Fern Flat camping area gives you a simple base right in Eungella National Park, with just six numbered campsites surrounded by the ranges.

The campground is around 600 metres from the Broken River visitor area and can be reached by 2WD along a gravel road. Sites cater mainly to tents, with some also suitable for campervans and small motorhomes. Facilities are deliberately basic, with a non-flush toilet and fire rings, while the nearby Broken River visitor area has additional toilets, picnic tables and gas barbecues. Camping permits need to be booked before you arrive. 

The big reason to stay here is what’s right outside the tent. Broken River is one of the region’s best-known places to look for platypus, with dedicated viewing platforms nearby, although sightings are never guaranteed. There are also walking tracks through the surrounding rainforest, making it easy to turn an overnight stop into a proper Eungella stay. 

Come prepared with your own food and drinking water, and don’t count on staying connected. There’s no mobile reception at the campground, with the nearest reception at Eungella township or Sky Window. 

Possible neighbours: platypus, rainforest wildlife and whatever’s rustling around after dark.

 

4. Oh Deere Farm Stay

Spend the night on a working cane farm

If you've driven around Mackay, you've already seen how much sugar cane shapes the landscape. At Oh Deere Farm Stay, you can spend the night right in the middle of it.

Located at Calen, around 45 minutes north of Mackay, Oh Deere is a family-owned working cane farm spread across 400 acres. Powered and unpowered grassy campsites sit around the homestead surrounded by cane fields, with room for tents, camper trailers, caravans, motorhomes and larger rigs. Toilets, showers, laundry facilities, a communal camp kitchen, barbecue area and fire pit are available on the property.

Owners Karinda and Dale also run sugar farm tours that take visitors through what actually happens on a working cane property, from planting and harvesting to the machinery used on the farm. The tour also visits the property's John Deere museum, known as the Love Shack, which houses their collection of John Deere memorabilia.

There's plenty to do without leaving the farm. Guests can use the farm dam, which is stocked with barramundi for catch-and-release fishing, and Sunday mornings regularly include a barbecue pancake breakfast.

Then there's one night of the year when staying among the cane looks very different.

Oh Deere's annual A Night in the Canefields brings the old cane-burning tradition back to the farm. Held around the beginning of the harvest season, the event centres around a sugarcane fire at dusk, giving visitors the chance to see a part of Queensland's cane-growing history that has become much less common as the industry has moved towards green harvesting.

The 2026 event was held on 18 July, with visitors gathering around the farm before the cane field was lit after sunset. If you're planning a future winter trip around the event, check directly with Oh Deere for the next confirmed date rather than assuming it will fall on the same weekend each year.

Outside the annual event, the farm stay is open year-round. Farm tours depend on weather, the time of year and work happening on the property, so organise one with Oh Deere when booking if that's part of the reason you're staying.

For anyone travelling the Bruce Highway between Mackay and the Whitsundays, it's an easy place to stop for the night without feeling like you've simply pulled into another caravan park.

Possible neighbours: cane farmers, John Deere machinery and barramundi in the farm dam.

 

5. Theresa Creek Dam

Spend a night outside Clermont

About 22 kilometres south-west of Clermont, Theresa Creek Dam gives you a comfortable place to camp without losing the feeling of being well away from the coast and larger towns.

The campground sits beside the dam and caters for tents, caravans and camper trailers. Facilities include toilets, free showers, barbecues, shaded picnic tables, a playground, dump point, food kiosk and two boat ramps. There's also a designated area for overnight generator use.

During the day, the dam is popular for swimming, canoeing, boating and fishing. Redclaw are the main target here, while the dam also holds barramundi, golden perch, eel-tailed catfish, sleepy cod, silver perch and bony bream. Fishing permits are required for stocked species, while separate rules apply for redclaw.

It's worth giving Clermont some time on either side of the stay. The town's history stretches through gold mining, agriculture and the devastating 1916 flood, and you can visit the Clermont Historical Centre, walk around Hoods Lagoon or head out to one of the district's designated fossicking areas.

Back at the dam, phone reception is limited. Once the sun goes down, that distance from the larger coastal centres also means fewer lights around camp. Bring a chair outside, leave the phone alone for a while and have a proper look at the sky.

Camping fees apply and sites can be booked through Isaac Regional Council.

Possible neighbours: redclaw, freshwater fish and the local birdlife around the dam.

 

6. Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park

Welcome the day with some roos

If seeing the kangaroos and wallabies at Cape Hillsborough is on the list, staying at Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park puts you right in the middle of the action so you can skip the early alarm.

The tourist park sits beside Cape Hillsborough National Park and has powered and unpowered camping sites as well as cabins. There are camp kitchens, barbecues, showers, laundry facilities, a swimming pool and other facilities on site, so this is one of the easier camping options on the list if you prefer having a few comforts around you.

The main reason to stay here is what's waiting outside in the morning. Eastern grey kangaroos and agile wallabies come onto Casuarina Beach around sunrise to feed on mangrove seed pods washed up by the tide. The park runs a daily sunrise wildlife experience, we recommend getting down to the beach before sunrise.

They're still wild animals, so keep your distance, don't touch or feed them and avoid flash photography. Once they've moved on, spend some time exploring the rest of Cape Hillsborough rather than heading straight back to camp. The national park has rainforest, eucalypt forest, beaches, rocky headlands and walking tracks all on your doorstep.

Because the tourist park sits within the national park, dogs and other domestic animals aren't permitted.

Possible neighbours: agile wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos and more than a few early risers.

 

7. Clairview

Camp beside dugong country

Around 123 kilometres south of Mackay, Clairview is a small seaside community where the Bruce Highway runs close to the coast and the pace drops quickly once you turn off.

The town sits beside a protected dugong sanctuary, with shallow seagrass habitat along this section of the Isaac Coast. Dugongs can sometimes be spotted from shore when they surface to breathe, although sightings are never guaranteed. If you're boating or kayaking, keep your distance and slow down in areas where dugongs are known to inhabit.

Camping and caravan accommodation is available beside the coast at BarraCrab Caravan Park, putting you close enough to wake up with the Coral Sea outside. Clairview is also well known for fishing and crabbing, and you can cast from the beach or use the local boat ramp to get onto the water.

For a more established campground nearby, Flaggy Rock Camping Ground has toilets, showers, barbecues, picnic tables, a playground and swimming pool. It's inland from the beach rather than directly on the Clairview waterfront, but works well if you want more facilities while exploring this part of the Isaac Coast.

Clairview itself is the better choice if waking beside the water is what brought you here. Bring the fishing gear, check the tides and leave some time in the morning to walk the beach before getting back on the highway.

Possible neighbours: dugongs somewhere offshore, mud crabs and shorebirds.

The choice is yours. What’s assured is that a night under the stars in the Mackay Isaac region does wonders for the free spirited.