Forget diamonds! Alpacas are this girls best friend
The alpaca farm is so far my favourite place in Queensland.
Opinion
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OPINION:
SUNDAY’S announcement of the Queensland – you’re good to go campaign and the $50 million tourism recovery package got me thinking.
Where is my favourite place in Queensland?
Other than visiting family on the Fraser Coast, I haven’t been many places in Queensland.
My dream was always to travel overseas and experience cultures different to mine.
But seeing first-hand the devastating impacts on local business due to COVID-19, really shook me in my boots.
A few months ago I visited the Mountview Alpaca Farm in Canungra.
It’s been operating for around a quarter of a century and has been in the hands of its current owners for about 10 years.
It’s conveniently located within the grounds of O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards where you can also enjoy a BBQ breakfast or picnic with a wine.
But it wasn’t always there.
In 2017, the alpaca farm was hit by Cyclone Debbie and the opportunity arose for them to relocate to the vineyards.
They have over 40 animals in different shapes, sizes and colours that you can feed and walk around the grounds.
But it’s also more than just a tourist destination.
Mountview Alpaca Farm are also leading an Australia-first program by training their alpacas as therapy animals to visit hospitals and aged care facilities across southeast Queensland.
They kicked off the program in Beaudesert Hospital in mid-2018 and had their first visit to Brisbane Children’s Hospital in December 2018.
The alpacas named Ed Sheeran, Tim Tam and Pancake launched the program, and this year they aimed to reach more people in more locations.
My experience sitting by the river with Tim Tam the alpaca was definitely therapeutic.
Maybe this is a place you can go?
Visit their website for more information: https://mountviewfarm.com.au/.
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