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Cheela Plains Station is a family owned cattle station located a short 900 metres off the bitumen highway between Karijini National Park and Ningaloo Reef. We offer shady campground sites set around an oasis of lush green, wilderness bush campsites in the Beasley Gorge, rooms, self-drive trails, Red Plains Cafe and Telstra mobile coverage, just to name a few. It is the perfect stop between the reef and ranges if looking to just stop and stretch your legs while enjoying a cuppa with our delicious in-house made carrot cake or to stay for one or more nights and discover our 400 million year Geological Time Trail marking the Great Oxidation Event. Team Cheela welcomes guests to connect with the West Australian Pilbara and all the rugged landscape has to offer. Settle in for a magnificent sunset, and while around the campfire witness the Southern Hemisphere night sky come to life. Open seasonally from April 1 – October 13, each year.
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What a great surprise! We thought we were just breaking a long road trip - but Cheelah Plains ended up being somewhere we wished we'd been able to stay longer. Our room was small but very well equipped with a little kitchenette and ensuite. The mattress on the bed was too soft - but I have a bad back so am more susceptible than most to average mattresses and in the scheme of things this wasn't important. The two course meal which we booked in for, was delicious and we enjoyed meeting some other travellers on communal tables. The breakfast which was included in our night's stay was also excellent (as was the carrot cake which we took away to enjoy on our travels). The highlight for us was the little hill behind the camp. It provided the most magnifient views of sunrise and sunset over a vast plain. We wished we had the time to visit more of the station.
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Date of stay: June 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Robin Richards Pensini, Owner at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 17 June 2024
Thank you for such a lovely review. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay with us. Safe travels!
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Amazing oasis in the desert in the midst of rugged beauty. Accomodation options from own tent, supplied tent, caravan sites, self contained etc Top quality food at Red plains cafe. Fantastic hospitality! Don’t miss it! Stay 2 or more nights and receive complimentary access to our self-drive 4x4 private gorges.
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Date of stay: May 2024Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip:Book your dinner early before it sells out
Make sure you explore the private gorges
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Robin Richards Pensini, Owner at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 1 June 2024
Thank you for spreading the word about our Pilbara oasis.
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We just had 2 lovely nights (either side of a few nights in Karijini). We had the comfy famliy guest room and we were all very snug and loved the fairy lights that guided our way home from dinner. The staff were very friendly and even taught the kids magic tricks and the homecooked dinner was delicious- the whole family demolished every mouthful both nights. We loved exploring the property and it was a perfect place to stay to break up our travels. Thank you for being so accomodating.
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Date of stay: July 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cheela Plains Station Stay, General Manager at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 31 July 2022
So lovely to hear you enjoyed your stay! Thanks for sharing.
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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 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.
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Date of stay: September 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cheela Plains Station Stay, General Manager at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 12 Sept 2020
Good morning Deryn, thank you for staying with us at Cheela Plains Station and sharing your wealth of knowledge on horticulture. Your insights into plant propagation and management combined with your fastidious detail when writing your documents are a credit to you. We certainly will be using the business contacts which you have so generously provided to assist when we are creating our vegetation buffer for dust suppression. The job of deep ripping prior to planting to maximize water penetration is an excellent idea. We are pleased that you enjoyed the Self Drive Gorge Safari Tour and the Time trail notes, which are an excellent complimentary addition which we are glad you absorbed yourself in. Team Cheela is a close living, close knit little family and we are so proud that the owners of Cheela Plains Station are onsite almost daily ensuring visitors and staff are all well informed on the goings on of an active 500,000 acre cattle station. The stock horses and approx 2000 head of cattle are an impressive sight to see, as they were tracking beside the campground last week whilst they were in "cattle training mode". With Robin, our owner, on her trusty steed and a new staff member assisting on the motorbike the Cheela Plains guests sure got a real Station Treat. Enjoy your travels and thank you again for your review.
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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 - 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.
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Date of stay: October 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cheela Plains Station Stay, General Manager at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 6 Oct 2020
Good afternoon Penny, Team Cheela thank you for your sincere words. We understand the challenge of a house filled with bulldust! (in a nice way) Luckily the compressor was available to ease your pain and reduce the height of your dusty bed by 1cm. Enjoy your journey and good luck with your beautiful caravan it certainly is a nice one, if not a little dusty.
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This is the second time we have stayed at the station and it was as good as the first time. You can drive past it if you're not careful so pin it in your sat-nav before leaving. The station has put out more signs on the road, as you approach the station but pin it anyway. It's a great place to stay for a day or more. We stayed for three days at Mussel Pool, approximately 35 kilometres from the homestead. If you are looking for a place to get lost for a few days, this is one of them. One of the things we appreciated is that although other visitors were at the station, there was no overcrowding. Check it out for yourself.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:If you have a long way to go on your road trip. As part of the trip planning, pin Cheela Plains...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Robin Richards Pensini, Owner at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 8 Oct 2021
Thanks for sharing your experience. So pleased you enjoyed your stay.
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We spent 4 days, 3 nights at the wonderful Cheela Plains Station. All of the staff were so helpful, especially the lady at reception ( sorry I don't remember your name but you're English, like me 😁) The communal fire each night was great for meeting new travellers especially the Wednesday night, burger night. They even have a cafe with excellent coffee and amazing carrot cake. The self-drive 4wd trials,(map supplied ) give you an idea of just how vast the station is....highly recommended and we will return when we're up this way again.
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cheela Plains Station Stay, General Manager at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 31 July 2022
So pleased you enjoyed your stay and our lovely, 'Danni'. Safe travels!
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Excellent visit that we came back for more!! Enjoyable stay with young family.
Stay, Showers and toilet was immaculate, even higher standards than some other accomodation in Karijini. The team were phenomenal at Cheela Plains especially camp hosts Suzi, Colin and Janine who were most hospitable.
Nightly camp fires were a daily attraction for campers from 530 onwards. Campers spoilt with either burger nights or a sit down dinner which was delicious after a day of travelling or exploring the area.
Speak to the camp hosts and do explore the area - Mussel pool is a must visit in the area for the day!
Well done and thank you to the team at Cheela for the enjoyable stays.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Robin Richards Pensini, Owner at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 8 Oct 2021
Glad you enjoyed so much of what we have to offer. Thanks for the lovely comments about our team. I will pass them on for sure.
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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 tracks, star gazing, dining on superb food. All in all a terrific experience; recommended to all
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Date of stay: July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cheela Plains Station Stay, General Manager at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 27 Aug 2020
Thank you Companion 720920. Mussel pool is one of the many gems here at Cheela Plains. The Tarzan swings into the pool can sometimes be spectacular with the red rocks shining in the background.
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We had been told Cheela Plains was the bees knees by friends so already had a high expectation when we arrived.Unwhelmed when we arrived with a circular lawn with vans parked around it.Power and water so that was a bonus.$60 a night which is HUGE.2 washing machines that were going the whole time and little space to hand your clothes.2 showers in females and 2 toilets recipricated in the mens.My husband had a hot shower but mine was just luke warm and I came out shivering.Communal fire pit which was great to meet everyone else travelling,Mostly all have come from Karijini or on their way there.There is a cafe which serves cake and coffee.The board says coffee is $6 but I was charged $7????You can also order meals for the night which is a main and dessert for $45.We didnt eat there but the group discussion around the fire was that it was terrible and very small.The highest score it got was a 4/10 so glad we didnt order the meal.Dessert we were told was a packet chocolate mousse.Staff were nice and friendly.You can do a couple of walks on the property.One being to the "cave" 6kms round trip and a nice easy walk to the top of the hill where the flag is for views around the property.Next time I will be using the free camp spots which are opposite Cheela Plains on the other side of the road
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Date of stay: July 2022
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cheela Plains Station Stay, General Manager at Cheela Plains Station Stay
Responded 3 Aug 2022
Dear CaddyandbellA, We take our reviews very seriously, especially those who pass on misinformation. Thank you for the positive feedback!!! It's unfortunate you didn't address a possible mischarge for coffee with the cafe at the time of purchase. Our coffees are $6 with an additional dollar charged for an extra shot or takeaway cup which is well advertised. It's disappointing fellow guests didn't enjoy their meal. The chocolate mousse was homemade in our kitchen and all of our meals are of a VERY generous portion. Our laundry has 3 coin operated washing machines. In future can I suggest your reviews reflect your own personal experience and leave others to pass on theirs. Happy travelling!
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Chill out; Cheela Plains is a station remotely located in the Pilbara, and you want to know, in advance what is on the menu? really?
Suffice to say that when I visited in August 2021, the food was extraordinarily good
Thanks for your enquiry. We advise to book ahead through our website. A powered site for 2 people is $50/night. We look forward to welcoming you to Cheela Plains. Regards, Robin Pensini
Hello Carolyn,
We do have plenty of space for caravans to any size. Large Winnebago Motorhomes can also be assured of a suitable site with easy access and a flat solid surface to stay and enjoy the offerings of Cheela Plains Station Stay.
There are more places to choose from in the Nanutarra area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$46 - AU$329 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
AustraliaWestern AustraliaNanutarra
NUMBER OF ROOMS
29
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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