The Wallaby Creek Festival is definitely one of the best family-friendly music festivals in FNQ with three days of live bands, fun workshops and roving entertainers.
While it may be held in fairly remote location (about half an hour south of Cooktown at Home Rule Rainforest Lodge in Rossville), the Wallaby Creek Festival is a popular event that both locals and tourists keep returning to year after year.
This year we were there along with approximately 2,000 other festival-goers and yet it never felt crowded.
And, we had such a good time that we will probably become regulars too.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]festival program[/headline]
The Wallaby Creek Festival is a music festival but there are so many other activities that we found ourselves constantly checking the festival program to make sure we didn’t miss anything.
We started off each day at an early morning drumming session, which was such a liberating way to wake up.
Others chose to join the morning yoga class by the main stage or take a refreshing dip in the creek or one of the three dams on the property.
Throughout the day we took part in hula dancing classes, recycled art workshops, spray painting, tie-dying classes and circus play.
There was also weaving workshops, chakra toning, storytelling, light and sound healing, sustainability workshops and a daily poet’s breakfast.
And the kids were catered for with an enormous ‘Kid’s Corner’ area with art supplies, collage materials and non-stop workshops, plus various large bamboo basket swings hanging from trees at the festival for the kids to play on.
There were also a variety of stalls throughout the festival selling bohemian-style clothing, jewellery, feather hair accessories, circus tricks, music items, crystals, glow products, food stalls and healers offering reiki and massage.
It was hard not to leave with something, whether it be a new guitar pick, a belly dancing anklet or a henna tattoo.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]entertainment[/headline]
The festival has three stages hosting bands and musicians all weekend, which sometimes made hard to hear one band over the other.
Monsoons was the main stage, Troppo was the second stage and the smaller of the three was Wobbly Crick stage which held the poet’s breakfast each morning and was the one where all the musicians ended up jamming on the Saturday evening until 2am.
We were camped right near the Wobbly Crick stage and enjoyed being able to hear the poets and musicians from our campsite.
If you have kids with you, it may be a good idea to pack earplugs or headphones as sometimes the music can be a little loud when the kids are going to sleep.
However, the 2am jamming session was quite mellow and not too loud, so it wasn’t that disruptive for campers.
And besides you are camping at a music festival, so it is to be expected!
There were also roving performers during the festival including stilt walkers and jugglers, and on a couple of evenings there was a fantastic bellydancing show by the Tipsy Gypsies featuring fire tricks.
Another of our favourite acts was Sassy Katz, who performed a thoroughly entertaining fluoro can-can dance in cabaret style.
The line up is diverse and caters to all tastes. Apparently it changes each year and they aren’t normally announced until a few months before the festival. However, one thing remains consistent, the fantastic atmosphere is guaranteed.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]accommodation[/headline]
If you are hoping to book a room somewhere to stay, you are out of luck because the closest option is Lion’s Den or Cooktown.
Most people choose to camp at the festival either in a tent, camper trailer, mini-van or caravan. There are eco toilets available, although they were spread out this year so some campers had a bit of a walk to get to the toilet.
And there were some eco showers next to some of the eco toilets but not all of them.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]waterholes[/headline]
The Wallaby Creek snakes its way beside the festival grounds and you can swim in various sections.
There are also three large dams right next to the camping area where you can swim, as well as a beautiful waterfall about 45 minutes walk from the festival.
The walk can be quite steep in parts and, it goes without saying, take care if jumping from the top of the waterfall because accidents have been known and you’re a long way from medical facilities.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]travel nq fast facts:[/headline]
- The cost of your festival ticket includes camping
- Take your own food as there are no supermarkets, although there are food stalls and coffee vans
- This is a totally family-friendly festival with lots for kids to do
- For more information on the festival visit http://www.wallabycreekfestival.org.au/
