Bloomfield Escape

We can't say enough positive things about Bloomfield Escape! John and Debbie were the perfect hosts. We arrived via the 4WD-only Bloomfield Track, which takes you through dense rainforests and cassowary country, up into a beautiful mountain landscape, and then down into Bloomfield Escape, which is a short ten-minute walk from a beautiful and nearly deserted beach. The grounds of the cabins are open air and full of wildlife. The cabins are roomy, clean, and comfortable. They have hot water, a water heater, a fridge, microwave, stovetop and grill, pots/pans/plates/silverware, air conditioning, and WiFi (though we had some trouble connecting). Make sure to bring your own food, especially if you're driving in a bit later in the day: there is an excellent cafe down the road open for breakfast and lunch, and a market, but neither is open late. The location is remote, but as a result, we had the most spectacular stargazing of our lives there. During our stay, we drove an hour north to visit Cooktown, and then explored a nearby reef and island with John and Shane, where we also caught coral trout that we cooked that night for dinner. 10/10!

Bloomfield Escape has beautifully built cabins in a large, well maintained and uncrowded garden area. The cabins are very comfortable and well-appointed and Debbie and John are great hosts. It's a long way from home but we hope to be back.Dinah and Rob

We spent an amazing time at Bloomfield Escape, a little paradise next to the beach. We especially enjoyed a boating and fishing day, snorkelling and crocodile spotting! John and Debbie are lovely and took care of us. We highly recommend their place!Marion and Hugo

Such a magical place hidden away on the Bloomfield river. Both Debbie and John are the perfect hosts and were very accommodating! The river and reef charters were such a special way to experience all that FNQ has to offer with professional guidance and experience. The cabins and grounds were exceptionally well kept and very inviting. If you're looking for a place to relax and kick back with a beer as well as having the opportunity to entice in a little adventure then this is the place to go! Thank you so much Debbie and John and staff for making my stay so much more special! I look forward to coming back soon- Jordan, Brisbane AU

We rented a boat and did a little cruise on the nearby river. Great personal service, amazing prices very friendly and helpful owners. The owner gave us two fishing rods, 3 fishing lines, bait and an eski full of ice. Without knowing much about fishing we caught a big queenfish thanks to the good advice we got. Spotted several salt crocs and had a great day there.

This was the best place ever for us....John and Debby have created such an exquisite garden and grounds with perfect cabins. The cabins are really comfortable and have every amenity you would need.A really great place to stay. However, the icing on the cake was our day out on John's boat Escape II. We set out at 8 am for the most memorable day ever. We motored out of the Bloomfield river with John and Shane. Did some fishing...brilliant and we all caught a fish and selected two for our dinner- Coral Trout and Spotted Cod.....more of this later.Having done our fishing we then reached Hope Island (a veritable uninhabited desert island) where we did snorkeling which was fantastic. ...the coral reef just amazing.....this was followed but a magic lunch that John prepared amongst the trees....then we circumnavigated the island with Shane's expert guidance.You must not miss this day or a stay at Bloomfield Escape....it is fantastic and a bucket list item.Thanks to John and Shane for great day at sea and to Debby and John for a brilliant place to stay and relax.Now to the the best fish I have ever tasted.....it was kindly filleted by Shane and was then cooked lightly in butter and flour and lightly oiled and salted ....it was probably the best fish we have eaten....fresh and delicious....it don't think there is a restaurant that could match this exquisite meal.....what a day.

Chalet style accomodation of one big room with two beds and a sofa and a lovely porch out the front with a bbq, and located in beautiful well kept grounds. It was very comfortable and slept 3 of us very easily with a pull out sofa bed, also we could prepare food in the small kitchen in the cabin. The owners were extremely kind and helpful and very informative about all things to do with CaptainCook and his journey in that part of the world. Also gave us a chance to visit Wujal Wujal and the falls. They were very very kind and thoughtful especially as we came on the trans north bus and had no car.

We had a great stay at Bloomfield escape. We stayed 3 nights with the intention to explore in the day and stay at the accommodation in the evening.After a chat with John on the first day, he advised that the weather was good enough to fish a morning out at sea. We had a great morning on the water and took home a coral trout which was filleted and given to us for lunch and dinner (best eating fish in the sea). John is a very knowledgeable and experienced captain - he gave us great info on the area and the equipment for fishing and safety is all excellent and well maintained. They also have a number of boat options for off / on shore fishing / boating.John and Deb ensured we had all we needed and gave us some fresh coconut to drink and a few other bits to make the stay even better.Accom was clean and has all you need to cook on the BBQ and microwave, our room had 2 fridges which was great to store all the food and drink,Will stay again and hopefully get out for a fish another day,Thanks,Rob

Although I have travelled throughout Australia for many years I have never really had the urge to write areview to critique or comment on my experience at any particular location.Firstly our motivation for going to Bloomfield Escape was to Charter their reef boat to fish the reef, we had booked the accommodation for 3 days, just before leaving home John ( the Owner ) rang to say the weather didn't look good for the fishing did we want to reconsider, we had booked and paid deposits, but how manypeople would ring.We all agreed we were still going and also knew the owner had to be a good bloke.As it turned out the weather put the reef trip out, just bad luck.The accommodation was fantastic large modern cabins with plenty of privacy and well spaced, with 8 acresof beautiful lush grounds.Always hard to please everyone but everyone loved their stay and had a great 3 days.Last but not least, great holidays don't just happen without great management / ownership.John and Debbie you were fantastic hosts, we will be back, I feel like wishing you luck, but good operators make their own luck.All the bestThe Friars and the Actons

My husband wanted a fishing trip, our 9 year old son wanted an adventure and I wanted a relaxing place to read stress free and get away from our busy crazy IT world. 10/10 for all three of us. Our son loved it so much, he said I could move here, my husband had fish for the BBQ on the verandah each night, great bonus hire fishing boat just arrives at boat ramp and get in – end of the day no cleaning the boat , our son could run safely around the large open park around our villa , seeing all creatures great and small without a cage and free, our Villa – music to my heart just like being in a Bali Unit, amazingly comfortable villa with heaps of privacy as only 3 units all placed strategically to feel you are the only one on holidays, great beds, kitchen facilities, hot showers and terrific verandah to enjoy a wine on each night. With local babbling creeks as our swimming holes, other places would charge a fortune to be in such beautiful surrounds and sparkling water, all these are all free and part of the experience, fishing in a picturesque Bloomfield river, John picks and drops you and the boat off at the boat ramps at your chosen times –John does everything for you and nothing is a problem. Saw big crocodiles lying in the sun, heaps of birds, kookaburras laughing, and other wildlife around, John & Debbie both so kind who run Bloomfield took us in their 4wd to the Meg Falls and picnics at minimal cost or if you prefer fishing or just 4wd driving on the back beach to get some mudcrabs costs are more than reasonable. For those who need a coffee shop just one 5 min down the road and a cheap IGA. John and Deb go out of their way to help connect with the nature and enjoy the natural beauty of this wonderful place. Just when you think it could not get any better, don’t forget to do the go out on Johns Reef Fishing Boat.Great Fishing experiences, boats for hire were terrific we felt very safe and clean. Reef fishing was so much fun for our deep sea fishing, unfortunately we had 16 days up there and we ran out of time to go out on the reef again for the leisure day as well for snorkelling and turtle sight seeing (next time we will do this)We had TV, internet IT phone and little mobile reception (except on the river) which was just perfect. Our son did not even miss his Ipad or even turn the TV on once. It was just a terrific very cheap family fishing adventure holiday.What can I say – this is a place every Australian should go to and see the true Australia still untouched. An absolutely beautiful kept secret, everyone drives around up to Cooktown, do you yourself a favour and book into this untouched eco system spot, surrounded by mountains rainforest and a picturesque Bloomfield river, topped off with a Private Villa with sea breezes and go fishing.