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

The charm of Mildura is hidden in plain sight along the Sturt Highway. The capital of Tropical North Victoria is in a league of its own.

From the moment you arrive in Mildura , the warm air and palm trees invite you to slow down. While most Australians might drive right past it, Mildura is full of surprises. Here you’ll spend one day witnessing over 50,000 years of First Nations history in a UNESCO-listed National Park, and the next dining in a hatted restaurant after wandering through 12,500 fireflies as the outback sunset bursts to life above. From roadside fruit stalls and family-run wineries to houseboats and galleries, it’s time to explore Mildura.

Feast Street, at the heart of Langtree Avenue in Mildura. — Taste, wander and be surprised in Mildura.

Taste Mildura’s produce

It makes sense to start your trip by addressing the most important question: where to eat. In the beating heart of Australia’s food bowl, sample the local produce directly from the source. And then, of course, experience it through the menu of a hatted chef. Or sandwiched between pillowy slices of Nonna’s ciabatta.

Rows of orchards and olive groves invite you to spend the day traipsing from farm to farm. Taste olives propagated from Calabrian trees brought over in the 40s, oranges picked right from the tree and squeezed into juice and spoons full of honey . Bring the holiday back to your kitchen by stocking your pantry at roadside produce stalls, or calling into the ‘silver shed ’ (Sunraysia’s gourmand Mecca).

Thanks to the warm, balmy air and fertile soils, the wineries dotted along these hills produce award-winning local wines. Like Chalmers , a family-run, innovative winery dedicated to making their wines as sustainable as possible. And picturesque Trentham Estate offers views of the snaking Murray River as you sample their vintages.

Venture beyond the gnarled shadows of olive groves and fragrant rows of blossoming fruit trees and you’ll find an otherworldly side to Mildura. With Discover Mildura as your guide, visit Murray River Salt’s Mars-like stacks. The naturally pink salt is formed from an ancient inland sea and evaporated entirely by the sun to create one of the region’s most iconic exports.

Start your day with just-squeezed sunshine.

Hatted dining & Italian history

Mildura is home to a proud community of Calabrians and Sicilians. This, paired with the exceptional local produce, means that you can find paninos on par with those in Italy. The Italian is a Paninoteca serving up made-to-order, hefty, authentic Sicilian paninos. Nonna Rosa’s pork meatballs, slowly cooked in tomato ragu and served in a crusty, fluffy roll topped with gratings of Grana Padano cheese and salsa verde, will call you back to Mildura for the rest of your days.

To find hatted dining in Mildura, simply follow the staircase down into the basement of the historic Mildura Grand Hotel to find Stefano’s . Following the muscle memory and instinct of his Italian roots, he delivers on the principle of ‘cucina povera’. That is, the Italian cooking ideology that turns simple, local ingredients into magic.

Things to do in Mildura include dining at the acclaimed Stefano’s, where simple local ingredients are transformed into Italian culinary magic beneath the historic Grand Hotel. — Bite into Mildura’s Italian heritage.

Discover a thriving culture scene

The city is alive with culture. Whether it’s painted on the town’s walls, told in ancient yarns, or waiting for you in a gallery.

The Mildura Arts Centre was Australia’s first regional art gallery. Behind the walls of Rio Vista Historic House, you’ll find a lineup of ever-changing exhibitions. The gallery’s wall space pays tribute to the art and songlines of local First Nations People, the region’s awe-inspiring landscapes and more. Outside, on the gallery’s lawn, find 12 contemporary sculptures in the Sculpture Park.

Mildura’s streetscapes are a punch of colour. Swirling strokes of paint blend the winding artery of the Murray River, red dirt and local characters into a story you can see with your own eyes, thanks to the Mildura City Heart’s Mural Art Project . Pick up a copy of the Murals of Mildura guide from the Visitor Information Centre.

Follow the border of NSW and Victoria on a map and you’ll see it hugs the curves of a tiny island on the Murray. That’s Lock Island, where, as the sun and moon trade places, the island comes alive as darkness falls. The island is dotted with 12,500 firefly lights that lead you on a meandering path through the outback sunset. The installation is known as Trail of Lights and was created by the same visionary who dreamt up Field of Light at Uluṟu, Bruce Munro.

Things to do in Mildura include exploring its rich cultural scene. From vibrant street art and ancient stories to exhibitions at the Mildura Arts Centre, Australia’s first regional gallery. — Find culture around every corner.

Wonder at ancient landscapes

The landscapes of Mildura feel almost transcendental. The skyline bursts to life with reds, pinks, and deep, sparkly night skies.

The nature will leave you in awe. See hues of pink water changing with the weather at Pink Lakes inside Victoria’s largest national park, Murray Sunset National Oark. Cast a line into Ouyen Lake. Watch the sunset against 70-metre tall red cliffs that reflect the setting sun. Or get the heart racing and sandboard down the Perry Sandhills dunes, formed 40,000 years ago at the end of an ice age.

Just don’t leave without following the twists and turns of the Murray. Stroll or ride along the Shared River Front Path, or jump onboard a boat for a scenic ride.

Your itinerary will be incomplete without a visit to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park . Head out with an Indigenous ranger to witness ancient campsites and footprints, before standing in awe of ancient civilisation near the discovery site of Mungo Man—Australia’s oldest human skeleton at 42,000 years old.

Mungo National Park at night is a vast, silent landscape where ancient dunes glow under moonlight and stars blanket the sky in breathtaking clarity. — Walk in the footsteps of ancient civilisation.

Meet your home away from home

On equal par with planning your meals and adventures, is finding the perfect place to relax at the end of each day.

Sleep inside a Palm Springs postcard at Kar-Rama . A sleek boutique hotel complete with a butterfly shaped, sun-soaked pool. Here you’re staying right in the heart of Mildura but you’ll feel worlds away. Or if you really wish to connect with nature, a night glamping under the stars at Outback Almonds will have you spellbound.

When in Mildura it’s only right to stay on one of the Murray River’s iconic houseboats . Wake up each day to the calm waters of the Murray lapping outside your window. Enjoy days full of river swims, fishing and exploring. All boats are solar-powered and can be self-skippered or moored along the river.

A solar-powered houseboat on the Murray River in Mildura. — Stay and play on the Murray in a solar houseboat.

Start planning the perfect getaway at mildura.com .

7 of the best farm stays around Australia