OUTBACK STATION STAY

  There's not only iron ore in the Pilbara, there are gems too. This place is one, got everything you need and more. Fully equipped camp kitchen (but if you are... read more not in the mood of cooking, they do 2 course meals too), nice showers, communal camp fire, kids' sandpit with Tonka trucks...
The surrounding landscape is amazing, make sure you take the time to go on the farm's very own scenic drive.
Oh, and has anyone mentioned the carrot cake yet?

  Spent the first night at the station camping area after our camper door flew along the Ashburton Downs road and filled the interior with a good centimetre of bulldust -... read more over everything. Les at Cheela Plains couldn't have been more helpful - lending us the use of an industrial compressor to blow out all the dust, then plenty of water at the washdown area (yes you can wash the car and camper for free) to remove all traces. The camp host then had a look at the door to fix the problem. The campground is laid out around a beautiful lawn area with excellent ablution and washing facilities plus a cafe for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Awesome after a long and fraught day on the road. We spent the next two nights at the station's wilderness camp at Mussel Pool - possibly one of our favourite campsites ever! Swimming, hiking, a fire at night and amazing scenery. Then back to the main camping area for a fourth night. Definitely a gem worth visiting with Telstra (and soon Optus) coverage to boot. We'll definitely be back.

  A few people said they drove past this... DONT!! You must go in. From the first phone call talking to les it was a pleasure. Burger nights got everyone around... read more the camp fire talking. Nothing was a problem. Amenities lovely and clean. Don’t feed fatso the lizard. Self explanatory.
Do the Beasley gorge self drive. One of the best gorges we have seen.

  Like most people we stayed at Cheela Plains after a trip to Karijini as it was on the way to Exmouth. Our accommodation was a donger (the smallest I have... read more ever been in - about half the size of those on mining sites and no veranda). It had aircon and shared (spotless) showers and toilets.

With light breakfast (cereal/ yogurt) and a two course dinner (and glass of wine or a beer) it cost $575 for two people for two nights. It is $50 for a campsite.

Meals were in a shared dining room and some of the campers joined us, as did the camp site managers who were all lovely. The food was excellent but the dining room is basic and can be hot as it has an unlined tin roof.

The camp ground had an area of lawn and the outdoor fireplace was lit on one night (on the second night it was too windy) and provided a place for people to gather. It is very dusty when the wind blows.

We were disappointed to find that the station no longer offered guided tours - though we did a self drive one looking at some of the outstanding geological features of the station which came with detailed, written info about the geology. I would have liked the provision of some written information about the flora and fauna in the area.

The homestead is many km from the campground and the owners and station staff were completely separate from the camping area staff. We only met or had dealings with the campground staff.

Cheela Plains is promoted as a 'station experience' but in reality is a 'campground experience' on a station.

  We stayed overnight at Cheela Plains and were thoroughly impressed with the place and the service we received from Les and his team. In fact we were so impressed we... read more booked an additional night on our return trip from Karijini!Wednesday night was Burger night and boy were the burgers great on what seemed to be home made buns.
We took a walk up to the lookout both at sunset and on the morning.
If you looking for a place to stop overnight or even longer then I highly recommend Cheela Plains especially if travelling to Karijini. I hope to be back sometime in the future.
People forget the places but the always remember how you made them feel - Thanks to Les, Julie and your amazing team at Cheela Plains.
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  We stayed overnight at Cheela Plains and were thoroughly impressed with the place and the service we received from Les and his team. In fact we were so impressed we... read more booked an additional night on our return trip from Karijini!Wednesday night was Burger night and boy were the burgers great on what seemed to be home made buns.
We took a walk up to the lookout both at sunset and on the morning.
If you looking for a place to stop overnight or even longer then I highly recommend Cheela Plains especially if travelling to Karijini. I hope to be back sometime in the future.
People forget the places but the always remember how you made them feel - Thanks to Les, Julie and your amazing team at Cheela Plains.

  We had an amazing time at Cheela Plains. The hospitality is amazing. The campsites are brilliant and the facilities are just perfect. Lovely touches like horseshoes as hanging pegs in... read more the showers, firepit lit in the late afternoon and meals supplied if you want them cooked on the bbq and kitchen. They have a brilliant cafe that makes excellent coffee and cakes etc. Thank you so much Robin and Evan and Les who checked us in, made us laugh and could not have been more helpful. Jen and Paul Caston Ascot WA

  Returning to Perth from Karijini, some friends suggested staying at Cheela Plains, a family-owned cattle station 90 kilometres west of Paraburdoo. The property is lovingly tended by the station stay... read more managers, Louise and Les Wiebenga. My wife and I and our adult son were greeted warmly and enthusiastically before being shown to our double and single rooms. The rooms were cosy, clean and well-appointed. Campsites are also on offer, but as we had just packed up from a week at Dales Campground and could only stay at Cheela for one night, we relished the comforts of rooms and hot showers. Les and Louse happily lent us eating equipment as we didn't have ready access to our own. They also pointed out a short walk up a nearby hill overlooking the property. We got up early for the splendid sunrise from the hill.

Also, the optional breakfasts and dinners are fantastic.

I left my wallet in the bathroom on the morning we departed and only discovered my mistake some hours and many kilometres later. Checking my phone I found a message from Les—my wallet had been found (I don't know by whom) and was safe. Les offered to mail the wallet to me within the next couple of days as they would be going to Paraburdoo for supplies. In the event, the walled reached me in Perth within three days of my leaving it. I was relieved and so was Les.

To me, this act of exceptional care summed up our delights with Cheela Plains.

  we camped on the grass in a tent, in late July. The entire expoerience was wonderful, camping facilities were spotless and complete, swimming at Mussel Pool, wondering around the station... read more tracks, star gazing, dining on superb food. All in all a terrific experience; recommended to all

  My first station stay, lovely grassed area, sand pit for kids, fire pit, great camp kitchen and excellent ablution block. Washing machine, cafe and evening meal available. The managers of... read more the station stay Les and Louise were very welcoming and hospitable.

  We stopped here on the way to Karijini from Coral Bay, we camped in our tent which we pitched in a nice site near the fire pit. Unfortunately it was... read more a very hot and windy evening so we didn’t get to experience the fire pit but we were able to shelter from the heat in the cafe with tea and cake. We walked up the hill to watch the sunset which is well worth doing. There is a great outdoor kitchen where we cooked our food and the stars were amazing. The staff at the Station are also very friendly and accommodating.

  Based on rave reviews we booked a powered site for two nights (big mistake) the staff and hosts were friendly and welcoming, the fire pit is a nice touch and... read more a chance to mingle with other travellers. The sites are tight if you need to unhitch and are bordered by huge boulders which have no sympathy for opening car doors, the sites are gravel so at least you're out of the red dirt and the central grassed area is nice to look at. We must have caught the cook on a bad day because the home cooked meal we had was virtually inedible and a complete waste of money, following that experience we passed on the coffee and cake. The facilities are near new so in good condition and a bit quirky in a nice way, the power we paid for was a joke. The self drive gorge tour was ok with one being quite interesting but compared to Karijini it should be free, this is the beginning of iron ore country as a shard of ore in one tyre proved. The owners are trying to create an extra income stream for the station which is understandable and the elements they've got right are great but the location by a mechanical workshop rather than cattle yards or station homestead do let it down. For me is not worth $50.00 a night.

  We only stayed one night, but overall had a great experience.

Firstly the staff, very welcoming and extremely pleasant to deal with made us feel at home as soon... read more as we arrived, The whole environment was extremely warm.

The station is in the outback, so expectations need to be assessed on the location. The accommodation was "X Dongas" so compact with just a double bed, with the AC right over the bed, so we did not use the AC at night, blowing right on the bed. It was a reasonable cool night so had a good nights sleep.

The meals were 'wholesome' as advertised, great chicken and salad, followed by a lovely desert. Breakfast was an easy continental, basic but all that we wanted.

the tour of the gorges was very good, well worth doing.

With a slightly bigger room and bigger bed, definitely stay there again.

  Just dropped in on the way out of Karijini for morning tea. Perfect pit stop with delicious carrot cake and proper sausage rolls at very reasonable prices. Clean toilets, birds... read more fitting about in a shady rest spot and only just off the highway (900m).

  We stayed two nights here in a cabin with shared bathroom facilities. The room, bathroom facilities, restaurant and surrounds of the station were very clean and very well maintained. The... read more host Robin Pensini was wonderful with incredible geological knowledge. It is highly recommended to accompany Robin on a tour of the station visiting the various gorges. The managers and all staff welcoming, warm, friendly, informative and efficient. They certainly made our stay very enjoyable. The home style meals in the restaurant were delicious. Highly recommend a stay here. More