Nadine and Ron Atkinson run Pinnarendi Station Stay and Café, at the Forty Mile via Mount Garnet, Queensland. “We’re the sixth-generation of Atkinson’s to live on this block of land” Nadine proudly exclaims. “Ronnie’s ancestors were the pioneers of this area, and his grandmother did the initial research on Undara Lava Tubes and many people appreciate how connected we are to this region.”
Pinnarendi Station Stay and Café is nestled in an ideal location that sits at the crossroads between the Tablelands to the east, the Gulf Savannah to the West, Charters Towers to the south and Cairns to the north-east. Its proximity to these areas of interest is a key drawcard for travellers who pass through the region. But if you were to ask Nadine what attracts over 2,000 visitors each year to her station stay, her response is unequivocal: “It’s the homemade food and the amazing coffee”.
Nadine and Ronnie take great pride in sourcing as much produce as possible locally, including the locally grown coffee from Mareeba. They are unashamed in their passion for making great homemade food, such as cakes, ice cream, sourdough based, woodfire pizza and hand-crafted sourdough bread. In fact, as Nadine explains, it was their love of food and hospitality that was the key factor that drew them towards establishing a station stay operation.
…it was their love of food and hospitality that drew them towards establishing a station stay.
Nadine is no stranger to hospitality, having worked previously for the Hilton Hotel chain and at Undara Experience. The couple acknowledged that what they lacked in a natural water source (e.g. running stream, lake, etc), they were more than capable of making up with their great cooking and welcoming nature. They explained that in hindsight, the lack of a lake or natural water attraction probably suited their desires for who they wanted to attract as they felt that these attractions can sometimes attract more energetic crowds who could disrupt the tranquillity of the area. It is a conscious decision of theirs to cater to the grey nomads and travelling families who pass through the region looking for ample space and peace and quiet.
The property runs approximately 250 head of cattle. They reduced their herd as they were so busy with the StationStay, they could not get away to check the water, fences and the cattle themselves. The land itself (4000 acres) is simply not big enough to make a living from cattle alone. Pinnarendi doesn’t offer station activities. Nevertheless, there are many options for travellers who are seeking to occupy their time. The property has some interesting bushwalking tracks, and it is a great place for bird watching. Nadine has also partnered with nearby attractions to offer tour bookings, an activity which she is able to collect a commission from. “People like purchasing their tours through us because we have plenty of local knowledge and can give our unbiased opinions on which attractions will be most suited to them.”
Nadine and Ronnie also welcome guests who like to fly in for a coffee, making use of their private airstrip. “Just last week we had a group of friends fly from Goondiwindi to Townsville then to our property for a lunch. They then flew over to Undara for the night because we were fully booked that night.” Some of their most regular customers would find it hard to locate Pinnarendi if they had to drive there in a car!!
The experience to establish the station stay business wasn’t all smooth sailing for Nadine and Ronnie. They explained that some difficulties arose with their development application, including when they first realised that their property was located in two Shires. This peculiarity meant that the Shires had requested two separate development applications, but after some negotiation, Nadine and Ronnie were able to proceed with only one. The couple makes the point that while it is important to comply with all of the Shire’s requirements, don’t be afraid to push back when some of the requests seem unreasonable. Thankfully, many of the other processes such as food licencing proved to be relatively simple and painless for the couple.
After seeking advice from their accountant, Ronnie and Nadine decided that operating their business under the same partnership structure as their existing pastoral business was the best option for them. Doing so proved to be more simple and lower cost than establishing a company or trust. On a practical level, this means that the station stay uses same ABN as the pastoral business, albeit with additional registered business names.
Ronnie and Nadine’s biggest outlay was for the building of an amenity block which cost approximately $60-70,000. The couple also built a commercial kitchen in an old garage which complied to the food licencing requirements. The food licence specifies that a licensed commercial builder and plumber are required for works on the kitchen. Thankfully, the couple were able to call in a favour from a family friend which reduced costs significantly.
When asked about her tips for any prospective hosts wanting to try their hand at station stay tourism, Nadine explains: “don’t overcapitalise! Shop around at places like Gray’s Online, auctions and second-hand retailers to keep your costs down. We managed to get a coffee machine worth $10,000 for only $2,000 and all it needed was a good clean and service.” Her final tip is “…if you are just doing it for the money, don’t do it. You will make money but having people in your space all the time takes a lot of energy. You need to be a person that enjoys human interaction, socialising and looking after people to begin with! Your heart has to be in it.”
- Average length of visitor stay: 2-3 nights but sometimes up to 9-10 nights.
- Operating period: Open between Easter and October. Closed for the rest of the year so Nadine and Ronnie can enjoy family time, work around school commitments, sort out the cattle and do the maintenance that falls behind during the season!
- Although they have the capacity to expand, they work hard to manage the bookings to keep Pinnarendi to a size that is manageable without staff.
- Capacity: 12 powered, 18-20 unpowered sites.
- Prices: $27 per night for powered site, $37 a night for family. They keep prices low because they prefer people to spend more money on food.
- Marketing: Wikicamps is by far the best, however they also rely on Facebook and word of mouth.
- Booking platforms: Ronnie and Nadine only rely on their website and phone bookings. The couple prefer to control first interactions with their customers.