Recently we jumped aboard the Tilt Train from Brisbane to Bundaberg and headed out to the foothills of Mt Perry, Queensland to stay at gorgeous Marchioness Farmstay with Deb and all the animals!
In this article we will tell you all about the farmstay, the animals, the local Burnett region area and why you should choose Marchioness Farmstay as your next holiday with the kids! Whether you stay for the weekend or a week or more, whether you book the comfortable bedrooms or choose the pitch a tent on the 40, 000 acres, this should be added to your bucket list of adventures with the kids!
Right, let’s jump in!
Directions to Marchioness Farmstay
Marchioness B&B Farmstay is roughly a 4 hours 30 minutes drive north of Brisbane. If you are travelling from Bundaberg, it is around 1 hour 20 minutes inland towards Mt Perry. If, like us, you fancy taking the Tilt Train, that takes about 4 hours 30 minutes also! But then you will need to hire a car (we recommend Bundaberg Car Hire – ask for Bobby) for an affordable option.
You will drive on sealed roads the whole way, but they do narrow the closer you get. You may also have to carefully navigate your way past cattle sitting on the road just before you reach the homestead! The entrance to the property is well signed at the front gate. You do not need a 4WD to visit.
Address: Marchioness B&B Farmstay, 262 Harpurs Hill Rd, Mount Perry QLD 4671.
What to expect at Marchioness Farmstay
Marchioness is a home away from home. The scenery is gorgeous, the welcome friendly and the facilities great! Deb’s motto is ‘Arrive as a guest, leave as a friend’.
Accommodation at the farmstay
When you arrive, you will find the homestead (pictured above) with 7 bedrooms with an additional building behind it with even more bedrooms. We stayed in the section behind the homestead – it comprised of three bedrooms and a bathroom and 2 toilets.
Out the back is also a HUGE deck with an outdoor kitchen for self catering and long tables for entertaining.
Camping at Marchioness farmstay
As well as the built accommodation, Deb offers bush camping onsite. You can also bring your caravan… and your dog to camp here!
Meals at Marchioness
Your stay can be self-catering, B&B or fully catered. Just let Deb know your preference. We chose fully catered to save us bringing up food on the train or shopping before we headed to the farmstay. The Sunday roast was delicious!!
The animals
For us, the highlight of the stay was the animals. Being ‘city kids’, our three kids don’t get to spend much time with farmyard animals. They certainly don’t get to pat cows on a regular basis!
Cows & bulls
Deb took us out for a ‘farm tour’ to meet the cows and bulls. As the property is 40, 000 acres, they wander from paddock to paddock through creeks and lush grass over the day. Some of the bulls are kept separate from the herd and fenced off paddocks. In the photos above you can see Annabel (on the left) and Karma (on the right). Deb hand raised these two, so they are gorgeously quiet and used to people!
Horses
Each morning the horses come up to the house yard to see if there are any handouts. Being the sucker that I am, I found carrots in the fridge to feed to them. In return the kids and I got to have a ride on ‘Cheeky’. If you visit, Deb can give you and this kids a walk around the enclosed yard. Deb does not offer trail rides.
*Full disclosure, I took my helmet off for the photo – Deb has helmets for adults and kids.
Dogs
Deb currently has 5 Fox Terriers – Romeo and Rex are the boys. CJ, Pippin and Holly are the girls. They are heavenly! If your kids love dogs, this is the place for them. These dogs are playful and snuggly. And they are not big dogs, so even the most timid child might just fall in love with them! We sure did! Deb welcomes well behaved dogs to stay with them also!
Cats
Felix and Kitty are the farm cats. Felix was Deb’s son’s therapy cat. He is super smoochy. If you let him, he will sleep in your bed with you! He loves the guests. Kitty is more skittish – but I found that feeding her in the morning and again at night, made me her new best friend (cats are so fickle!) 😉
Chickens
Deb currently has 9 chickens that roam freely across the farm and around the house. They are not as cuddly as some of the other animals (I am used to mine sitting on my lap!) but they will give your kids the opportunity to collect eggs – that you can use to cook breakfast with!
Sheep and lambs
By far my favourite animal during our visit was ‘Lamby’. Lamby is a triplet. Her mother couldn’t feed all 3 lambs, so Deb took Lamby and is hand raising her. Lamby is now not sure if she is a lamb, a dog or a human. While we were there, she needed 4 – 6 bottle feeds a day, so there was plenty of opportunity to get involved with her. (It is no secret that if you feed animals, they very much decide that you are an ‘alright human’!)
Farm activities
As well as interacting with all the animals, you may like to go on a Farm Tour with Deb in the buggy! We did this to see the cows and bulls. Our kids LOVED this… full disclosure, I was a bit nervous going up and down the steep paths into the creeks… but Deb obviously knows what she is doing and all was well! We also saw the old mines on the property and the old cattle yards!
Other farm activities include having a walk around the yard on the horses.
Attractions to visit near the farm
Not that you will probably want to leave the farm (ever!) but we also went for a drive around the North Burnett Region to check out some of the other sights for you. (We are good like that!) 😉
Gayndah’s Big Orange
Gayndah is known of the citrus capital of Queensland and if you are in the area, I highly recommend putting the Big Orange on your list—especially if you are doing a tour of the ‘Big Things of Australia’. The road between Marchioness and Gayndah is unsealed in parts, but perfectly ok for a standard car to drive on.
If you visit between April and October, you can taste the fresh juice made from the citrus growing on the property. We enjoyed their Devonshire tea with a scone and jam and cream and they also serve coffee from Real Bean Coffee Co. Why not stay for lunch to feast of fresh hamburgers, wraps and toasted sandwiches?
The RM Williams Learning Centre
The RM Williams Australian Bush Learning Centre was purpose-built to honour this great Australian, showcase his skills and achievements, preserve our unique bush culture, and bring his passion for bush tradition to life. The Learning Centre invites us to take a journey of discovery and learn about our culture, history and arts. You can enjoy the ever-changing gallery space, watch a leather work demonstration and be enchanted by their resident bush poet.
You can also enjoy an authentic camp oven meal under the stars and experience the “Son et Lumiere.” This illuminating outdoor light show, held daily, shares stories of local characters, RM Williams, bush poetry and anecdotes from past times. The show is projected onto the customised steel sculpture called the ‘Language of the Land’ – see the sculpture during the day for its intricate details and story – and watch it be transformed at night for the light show!
Sadly the centre is only open Mon – Fri so we were unable to visit on this trip!
How to book your stay at Marchioness
Deb is taking bookings right now and does get booked up during school holidays and long weekends, so always good to plan ahead. Last time I spoke to her, she still had a few spots available. You can contact her:
Website: click here for Marchioness website
Facebook: click here for their Facebook page
Text her: 0472 807 599
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