Are you looking for a ‘Moo’-ving experience for your next family getaway? Look no further than a Farm Stay! It’s time to ‘Pig’ture yourself surrounded by beautiful Aussie countryside, experiencing some ‘Ewe’-nique moments as you and the kids get up close and personal with friendly farm animals. It’s bound to be an ‘Egg’-citing adventure for everyone… 

Ok, seriously though, no more ‘Horsing’ around. Here’s 5 Farm Stays our Blondie tribe have loved visiting, located in NSW and QLD:  

1. Carinya Station Farm Stay – near Lightning Ridge NSW

Carinya Station is awesome. What we loved most about this farm is having the opportunity to meet the lovely owners Joe and Jacinda. Each morning Jacinda runs a farm tour where you can tag along and learn SO MUCH about farm life and the realities of what it means to run this amazing 6,600 acre farm.

The major draw card for the kids was of course the animals!!
‘Kid Kindy’ is a gated area where they keep all the baby animals which you have full access to. Our mini blondies literally spent ALL DAY with the animals. Marli loved it so much she woke early each morning at 6am to brave the cold and help Jacinda hand-feed the baby sheep, goats and chickens.

Camping / accommodation at Carinya Station:

This place is the real deal, a true working station, not a caravan park. So there’s no slab caravan sites and only a few limited powered sites. It’s best if you are self contained with a few eco toilets on site and one water tap/fill point to fill up your van. There’s also no showers on the station but that’s not a problem, just 10 minutes up the road is the famous hot artesian bore baths which we highly recommend (entry is free).

Campsites are ‘pick your own’ at check-in so in true ‘Blondie style’ we set our van up far away on the banks of one for the dams. This gave us a truly remote feeling, and the best view to enjoy the most amazing stars at night, as well as brilliant sunrises and sunsets. Fires and dogs are also allowed.

If you don’t have any camping gear they also offer a lovely Glamping option in ‘The Gidgee’.

Explore the area:

Carinya Station is a great base to explore nearby Lightning Ridge, a quirky opal mining town. We highly recommend the ‘Chambers of the Black Hand’ tour, the self guided ‘Car Door’ tours and the hot artesian bore baths. You can see more of our time at Lightning Ridge here on our Instagram Highlights.

If booking Carinya Station via HipCamp use code: TRACYM31131F for $10 off your booking.

2. The Peach Farm – Mororo NSW

The Peachy is such a little gem. This eco friendly, off-grid fruit farm is a 20 minute drive from Yamba (or 2 minutes off the main highway). Here you can get up close and personal with all their furry friends. Again, meeting the owners Edwina and Ray was a great experience. Chatting with them gave us a real insight into farm life and the passion behind why they love sharing their farm.

Of course, the kids favourite thing was being ‘hands-on’ with the animals and helping to feed them each morning. They especially loved visiting the bunny and guinea pig enclosures for a cuddle or ten! The two donkies, peacocks and cow happily grazing around us at camp certainly added to the atmosphere too.

We camped up beside the dam and overlooked the kids as they happily paddled in the kayaks provided. We also enjoyed a warm wood-fired bath amongst the banana palms (bookings required). Don’t forget to pack your pizza ingredients so you can enjoy some epic home made pizza in the pizza oven. Peaches can be hand picked during Spring.

Camping / accommodation at The Peach Farm:

Camping is all off-grid, with no power or water.  There is a simple eco toilet and no showers, except for the bathtub experience mentioned above. There is also a Glamping Tent ‘Star Gazer’ coming soon. Fires allowed in the fire pits provided. Dogs allowed.
See our Instagram Highlights for more info about The Peach Farm.

Explore the area:

The Peach Farm is a great spot to base yourself to explore nearby coastal towns. These include Iluka (we highly recommend the rainforest walk), Yamba, Evans Head and the Scottish town of Maclean. 

If booking The Peach Farm via HipCamp you can use code: TRACYM31131F for $10 off your booking.

3. Footprints In Style – Eungai Rail NSW

The lovely Footprints in Style is a little getaway rather than a farm stay but we had to include it in our list too. Surrounded by rolling green hills this bamboo farm is a little gem that our Blondie Family really enjoyed. Located 30 minutes from South West Rocks (or 10 minutes off the main Highway), it’s a great spot to visit for a night or 2 if you’re travelling past.

We chose to camp up on the hill overlooking the spring fed dam and our 2 adopted pet horses, as well as the HUGE love heart the camp host Lucy mows into the adjacent hillside. It was so lovely to see the cows wake up and happily much on some ‘love grass’ throughout the day. Down by the waters edge there is a pretty impressive jetty and lounge area as well as a Tiki Bar.

We had a fabulous time rowing the little boat around the dam as well as swinging off the jetty into the water.

Camping / accommodation at Footprints in Style:

Camp spots are all unpowered and it’s best to be self contained. There are some ‘Posh Dunnies’ (eco toilets) and 2 gorgeous outdoor showers which are very ‘insta-worthy’ looking over the hillside, and guess what – they are even HOT!

Upon arrival campsites are ‘choose your own’ and although the property is a little hilly there is plenty of options for you to set up your tent or rolling home. There’s also a few Glamping options too with ‘The Love Tent’ and ‘The Sleep Out Cabin’.

Explore the area:

Footprints in Style is a great base to explore South West Rocks and Scotts Head / Stuarts Point and Grassy Head – all of which are beautiful coastal towns.

If booking Footprints in Style via HipCamp you can use code: TRACYM31131F for $10 off your booking.

4. Susan River Homestead – Hervey Bay QLD 

You’ll find Susan River Homestead just outside of Hervey Bay, QLD. It’s a great alternative to the often busy and cramped caravan parks in town. There’s plenty of space to roam around and some friendly horses you can meet and even ride if you like (bookings required). 

The highlight of our stay was feeding the cows! We had no idea what that involved but on our first morning we were asked by the Farm hand if we wanted to help, and of course we did! So we jumped into the back of a trailer chocka-block full of bread and off we went.

Moments later we were amongst a herd of hungry cows and horse’s running at us just as we were told to “throw them the bread”! Well, what a crazy fun thing to do. We chucked loaves and loaves of what must be stale bread to these hungry mouths with HUGE tongues coming at us. It was an unexpected experience and one we won’t forget. You can watch our Reel video on Instagram here haha, how fun!

There are plenty of outdoor activities available at Susan River Homestead, including fishing, kayaking, bushwalking, mountain biking and horse riding. The property also features a swimming pool, tennis court and mini-golf course so there is no time to get bored. Ziggy loved the mini bike track next to our camping area too.

Camping / accommodation at Susan River:

This place is pretty huge and has it all. From powered and unpowered sites to proper hotel accomodation and an onsite restaurant and bar (only open at peak times). Fires and dogs are allowed. 

Explore the area:

Susan River Homestead is located just 10 minutes out of Hervey Bay making it a great base to enjoy that ‘outback bush’ feel of camping while still close to all of the shops, whale watching and gorgeous turquoise waters the region is best known for.

If booking Susan River Homestead via HipCamp use code: TRACYM31131F for $10 off your booking.

5. Splitters Farm – Bunderburg QLD

Splitters Farm is a great farm stay / caravan park experience located only a 10 minute drive north of Bundaberg. While here, we celebrated Ziggy’s 7th birthday and if you ask him, farm life did not disappoint!

The main highlight is being able to feed the animals sweet potatoes and boy is that entertaining!! Each morning the pigs, goats, camel, horse, chickens and cows are delivered their ‘breakfast’ which you can help feed them through the wire fence.

Like most of the farm stays we have visited, the furry residents of Splitters Farm are rescued animals. They may have been neglected, abused or the victims of their owners change of circumstances. In addition to the rescued barnyard animals, the farm is also home to native Aussie animals. Wallabies, platypus, barramundi, the rare lung fish as well as over 150 bird species call it home.

During our stay we also watched a movie under the stars with their outdoor cinema. The kids loved playing on the huge cubby house and riding their bikes to visit the animals in their paddocks any time they liked.

Camping / accommodation at Splitters Farm:

This farm stay is very much like a caravan park with powered sites and full facilities you would expect in a van park. There is a grassed unpowered section if you want to camp further away amongst the trees, as well as established glamping safari tents. Fires and dogs allowed.

Explore the area:

Splitters Farm is a great spot to explore all things ‘Bundy’ and even the Great Southern Barrier Reef. We loved the local beaches, especially Bargara Beach as well as the amazing skate parks in the area (we visited them all at the birthday boys request!). The famous Bundy rum factory is worth a visit as well as the Mon Repos Turtle Centre.

If booking Splitters Farm via Hipcamp use code: TRACYM31131F for $10 off your booking.

---

Well team, there’s loads of information here but one thing I did want to point out is how awesome it is to meet and chat to the owners of these farm stays. Meeting them certainly adds to the experience. Not all camp hosts come out for a chat but the ones that do we appreciate hearing about their story and enjoying that ‘good old’ country hospitality that often comes with meeting these legends.

Where’s your favourite farm stay? We’d love for you to add them below in the comments so we can visit them next. Happy travels legends, we’ll see you out there.

Pin this post to Pinterest: