STANAGE BAY, QUEENSLAND

Ideal for the whole family or just a fishing trip with mates, Stanage Bay is  a hidden gem located on the Queensland  coast.

Where the dirt road meets the ocean

We’re already four weeks into our new year and our main New Years Resolution was to do more little road trips. Long weekends are perfect to pack the car up and get away.

Our first long weekend road trip of the year found us glamping in Stanage Bay, Queensland.  We had this trip planned before Christmas and we are lucky enough to have a family friend with a hut located 2 minutes from the beach, who let us stay the whole long weekend.  So we had shower & toilet amenities #Glamping 😂

GETTING THERE

Less than 100km north of Rockhampton you turn off onto an unfenced dirt road where you are met with the abundance of Australian wildlife free to roam thier territory.  Take your time, as you will come across lots of cattle and kangaroos crossing, and if you’re really lucky you may catch sight of some emus or a deer.  Some have been lucky enough to even have to stop for a passing turtle, snake or echidna.

Stanage Bay Road is perfect for all those wildlife photographers out there.

Although, we had the option of spending our nights in The Hutt, we took our tent along to test our camping skills.  And I don’t know about everyone else but ‘THE TENT’ is always the biggest test for us when it comes to your patience and communication skills. 😂

• Tell us all about your tent set up horror stories in the comments.

Between the 6 of us (10 including our kids) we packed plenty of food.  We had a Webber Q for all out meat and the camp fire for everything else.  Corn cobs and potatoes in the camp fire seem to be our favourite and they go a long way.  On our last night we even cooked the best of what Stanage Bay has to offer on our camp fire, The Mud Crab, which we purchased due to having no luck in the pots that day. YES, you can purchase them from the local Marine and Accommodation Store and Omg, the mudcrabs are an ABSOLUTE MUST! If you’re not allergic.

More info

Stanage Bay will catch you by surprise.  A small town with a population of less than 100.

The town is famous for boating, crabbing and fishing.  If you luck out catching any mud crabs you can always purchase some from the local Marine and Accommodation store . This is where you can also purchase any bait and tackle needs you left behind or if camping isn’t your thing this is where you’ll book your accommodation for your group fishing trip.  Where the Marine and Accommodation store is booked out, give The Barra Lodge a call or you can always look up AirBnb .

If you don’t have a boat, that’s ok! If you’re experienced you can hire one, if available, or take the kids down to one of the deserted beaches to try your luck.  More often than not the kids will be more than happy to spend thier day playing in the shallow waters.

If you have a 4WD head up to the lookouts (only accessible via 4WD) or head to Porters Creek, our kids LOVED fishing off the rocks. You can camp on Porters Creek but campfires are band in some areas due to the the turtle reserve areas so be sure to check with the locals where these bans are located.   And remember to pack your OWN WATER.

NOTE: If there has been plenty of rain you can ask the kind Coast Guards if you can fill your water containers, all they ask for in return is a donation.

All campsites are maintained by local volunteers as well and you can make donations to the volunteers at the local Plumtree Store.

The Plumtree Store has everything else you may need and at reasonable prices.  We always seem to get anxious with the costs being raised for small towns like this but they are honestly fantastic prices and friendly service.  The shop owners are long time residents and have kept the prices reasonable to keep you coming back.

At the end of the day be sure to pop into the Crab Pot Bar for a cold drink and enjoy a meal.  The locals are friendly and love filling you in on the history of the town and might even share some good fishing spots with you.

We all enjoyed ourselves so much that we will definitely be returning this year.  Maybe we will even have our own boat next time!! 😜

 ♡ MrsBleakley