(Daddy recounts)
Day 2 of our awesome stay at Lillydale Farmstay and due to the exertions of the previous day, all of us had a really good night's rest. We had such a good sleep that we overslept and missed the 8.30am animal feeding session.
Oops.
But no worries, Bec - who is the daughter of Farmer Doug and Pam, the owners of Lillydale - had already planned out a day chock-full of activities for us. I've got to admit, before heading down to Lillydale I was kind of worried if there were enough activities to occupy my 3 monkies. Because the last thing I want to do is to endure chants of 'boring, boring'.
If that happened, I could just throw them into the tractor.
I reckoned the boys would have squealed in delight if I had really done that. But alas, Farmer Doug prohibits passengers in the front, so kids and adults alike hopped onto a carriage behind and toured the entire farm premises.
And what a marvelous sight awaited us as the tractor pulled us along.
Occasionally, we would spot a wallaby or kangaroo in the distance and this would get the kids all excited. I found out that a huge lizard invokes that same kind of excitement as well.
Actually if it was up to me, I could just plonk myself in front of such stunning views and chill over a cup of coffee and book the entire day.
But I have kids. 3 of them in fact. So that remains an elusive dream. For now though, the boys were clamouring to go for their next activity. And fishing in the lake was an option.
Yes, Lillydale do have fishing rods and even a boat for loan for fishing enthusiasts but the boys were not too keen on that. They were just content to be rolling around and acting like complete monkies in the tall grass fields.
See what I mean?
But they didn't get to do this for long, as there was a mobile Reptile show which would be dropping by Lillydale. And the boys were only too eager to be really close to the action of things.
Erm, really close actually!
There were different types of lizards and snakes which the boys got to caress. Only the tame and non-venomous ones of course.
Even a tiny scorpion dropped in to say hi! But no, this bugger wasn't to be touched.
And while all these were going on, Ale chose to stay by the sidelines. Obviously she preferred something more domesticated.
After a quick homemade lunch, we galloped down to the stables for some horsy action.
Bec showed the kinds the proper way to brush a pony, which Ale performed with relish. The boys were more interested in something bigger which came with bigger erm, horsepower.
And the boys certainly did enjoy their first horse riding experience.
Which made Ale crave for a slice of the action too!
I initially feared that she would start wailing as soon as the horse trotted along but it turned out I was grossly wrong. She wailed when her turn was up and she had to dismount.
Luckily, Bec quickly distracted her by sending our entire family on a mission - to suss out Dinosaur Cave.
Initially, we did get a little lost in the vast fields as we strained our eyes to pick out the Cave. After a few minutes of bashing through the tall grasses, we came face to face with it.
The name of the cave certainly did intrigue the boys tremendously. And the bones within the cave cemented the boys' belief that it was indeed home to the dinosaurs millions of years ago.
Riiigght.
At least the view atop the Cave was worth our troubles.
We then trekked back to the farm in time for the 4pm animal feeding, where the monkies dutifully carried out Farmer Doug's instructions.
And as the sun began its descent, there was just one last activity for the day - a Bonfire!
Famer Doug piled on the firewood, lit the fire and voila!
A bonfire large enough to roast some marshmallows, much to the delight of all kids (and adults) of course!
Ale had the easiest job of all - eating a yummilicious roasted marshy.
Definitely a good way to end the day.
The next morning, the boys got up really early and insisted on having their breakfast outside the room.
Well, neither could the wifey and I. We had a fantastic 2 nights stay at Lillydale Farmstay. And if you ask me, it is a must-stay, must-go, must-visit place if you are planning a trip to Brisbane or the Gold Coast.
And I'm not saying this just because our accommodation had been so kindly taken care of. In fact, this wasn't our first visit to Lillydale. We first stayed there in 2009 and we had already fell in love with the place then. Only that this time, the experience surpassed the previous one.
Thanks to Bec and her parents for hosting our stay at Lillydale Farmstay! You have been wonderful!
For more information, please visit http://www.lillydale.com.au/
Disclaimer: Some of the activities, like the Tractor ride, Horse and Pony rides and Bonfire are optional and chargeable.
This post is part of our Queensland Holiday series of posts. Do click the label "Queensland" to view all posts related to our vacation. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Tourism Queensland and the respective hospitality operators for their amazing support.
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1 comment :
It seems that the kids are quite brave and they are not even afraid of these dangerous animals.
The life in farmstays looks amazing. I think we can find true happiness and peace in these farmstays.
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