7 Of The Best Farm Stays Around Australia

As farmers flip the way they work and we change the way we take holidays, there is a new crop of farm stays opening up around the country.

From helping harvest produce for communal meals to horse riding, feeding the chooks and learning about sustainable living, here are seven of the best farm stays around the country.

1. Mount Mulligan Lodge, Tropical North Queensland

Guests who visit Mount Mulligan Lodge may not get their hands too dirty, but when they leave it will be as cheerleaders for outback Australia (even though the lodge is technically in the Tropical North Queensland region). The new luxury lodge, which sits in the shadow of the 18km-long sandstone escarpment of Mt Mulligan, has recently undergone an overhaul by the team behind Daintree Eco Lodge and Orpheus Island Lodge.

Synch your stay with the pace of life in the 28,000-ha property and you might find yourself fishing for barramundi, learning about the everyday operations of a working cattle station or doing laps in the infinity pool. Guests at the lodge can find heritage at every turn, from exploring the pastoral history of the region, as well as the Indigenous ties to the land, which date back 37,000 years.

Mount Mulligan Lodge has recently undergone an overhaul (Photo: Jason Lerace)

2. Grampians Nature Programs, Victoria

Part nature workshop and part farm stay, Grampians Nature Programs are hosted on a property owned by Jon Muir, one of Australia’s greatest living adventurers, and his wife, Suzy, a passionate permaculture expert.

This hands-on experience has its roots in sustainable living as, together, the couple share their knowledge of living off the land, tracking down bush tucker and foraging in the forest. They also partner with World Expeditions twice a year to coincide with kooyan (the local indigenous word for the March harvest) and petyan (the October harvest) to host a four-day workshop on organic farming, sustainability and animal tracking as well as collaborative art projects.

3. Bullo River Station, Northern Territory

Interior designer, author and stylist Sibella Court, of homewares store, The Society Inc., has stamped her signature style on this working cattle station and homestead located in the northwest corner of the Northern Territory.

Guests can stay in one of 12 rooms designed with interiors inspired by the palette Court has pulled like a silken thread from the surrounding landscape. The accommodation also includes huts perched on the clifftop and accessible only by helicopter. Pull on your Blundstones and don your Akubra: in between sipping Champagne, swimming in remote waterholes, and discovering Aboriginal rock art, you can whip-crack your way through a day working the land and experiencing station life.

Bullo River was included in the 100 Unique Stays Across Australia in the Unique Outback Accommodation category.

Explore signature style on this working cattle station and homestead

4. Eden Farm Escape, Bilpin, Blue Mountains, NSW

Eden Farm Escape has batted the old-fashioned farm stay concept for six. After rounding one more bend on a narrow road near Bilpin, Eden Farm Escape comes into view. The retreat, which opened in 2018, comprises five beautiful self-contained bespoke cabins set on a 36-hectare patchwork green quilt.

In addition to the Eden Equine program, the evocative landscape promotes another kind of therapy: tranquillity and relaxation. Eden Farm Escape is part of Eden Equine, and, in an effort to lure visitors #backtobilpin, is offering all guests a complimentary equine therapy session with one of its 12 horses and ponies. There are also a number of farm animals onsite, including donkeys, alpacas, goats, sheep, pigs and cows.

Eden is committed to providing a place of harmony

5. Kimo Estate, Gundagai, NSW

Although it’s now relieved of the sound of snoring and excessive cursing, the Shearers Quarters at Kimo Estate, housed in an unapologetically rustic outbuilding, is still full of character, functioning beautifully as a farm stay. The estate, located halfway between Melbourne and Sydney and 10 minutes from Gundagai, will connect country people with city folk who want to stay somewhere with a distinct Australian accent.

While the farm stay can accommodate up to 32 people in its eco huts, cottages and shearers’ quarters, the 110-year-old property is also a working sheep and cattle farm. The eco huts that have slid onsite to Kimo Estate are an exciting option for the conscious traveller, as the high-end cabins are completely off-grid. We love that they are suffused with light and layered with cotton, leather and wood.

JR’s Hut on Kimo Estate was included in the 100 Unique Stays Across Australia in the Unique Regional Accommodation category.

Kimo Estate is full of charm and character

6. Eelah, Maitland, Hunter Region, NSW

Follow the hollow tinkle of cowbells on this 28-hectare cattle property and you will be led toward pastures where fat, happy livestock graze. While the notion of a countryside holiday has been around forever, the idea of agriturismo is catching on around Australia as farmers who have been doing it tough for decades find incentives to diversify and create experiences for hosted guests.

The Eelah guesthouse is located amid rivers of colourful native grasses that flow toward the entrance of this dinky estate, located in Maitland, in the Hunter Region. Stay in a modern architect-designed barn conversion that is suffused with light and features a fireplace and outdoor terrace. The original barn partitions have been reimagined as rooms that sleep up to five guests.

Eelah is located amid rivers of colourful native grasses

7. Burnside Organic Farm, Margaret River

The McCall family behind the Burnside Organic Farm present like a walking advertisement for sustainable living. Hang out with the family on the Margaret River farm for a week and you will want to be them: get your hands dirty learning how to make wine, see how food is grown in the vegetable gardens, collect eggs from the chickens and hear a how-to on harvesting honey.

Light the pot-belly stove in your bush bungalow, take a deep breath and relax with a Permaculture for Idiots book by the fire while you dream of emulating the McCall model of living off the land. The farm has been certified organic for more than 17 years and the family can help you plan your perfect holiday, which may or may not involve pruning the vineyard.

Burnside Organic Farm presents like an advertisement for sustainable living

Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.

Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans

“Keeping craft alive is a noble cause,” says Jess Cameron-Wootten, a charming and passionate master leathercrafter and cordwainer, who handmakes traditional leather boots and shoes in Ballarat’s old Gun Cotton Goods Store.

Ballarat was recognised in 2019 as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, and today it’s a place where craft traditions converge with contemporary needs. Nothing quite captures this convergence as a visit to Wootten , the workshop and store of Jess Cameron-Wootten and his partner Krystina Menegazzo.

heritage buildings in Ballarat — Ballarat’s streets are lined with heritage buildings. (Image: Matt Dunne)

Jess’s father was an artisan bootmaker, or cordwainer. Now Jess and Krys and their small team of artisans continue the tradition, but with a modern spin. The company’s boots and shoes, made completely from scratch, are renowned for their quality and longevity. Wootten also craft shoes, bags, belts, leather aprons, wallets and more.

Cosy beanies, gloves, alpaca socks, “unbreakable” shoelaces and various other goods – many from local craftspeople and small-scale makers – fill the shop’s shelves. “We’re always happy to support a mate,” says Jess. “People love to see the workshop and where things are made. Our clients care about quality and sustainability,” Krys comments. The company slogan ‘Made for generations’ says it all.

Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery. (Image: Tara Moore)

For Ruby Pilven, craft is also in the DNA – both her parents were potters and with her latest porcelain ceramics, Ruby’s young daughter has been helping add colour to the glazes. “I grew up watching my parents in the workshop – I’ve always been doing ceramics,” she says, although her Visual Arts degree was in printmaking. That printmaking training comes through particularly in the rich layering of pattern. Her audacious colour, unexpected shapes and sudden pops of 12-carat gold are contemporary, quirky – and joyful.

You can see Ruby’s handcrafted ceramics, and work by other local and regional artists, at Ross Creek Gallery , a light-filled space surrounded by serene bushland, across from the mudbrick house her parents built in the 1980s. A 10-minute drive from Ballarat, it’s a tangible link to the region’s well-established craft traditions.

How Ballarat is preserving the past

artisans making crafts at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — The Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades holds workshops to preserve crafts and skills.

While tradition is ongoing, there’s a danger that many of these specific type of skills and knowledge are fading as an older generation passes on. Step forward the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades .

The seven purpose-built studios occupy a fabulous modern building adjacent to Sovereign Hill, with state-of-the-art facilities, enormous windows and landscape views across to Warrenheip and Wadawurrung Country.

artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — Check out artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.

Practising artisans run hands-on workshops. Fancy making your own medieval armour? Or trying your hand at blacksmithing, spinning wool, plaiting leather, weaving cane or craft a knife? Book a class and learn how. “It’s about creating awareness and also sharing knowledge and skills before they are lost,” explains Deborah Klein, the centre manager.

A city steeped in food and flavours

Chef José Fernandez preparing American streetfood at Pancho — Chef José Fernandez creates vibrant South American street food at Pancho. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

One skill that hasn’t been lost is that of cooking. Ballarat’s burgeoning gastronomy scene runs the gamut from an artisan bakery (the atmospheric 1816 Bakehouse) to cool coffee shops, speakeasy cocktail bars and distilleries to fine-dining venues. But I’m still surprised to find Pancho , José Fernandez’s South American street food restaurant, serving fried cheese tequeños, fiery fish tacos, Argentinian grilled chicken.

The room is as lively as the food – a whirl of colour filled with gifted and thrifted paintings, photos, tchotchkes (trinkets), plants. There’s a Mexican abuela aesthetic going on here. Even before the music and mezcal kick in, it’s fun. Heads up on the drinks menu – an authentic selection of mezcal, tequila, South American wines and Mexican cerveza.

a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits, Ballarat — Enjoy a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

The spirit is willing, so after lunch we head towards the gold rush-era Ballarat train station and across the line to the old 1860s Goods Shed for Itinerant Spirits . At one end, a massive German copper still looms behind a wall of glass. The fit-out embraces deep olive-green tones, original bluestone walls, steamer trunks as coffee tables, heritage timber floors, oversized lamp shades and cognac-hued modernist leather seating.

the Itinerant Spirits Distillery & Cocktail Bar, Ballarat — The distillery operates from an old goods shed. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Gallivanter Gin, Vansetter Vodka and Wayfarer Whiskey – the key spirits distilled – star at the bar. The spirits are crafted using grains from the Wimmera Mallee region, and native botanicals foraged in the Grampians. Seasonal cocktails are inspired by local people and places (I loved The Headland, inspired by Sovereign Hill and flavoured with old-fashioned raspberry drops). Sample the spirits, and join a cocktail masterclass or a distillery tour. It’s a seductive setting – you’ll likely find yourself ordering a charcuterie platter or pizza as the evening progresses.

The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury

one of the rooms at Hotel Vera, Ballarat — The rooms at Hotel Vera have a contemporary style. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

New lives for old buildings keeps history alive. Vera, Ballarat’s boutique five-star hotel, has taken it to the next level: it’s a palimpsest, a subtle layering of early 1900s and 1930s Art Deco architecture with a sleek new wing. There are seven spacious suites, each a dramatically different colour, with designer chairs, blissful bathrooms. High-end pottery and hand-picked artworks imbue the spaces with personality.

Vera’s intimate, award-winning restaurant, Babae, is subtly theatrical with sheer drapes and gallery lighting, its bespoke timber furniture and brass-edged marble bench setting the stage for food with a sharp regional focus. “We have goat’s cheese from a local supplier, handmade granola from local Vegas & Rose, truffles from nearby Black Cat Truffles, fresh food from our garden, and regional wines,” says joint owner David Cook-Doulton.

Celebrating the local makers, bakers, growers and producers, and the master chefs who work their magic is all part of the rich tapestry that links Ballarat’s history to its vibrant present.

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

It’s 90 minutes from Melbourne, either on the Western Freeway, or hop on a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station.

Staying there

Hotel Vera is a centrally located Art Deco boutique hotel. Consider Hotel Provincial , which feels like a sleek country house, but with its own restaurant, Lola.

a contemporary room at Hotel Provincial, Ballarat — Hotel Provincial has country house vibes.

Eating there

dining at Mr Jones, Ballarat — The table is set at Mr Jones. (Image: Tony Evans/ Visit Victoria)

Culinary whiz Damien Jones helms Chef’s Hat winner Mr Jones Dining with quiet assurance. His modern Asian food is deceptively simple with deep, intense flavours. Low-key, laid-back ambience, lovely staff, thoughtful wine list.

Cocktails are definitely a thing in Ballarat. Reynard (fox in French) is foxy indeed, a clubby space with top-notch cocktails and small bites. Grainery Lane is extravagantly OTT with its massive 1880s bar, myriad chandeliers, brass gin still, Asian-inspired food and lavish cocktails.

dining at Grainery Lane, Ballarat — Dining at Grainery Lane.

Playing there

a laneway filled with artworks in Ballarat — An artful laneway in the city. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Check out local design legend Travis Price’s wall murals in Hop Lane with its colourful canopy of brollies, or in Main Street. The Art Gallery of Ballarat’s off-site Backspace Gallery showcases early-career artists in a stylish, contemporary space. First Nations-owned and run Perridak Arts connects people to place, bringing together art and crafts in this gallery/shop.

a woman admiring artworks at Perridak Arts Gallery — Perridak Arts is a First Nations-run gallery. (Image: Tony Evans)

The wineries of the Pyrenees are close at hand with their welcoming cellar doors and robust reds. Join a behind-the-scenes tour at the Centre for Gold Rush Collections .

Don’t forget the giant bluestone Kryal Castle , ‘the land of adventure’, for a little medieval magic, and not just for the kids: get ready for Highland-style feasting, jousting, even overnight stays.

7 of the best farm stays around Australia