Adrian de Groot lodges application to start farm stay at Ironpot

A Central Queensland cattle farmer has lodged an application with the local council to add camping sites to his property and welcome travellers to his farm.

Ironpot cattle farmer Adrian de Groot has lodged a development application for a farm stay at his property.

The serenity of a farm stay is a growing trend in Australian domestic travel and a new on-farm camping ground could soon be available in Central Queensland.

Ironpot cattle farmer Adrian de Groot recently lodged a development application with Livingstone Shire Council to add camping sites to his property.

It’s an idea Mr de Groot has been sitting on for the last year and a half, wanting to give travellers the same enjoyment their visitors have when they come to stay on the property and also bring in a bit of extra income.

“We’re a cattle breeding block, we have some chooks as well and have a lot of native animals and birds that come through and we have gorgeous views being in a mountainous type of area,” he said.

Mr de Groot said the amount of sites would depend on the proposal being approved, but for now he was aiming to start with three sites for people camping or caravanning.

Adrian de Groot said people staying on the property would be able to see cattle, chooks and a lot of native wildlife on the farm.

According to the proposal document campers would have to be self-contained as much as possible, with the duration of stays limited to seven days or “short-term” stays.

A traveller himself, Mr de Groot said farm stays were attractive to people wanting to experience something they wouldn’t at home.

“It’s the people you meet and the country you see,” he said.

“There was one gentleman I was talking to, who was from Broken Hill, and he was asking about the Whitsundays and going to Whitehaven Beach... he said they like to see the beach because they don’t have any.

“People like to see things they don’t normally see, so we’d be offering this to people who live in the cities who have kids growing up and might want to come for the weekend and go to the beach or see what a farm is like.

“Farm stays are increasing (in popularity) because it’s a lifestyle thing and people want to come out and experience it.”

Mr de Groot said during his travels he had seen an increase of families trekking around the country.

“It’s not just retirees anymore, you notice a lot of people are travelling with their kids full-time, you’d be surprised at the amount of families you see when you pull in for an overnight stay,” he said.

A traveller himself, Mr de Groot said it wasn’t just retirees hitting the road to see the country and has seen many families in his travels.

“There might 10 vans and two of them have children and they’re either doing homeschooling or doing it before they start school.”

He said even after travelling for months on end seeing parts of the country some people will never venture to see, it was always nice to come back to Central Queensland, and other travellers think the same.

“There are a lot of people who come to the Central Queensland coast and find it a great place to stay,” he said.

“A lot of people say it’s a very cost effective place to come and stay and it has a bit of everything and there are people who are not necessarily moving on because they’re coming here and liking it and staying.

“Any of these farm stays bring people to the area and it’s good development for the region because with every 300 or so people that come through one might decide to stay... there’s acreage, beach, rural and a good mixture of attractions that can bring people in who then might buy a house in Yeppoon, Emu Park or Rockhampton.”

The proposal for the farm stay at Ironpot is subject to council approval.