QUESTIONS
YOUR STAY
We provide all linen, towels and basic supplies such as oils and soaps etc. We certainly recommend you bring some gumboots as it's sometimes pretty wet and with them on, you and the kids can head out exploring and have fun without worrying about poop or mud!!
You can check out our favourite eating spots on our Local Attractions page, they're all within 20mins from the farm and delicious!
Check in is from 2pm and check out is 10am. We have had people book an extra night so they can enjoy the farm for the whole last day and drive home in the late afternoon, to be in their own beds for school/work the next day.
We really recommend a minimum of 3 nights, this is after 2 years of running the farm stay, feedback from guests staying just 2 nights is they wish they had booked 3 or 4, taken a day off school/work to really enjoy their time.
2 nights means you’re only at the farm for one day and that just isn’t enough time to relax, enjoy and recharge. If you're bringing kids, the first day/night is always getting used to the place, high emotions and sometimes restless nights sleep. Every family who stays just 2 nights, has tears leaving and the parents are always wishing they had stayed an extra night, they simply haven't had a break or been able to relax yet.
We’ve had a few families book for the Sunday night but not stay, then they can stay at the farm for the whole day, before then packing up and heading home for work and school Monday morning, this is a good compromise as we can't do late check outs due to cleaners needing to come and do change over.
Of course, the longer you stay to more you relax and really get to know the animals, our average stay is 3.6 nights and the best reviews come from the longer stays. Our area has so many different things to do, or you can simply relax and enjoy the change of pace surrounded by nature.
For sure! There are a few different packages that allow parents time off. That, or we can offer babysitting services during your stay, check out the options and email us if you have something specific your thinking about!
ACCOMMODATION
That depends on who you are travelling with:
By yourself - Log cabin all the way, it's got a bath with a view to spend forever in 💕
With an adult partner or friend you're happy to share a bed with - Log cabin for sure.
Need separate beds - Cottage, you even get your own room.
Kids - Cottage, the Log cabin is adults only.
Your family - the cottage has everything your family needs.
A Carer and their NDIS participant - the Cottage is perfect for you to both have your own space but close to help.
An extended family - book both, have a queen bed for two couples and a shared room for up to 3-4 kids
In summary:
The Cottage is a little house with 2 bedrooms, full kitchen, lounge, dining room, laundry, bathroom and covered deck with BBQ.
The Log cabin is a two room log cabin built in the 40s, it has a queen bed and cozy lounge room, a covered balcony with kitchenette and BBQ and a beautiful bathroom with external access up 4 stairs. so you need to go old school and outside to the bathroom, once you're there, the view is spectacular.
In the cottage, Room 1: Queen size bed. Room 2: Double bed and single bed.
That's the standard 5 guests, but if you would like we can add an extra mattress into one of the rooms so that you have enough space for the extra kids. The extra mattresses will be on the floor and at an extra cost each night, there is also a portacot if you have a tiny tot with you.
Sure thing, we have four horses, Ruska, Jane, Rocky and Cedric!
They're all really friendly and will happily come to the fence for scratches. If you would like to spend time up close and getting to know them, then it's best to choose either the cuddles or whole experience package. During your time here you can then head into the paddocks for snuggles, brush them, learn to lead them, get to know and really connect with them. They are all very different and have lots of incredible insight into people and will really help you relax and unwind, actually calming and slowing your heart rate, just by being around them!
You’ll also enjoy the cows energy, they will sometimes allow you to sit with them during our getting to know you experiences. It’s such a relaxing and grounding way to spend time! We even have a few hammocks for laying around in with a good book and the wrens are so amazing and relaxing in wattle grove. The perfect place to find your Zen.
With both the log cabin and the cottage we can accommodate 6 adults and 2 kids, in total we have 3 Queen/Double beds and 1 Single + we can do an extra mattress on the floor for kids in the cottage.
Yes, you can cook - the cottage has a full kitchen and BBQ with the basic oils and sauces provided.
If you’d like, we can arrange meals for you from local businesses, so we can fill your fridge for you with beautiful nourishing meals for your stay, sadly we are too busy caring for the animals to cook incredible meals for you ourselves!
ANIMALS
Sure can! The Some cuddles package includes on average an hour a day that is suitable for you and us where you can interact with which ever animals you choose, come into the paddocks and get to know everyone. Help feed, collect eggs, muck out stables and paddocks, groom, walk and do just about anything you like.
Likewise the whole experience package includes an average of 2 hours a day with the animals, ample time to learn everything you'd like to learn and build beautiful connections with your favourites.
If you have selected the room only package then your time is limited to over the fence encounters and loads of hugs with Indy, the farm dog.
During your package time, if you would like to collect eggs, we can incorporate that, for sure. the little kids certainly love doing this more than anything at the farm. We provide a few eggs in your room for your breakfast no matter what package you choose, assuming the girls are laying. We are against the animal industry's ethics so if the girls aren't laying then eggs aren't always available. They are usually pretty good, but some times of the year, they look after their bodies and not ours as a priority :)
That’s the million-dollar question, but is just too complex to answer for everyone.
We have found the best option is for them to sit and watch the animals from any of our lovely sitting areas. Quite often we have found kids are afraid because the interactions they have usually had are very sudden - they are very quickly introduced and expected to just pat that animal without time being given to them to feel safe.
We can work with your child during our experience sessions to ensure that they feel safe and we will do our best to ensure they have a great time. That said, for complex trauma, we may need to arrange for a therapist to be here to help them work through their emotions. Please make a note that they are afraid in your booking, as our beautiful dog Indy and the chickens are free ranging and we can make sure they are contained on your arrival and introduced slowly so that your child can feel safe from the second they step out of the car.
If your child is afraid and you are choosing to not book our experience sessions, please ensure that you have adequate energy to help them during your stay. Too many times, we have families hoping that being here will cure the big feelings and it really is just completely over whelming.
Definitely not. Our animals are our family, and after numerous different farm stays where the kids played and fed lambs only to be able to buy lamb chops at the front gate...well...it left us all pretty upset. We don’t ever consume our animals - they are free to live their life, just grazing and getting cuddles and scratches. And because we don’t steal their babies or send them off in trucks, they’re all gentle and super friendly. They love human interaction, they're not scared of it.
Yes, if you choose the cuddles or whole experience, you can choose for your time to incorporate feeding times. The times vary depending on the animals we have and their needs at the time. we find that not feeding consistently makes for a calmer and peaceful farm, the only times the animals are pushy or rude to people is when they're being fed so we feed in a very specific way. This ensures, the animals understand expectations and are polite to people at all times
.
There are some foods including weeds that are toxic to various animals and we have some with specific dietary requirements, that said we do ask that guests never feed the animals outside of feeding time and without supervision. Even just grass picked from the other side of the fence can be toxic to the wrong animal at the wrong time of the year, this is a very firm boundary that we have at the farm and will not tolerate this being broken for your safety and the long term life of our fences.
For sure! Check out our Experiences page!
ACTIVITIES
Yes, you can bring your bikes! There's not many easy trails to ride at the farm (it's very hilly) but we're not far from the Warburton Trail which is an amazing ride. As well as that, Lysterfield Lake or Kurth Kiln National Park are both amazing and not too far away!
Yes, you can certainly to do a fire in accordance with local fire restrictions. We have a campfire set up in a safe spot so you and the kids can collect sticks and wood and make a night of it - so much fun watching the stars and fire in the yard. We do ask that you notify us of your request in advance so we can follow the proper procedures, and ensure everyone stays safe including alerting the authorities. Not doing so can result in hefty penalties which will be charged to you.
Winter is just as fun as Summer - usually we have baby calves you can help bottle feed in the sheds and the animals all need extra love and scratches. If it’s raining, we just put on gumboots and coats and play outside, no matter what!
You can see some activities at the farm here. We are also close to lots of great tourist attractions so you can head out and explore the area.
If you’d like the kids to have more adventures with us, check out our packages here, that’s heaps of fun and we make sure they have fun, no matter what the weather!
PRICING & PACKAGES
Our check out our current rates here
That all depends on the week and what Bek has already booked, we run private experiences daily and regular groups during the week and on the school holidays. If we have capacity we can upgrade you but it's never guaranteed.
The log cabin sleeps only 2 yes, but it's a very different experience to the cottage, it has been beautifully renovated and has the most incredible eco-friendly bathroom with an over sized bath with floor to ceiling (one way) window for the most stunning view to enjoy the animals and the hills from the bath or toilet.
The renovation has been completed with all timber cut from trees that fell on the property in the terrible storm of June 2021.
All water is sourced from the sky, the grey water is used to water the fruit orchard and it even has a composting toilet to save water and protect the beautiful bush surrounds, 85% of it's power is generated from the solar system at the main house.
So yes, it only sleeps 2 and the cottage 5 but it's a very unique experience which we think is very reasonably priced.
Sure thing, we have vouchers available for any amount you wish – Just contact us at [email protected] or via the form below. What a wonderful gift!
We have a minimum of a 2-3 night stay.
Any less time and the feedback we have had from guests is that they just don’t get the experience and time to detox on technology and their busy lives. We don’t want to just be a motel, to just find a bed for the night, but rather a place you can come and have an experience that will connect you back to nature and yourself, so one night just isn’t respectful of that process.
There are lots of alternative accommodation venues in the Dandenongs that will help you for your one night stay, you can try https://www.visityarravalley.com.au/ for some beautiful options.
I’m unfamiliar with your specific funding and it will depend on your plan.
If you have any specific info you need for your invoices we can issue you one for your plan, if you'd like more specific advice book in for a discovery call here and I can help you over the phone https://nurturecreek.as.me/discovery-call
Your child will love it here. All the kids have the best time, chilling with the animals and just enjoying the different speed of life. And spending time wandering through the paddocks and the bush, is great for self regulation and mindfulness.
I’m unfamiliar with your specific funding and it will depend on your plan. Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) can sometimes be accessed through Core Supports and Possibly the Capacity Building Supports if ‘Life Skills’ are part of your specific goals.
Please check with your plan manager or support team. If you have any specific info you need for your invoices we can issue you one for your plan.
That is totally up to you and your child. We can take things slowly and manage emotions and if you would like to extricate yourself then we can certainly have that as a goal. We have a lovely meeting space which you can sit and relax in so you are still here but not in sight or part of the experience. We work with you, your family and your goals.
That said, some of the groups we do request parents to stay to assist with the supervision of their children if we deem that as required.
We request that all individual and family sessions are cancelled 48hrs prior so we can fill your space. If something comes up and you can’t attend closer than 48hrs, please contact me as we may have a waiting list. Alternatively, it could be an incredible gift for someone in your life to share our wonderful animals with.
We run all of our term long programs for 8 weeks. Most terms are 9 weeks however, so if you have missed a session during the term, you can come along to a make up session in the last week at no extra charge.
We ask that all groups are paid for at the start of the term - we have very limited spots so require full payment to reserve your space - I don’t want to add in extra costs to follow up on payments and paperwork. That said, if you are having financial troubles, then please speak with me directly.
Perfect. Everything we do with the animals helps us regulate emotions and work with strategies for calming the nervous system. The animals know when someone is feeling nervous and have their own unique ways to help. They are not judgemental and pushy and neither are we. Working with the individuals to ensure that everyone has a wonderful experience and leaves with a full heart.
Therapy is talking about and delving into your past; understanding your stories, triggers and traumas and working through them. Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) is about our behaviours and feelings in the now and understanding your patterns so that you can make changes in the future.
Stories and Triggers may come up in our sessions, and while we can’t talk about the reason for the triggers (I’m not a trained therapist), we can manage the feelings around them to bring coping strategies back into your everyday life.
Well to start with, you know the saying, you can lead a horse to water…
Usually people are unsure of what they don’t understand and men traditionally have been told to suck it up, hide their emotions, act like a man and be strong etc... This conditioning has been ingrained in our genetics over hundreds of years. He is being who he has been programmed to be - the strong leader. In herd environments the weak or sick one is often picked out, excluded and sometimes even killed, so even our animals won’t admit if they need help, even if they want it.
If you would like to experience this together with him, I would frame it as a connection opportunity for the family, to have fun with each other and the animals. If he really doesn’t want to, perhaps you and the kids can have a few sessions without Dad and then tell him all about it when you get home. Once he hears how much fun the kids are having then he may change his mind.
I’ve also had Dad’s come along and watch from the car so they can understand what it is we do without the confrontation. Please if you do bring him along and he’s not wanting to be involved, note that for me on the booking form so I understand the dynamics and can work on his involvement gently.
Sure can! When you arrive, we do a half hour farm tour where you can come into the paddocks, meet everyone and get lots of pats and cuddles. Each day we feed everyone in the morning and afternoon which you can help with. At other times, they’re usually roaming around and love nothing more than a scratch over the fence. If you would like to spend more time with us and up close with them, you can check out our different experiences here - the getting to know you sessions are by far a family favourite!
For sure - it’s the little kids highlight of the day. The hen house is open to the girls all day and they come and go laying their eggs, so the kids can watch for it and collect their eggs whenever the door is open - we just ask for a few for our cooking, but the rest are yours to enjoy as you like!
That’s the million-dollar question, but is just too complex to answer for everyone.
We have found the best option is for them to sit and watch the animals from any of our lovely sitting areas. Quite often we have found kids are afraid because the interactions they have usually had are very sudden - they are very quickly introduced and expected to just pat that animal without time being given to them to feel safe.
We can work with your child during our experience sessions to ensure that they feel safe and we will do our best to ensure they have a great time. That said, for complex trauma, we may need to arrange for a therapist to be here to help them work through their emotions. Please make a note that they are afraid in your booking, as our beautiful dog Indy and the chickens are free ranging and we can make sure they are contained on your arrival and introduced slowly so that your child can feel safe from the second they step out of the car.
If your child is afraid and you are choosing to not book our experience sessions, please ensure that you have adequate energy to help them during your stay. Too many times, we have families hoping that being here will cure the big feelings and it really is just completely over whelming, we have
Definitely not. Our animals are our family, and after numerous different farm stays where the kids played and fed lambs only to be able to buy lamb chops at the front gate...well...it left us all pretty upset. We don’t ever consume our animals - they are free to live their life, just grazing and getting cuddles and scratches. And because we don’t steal their babies or send them off in trucks, they’re all gentle and super friendly. They love human interaction, they're not scared of it.
Yes, you can bring your bikes! There's not many easy trails to ride at the farm (it's very hilly) but we're not far from the Warburton Trail which is an amazing ride. As well as that, Lysterfield Lake or Kurth Kiln National Park are both amazing and not too far away!
Yes, you can certainly to do a fire in accordance with local fire restrictions. We have camping chairs and a fire drum so you and the kids can collect sticks and wood and make a night of it - so much fun watching the stars and fire in the yard.
Regardless of the length of your stay, every morning and afternoon, you can help us feed the animals. There are also other options for further interactions which you can see when you book or here.
Soon! Bek is studying to become an Equine Interaction Experience Practitioner. Once qualified, she will be offering animal guided experiences which will incorporate nature based learning activities. She can then work with you and your family during guided sessions to achieve your goals. Stay tuned for more info and follow us on socials or subscribe to our newsletter for more info when available.
Winter is just as fun as Summer - usually we have baby calves you can help bottle feed in the sheds and the animals all need extra love and scratches. If it’s raining, we just put on gumboots and coats and play outside, no matter what!
You can see some activities at the farm here. We are also close to lots of great tourist attractions so you can head out and explore the area.
If you’d like the kids to have more adventures with us, you can check out our farm school package here, that’s heaps of fun and we make sure they have fun, no matter what the weather!
Our standard rates are $240 weeknights and $290 Friday/Saturday. School and public holidays have additional fees depending. You can see exact prices if you choose your dates here.
I think the rejuvenation package would be better fit a 3 year old. It’s not so structured and the sessions are 2 hours instead of 3 hours which might be a bit much for a little one.
And you get a in room massage each while I play with the little one so everyone has a great time!
Sure thing, we have vouchers available for any amount you wish – Just contact us at [email protected] or via the form below. What a wonderful gift!
We have a minimum of a 3 night stay, sometimes 4 nights at various times of the year.
Any less time and the feedback we have had from guests is that they just don’t get the experience and time to detox on technology and their busy lives. We don’t want to just be an accommodation venue, but rather a place you can come and have an experience that will connect you back to nature and yourself, so one night just isn’t respectful of that process.
If you do really only have 2 nights to spend, you can either book the three and still get the full 2 days at the farm and check out late in the day, or please contact us and we can override it and book you 2 nights, but there will be a cleaning fee added to your room charges.
I’m unfamiliar with your specific funding and it will depend on your plan. We have various additional animal experiences you can see here.
If you have any specific info you need for your invoices we can issue you one for your plan.
Your child will love it here. All the kids have the best time, chilling with the animals and just enjoying the different speed of life. And spending time wandering through the paddocks and the bush, is great for self regulation and mindfulness.
Ready For Your Own Unique Farm Stay?
