Best farm to holiday near the Gold Coast: Where are the best spots?
They began their rural romance six years ago and this couple still feel like they are on holidays every day. READ THE GC GETAWAYS REORT >>>
Lifestyle
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CUDGERA Springs owners Amy and Todd Arnell began their rural romance six years ago and still feel like they are on holidays every day.
It’s a lifestyle they want more people to experience, opening up their freshly renovated farmhouse at Cudgera Creek to holiday-makers on Airbnb.
“It’s a slower pace where we make time for the smaller things,” Mrs Arnell said.
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“We want guests to be able to unplug from the rat race and spend quality time with family and friends.
“It’s about enjoying simple pleasures like feeding the animals, collecting eggs from the hens and picking fruit from the orchard.”
While the family jumped gumboots and all into improving their 55-acre property near Pottsville, guests are free to enjoy the pool perks of the low-impact farm stay.
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“We have built most of our improvements by hand: planting a 100-tree orchard, renovating the old dairy shed, adding stables and, most recently, building a firepit from rocks hand-picked with help from our two boys,” Mrs Arnell said.
“We are slowly building up the native tree population by planting a tree for every guest that stays.
“Our biggest challenge and greatest joy has been renovating the original homestead circa 1940 into a modern luxury farmhouse that we can share with others.
“It was the original house for the area, consisting of only four bedrooms and a veranda.
“We have opened it up, maximising the view of the farm and extending the veranda to meet our new 12m mineral lap pool.”
The light-filled four-bedroom, two-bathroom abode, able to accommodate up to nine guests, features a pastoral panorama from every room.
“We love the start and the end of each day on the farm,” Mrs Arnell said.
“You can watch the sunrise from your four-poster bed surrounded by the sound of native birds.
“We often awake to the most colourful sunrises and, in the evenings, the moon rises from the deck are spectacular to watch.
“Guests comment on how they feel like they are in the middle of nowhere, yet only five minutes’ drive to the beach.”
Visitors can stay close to home – planning a bushwalk, daydreaming on the veranda swinging chair and meeting Cudgera Springs’ animals – or explore further afield.
“The Northern Rivers are blessed with natural beauty,” Mrs Arnell said.
“Stunning Cabarita Beach and Hastings Point are only 10 minutes’ drive, while Black Rocks beach and Pottsville creek are only five minutes away.
“Byron Bay is 35 minutes down the road, with gorgeous hinterland walks and great surf.
“I recommend foodies visit Pipit in Pottsville, Spice Den at Casuarina, Finns at Salt and Taverna in Kingscliff.
“You could also explore the local country town of Burringbar and spend an afternoon sampling local cheeses over a bottle of wine at Tweed Valley Whey.”
Rural romance: Country getaway just 12 minutes from beach
TAKE a dip in a wine-barrel pool, soak under the stars in an old tub and share a swing overlooking a pastoral panorama – there’s no need to get hitched to a farmer to enjoy a rural romance.
Just 12 minutes from Currumbin Beach, holiday-makers can enjoy a no-strings fling with the farm fantasy at Hillview Estate.
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The historic black angus beef stud is home to two holiday rentals, the main family homestead and Hillview Dairy, with The Farmer Wants a Wife film crew and social media stars Pia Muehlenbeck and Ellie Bullen among those heading for the hills.
While the homestead is primarily used for location shoots, owner Simone Williams says the newly completed dairy is available for short stays and steadily seducing urbanites.
“We finished it in January and opened it, then closed it because of COVID-19, now we’ve just opened it up again after putting the finishing touches on the styling,” she says.
“We’ve also added a plunge pool that we’ve wrapped with timber to look like a wine barrel.
“With a spectacular backdrop of the mountain range, it’ll be perfect for a splash in summer.”
In winter, it’s the fireplace hogging the attention, just one of many home comforts hiding behind the dairy’s original 100-year-old barn doors.
Guests can warm their hands around an organic cuppa made using the SMEG coffee machine or dream the day away on the big, sun-dappled deck where a hand-sawn swing provides a sweet spot to contemplate a view tailor-made for two.
The connection to the view isn’t lost inside.
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“I tried to design the bathroom so you look at the stars when you’re in the bath through the clear perspex above it,” Simone says.
“There’s also an outdoor tub near a firepit.”
While the rustic retreat could be pulled from the pages of Country Style, Simone says she’s most proud of retaining its character in the restoration.
“Built in 1887, Hillview Homestead became the first working dairy farm of many in Currumbin Valley, constructed by one of Australia’s first pioneering families, The Boyd family,” she says.
“The old dairy has been sitting on our property for 120 years.
“I kept looking it at thinking what I could do – it’s such a special building with such historical significance and it sits on a ridgeline with such spectacular views for the cows.
“We literally pulled it apart, put all of the timber into a pile and put everything back together.
“A lot of the timber is handcut from the surrounding forest – it still has the curves of the trees.
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“Now guests at the dairy can sit and reflect upon the history of the unchanged Currumbin mountain range, valley and creek and watch the continued beef production of Hillview Black Angus Cattle, our ethical, grass-fed paddock-to-plate beef.”
The dairy is priced from $380 to $465 a night and available for stays of at least two nights.
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