Mark and Maria are fabulous hosts. We are a young family and the kids absolutely adored all the hand-raised animals (able to feed, pat and interact with them) and they adored Mark and Maria!
This was the first time we have stayed at a place where the hosts were onsite (aka also living in the house) - and was only because I misread the details... and I’m so glad I did!! We were very concerned about how noisy our young kids tend to be - but Mark & Maria weren’t worried by it at all. They were so helpful and kind throughout the stay - available enough to help or encourage fun with the animals, but gave us plenty of privacy as well - felt like the perfect balance! We brought our own portacot for our 1 year old, and there was plenty of room for it in the bigger of the two rooms. The kids loved riding their scooters around the flat paved varanda around the house. Location was perfect - hunter valley in one direction, port Stephen’s beaches the other. So a perfect spot to visit the surrounding areas. Mark & Maria also gifted us a beautiful bouquet of ‘Gerard the Peacocks’ feathers (as he is due to lose his current ones soon) - a perfect souvenir of a very special holiday. Recommend everyone having Gum boots to make the most of the animal experience (chickens, duck, cows, alpacas, dogs, and peacock) especially if the weather is wet like we experienced.
So much fun watching the animals grazing in the back paddock while having your morning cuppa! 💜 Loved our stay - look forward to returning!