Victoria’s best petting zoos and hobby farms for summer holidays
THERE are just weeks to go before summer holidays end, and Victoria’s petting farms are a great place to rid the kids of cabin fever. Here’s where you can cuddle a mini donkey and milk a cow.
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WITH just weeks to go before summer holidays end, it’s Victorian families’ last chance to enjoy the warmer weather, daylight saving, blooming flowers and baby animals.
From patting a fuzzy lamb to cuddling tiny donkeys, Victoria’s petting zoos and hobby farms are a great place to get the kids outdoors and rid them of cabin fever.
Here’s where you can meet our cuddliest citizens.
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COLLINGWOOD CHILDREN’S FARM, ABBOTSFORD
Located close to the city, this popular urban farm is easily accessible by car or public transport.
Spring’s lamb arrivals are still wandering the paddocks, along with last year’s doe-eyed calves.
City slickers can also try their hand at milking Heather the Ayrshire cow twice daily.
The farm gave its flock of goats a rest from breeding this year so the only kids you’ll see will be of the human variety.
RAIN, HAYNE AND SHINE, BALNARRING
Piglets are hogging the joint at Rain, Hayne and Shine, with three litters of tiny black and pink porkers recently born at the Mornington Peninsula farm.
Tiny calves and kids are ready to eat out of your hand, while flocks of tame ducks and chickens are always game for a pat.
It’s not just farm animals which call this hobby farm home — native wildlife including wallabies, emus and a resident dingo are among the friendly inhabitants.
And if you want to rest your weary feet, jump on board the tractor for a classic hayride through the farm.
AMELIA RISE DONKEYS, TERIP TERIP
OK, so this is more working farm than petting zoo, but they’re home to something you don’t see every day — miniature donkeys and cows.
Hee Haw Farm, near Yea in central Victoria, is home to around a dozen tiny donkeys who love scritches and attention. If you time your visit right, you may even get to cuddle a fluffy foal.
Miniature belted galloways Ethel-May and Callaghan are part of Amelia Rise Donkey’s pint-sized herd.
Be prepared for a warm welcome from the farm’s friendly army of silky terriers.
CALDERMEADE FARM AND CAFE, CALDERMEADE
There are always cuddly babies to be found at this dairy farm and cafe, which has a dedicated nursery for the young and young and heart.
Depending on the season, you’ll also find chooks, ducks, calves, lambs and goats for a pat.
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Wander the surrounding paddocks and you’ll also find James and Kerry the alpacas (get it?), and Hamish and Andy the donkeys.
While it’s not a farm you can spend the whole day at, the nursery alone is worth a stop to stretch the legs on the way to Phillip Island or elsewhere on Victoria’s east coast.
LIVING LEGENDS, BULLA
Spring racing carnival may be over, but the retired champion racehorses at Living Legends are ready to welcome visitors daily.
Melbourne Cup winners that call the Greenvale property home include Might and Power, Brew, and Rogan Josh.
But there’s more to see and do at Woodlands Historic Park, including face-to-face encounters with large mobs of kangaroos in the surrounding bushland.
Untamed parts of the 700ha park can be accessed by foot or bike, where eagle-eyed wildlife spotters can sight more native wildlife like echidnas, skinks and native birds.
CHURCHILL ISLAND HERITAGE FARM
Where else can you experience mighty Clydesdales and shaggy Highland cattle overlooking the waters of Western Port Bay?
The heritage farm is a stone’s throw from Phillip Island and has been continuously farmed since the 1850s.
With a range of farm activities including wagon rides, cow milking, sheep shearing, working dog demonstrations and more, there’s plenty to keep the kids entertained after roadtripping up the Bass Highway.
And if they still haven’t been run ragged, finish up your visit with a traipse around the island’s walking trails to ensure a good night’s sleep for all.
penguins.org.au/attractions/churchill-island
THE BIG GOOSE, MOOROODUC
This nursery is more than just a farm, with mini golf and an adventure playground for the littlies to explore after exploring the paddocks.
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With a petting barn, wildlife park and tractor rides around the farm, there’s plenty of opportunity to cuddle The Big Goose’s furry residents.
It’s also one of the few children’s farms home to camels and reptiles including pythons.
ANIMAL LAND, DIGGERS REST
A working farm for more than 30 years, Animal Land has been set up for children and promises an authentic, hands-on experience for its visitors.
Tours of the Diggers Rest children’s farm include cow milking, pony and tractor rides, egg collecting, duck feeding and tree-planting.
After visiting the variety of animals and birds, the farmers will even put the kids to work with “farm sports” such as poop scooping.
The animals and farmhands are fresh from a well-earned rest over Christmas, so now is the best time to pop in.
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