High Country’s Family Farm Experiences
Hop aboard the TSS Earnslaw to experience Walter Peak High Country Farm! Its farm tour is super family friendly, and kids will have fun meeting all the animals!
Wheelchair users will find it challenging to navigate gravel pathways, so assistance or a freewheel attachment may be required for wheelchair users. Please be aware that evening tours start late so they may not be suitable for children with early bedtimes.
1. Walter Peak High Country Farm
Are you searching for an unforgettable farm experience? Look no further than Walter Peak High Country Farm. Situated on a picturesque lakeside location, it provides visitors with many experiences that showcase New Zealand’s distinctive farming culture – everything from animal interactions to gourmet BBQ meals is available here!
Queenstown offers many popular day trips from Queenstown, and one of them includes an incredible cruise across Lake Whakatipu on board an original steamship dating back to 1912 (just two years after Titanic was built!). Plus, its historic steamship will make your ride all the more unforgettable!
After disembarking, you’ll embark on a guided walking tour of the farm where you will have the opportunity to feed sheep, deer, and alpacas as part of a farm demonstration at the amphitheatre. After which, head on over to Colonel’s Homestead Restaurant for either morning or afternoon tea service!
The menu here features only the freshest local produce and you have the option to indulge in traditional schnitzel, lamb shank or beef Wellington dishes for something different. Plus – don’t miss their impressive cheese board selection.
This farm offers families with children an enjoyable environment for visiting, while being committed to sustainability. They aim to source 80% of their food from their garden within five years while planting natives that absorb CO2 while creating habitats for local wildlife.
If you’re planning a visit, book your tour early – especially during summer months when they tend to fill quickly. Excursions such as Walter Peak’s BBQ Lunch & Lake Cruise usually cost $129 NZD per person and include round-trip transportation on TSS Earnslaw, farm tour, and lunch at Colonel’s Homestead Restaurant.
2. Middle Rock Farm
At this farm, visitors are encouraged to interact with sheep, goats, and chickens in its petting zoo, ride horseback or take a wagon ride before learning more about cattle roundup and goat herding techniques. Furthermore, there’s also a hayride and corn maze just for kids as well as a playground!
Middle Rock Station provides a complete farming experience located an hour west of Christchurch on the Rakaia River. Home to over 7,000 wool producing sheep and boasting views of Mt Hutt and Lake Coleridge high country scenery, Middle Rock’s hosts, Bruce & Lyn Nell as well as Charlotte and Vince Rietveld have welcomed international visitors, farming delegations and conference groups for over 25 years.
Tours typically last approximately 3 hours and include viewing seasonal farming activities, sheep dog mustering and handling of sheep. Groups arriving are welcomed by a friendly family before being driven onto the farm for an introduction to its operation and discussion on current issues facing NZ farmers. Following that tour, morning or afternoon tea is provided in the homestead kitchen to round out your experience.
3. Hawk Meadow Farm
Schuyler County Farm of Mushrooms specializes in log-grown woodland mushrooms and medicinal tinctures with various health benefits, and visitors can take guided mushroom yard tours, attend workshops, camp overnight on site, purchase products such as dried shiitake to add flavor to soups and stews, as well as purchase dried products like dried shiitake which add an authentic mushroom taste!
Steve Sierigk began growing mushrooms as an extra task while running his graphic design business when he moved onto this property in 1986. It proved transformative and the experience has since led him to shift Acorn Designs’ focus from graphic design into producing healthy tinctures while practicing sustainable agriculture on this forest farm.
13 years ago when Sierigk first increased production, he knew only one other mushroom grower in Indiana. To gain market share he worked hard at promoting his product as more chefs sought local suppliers; eventually leading them to choose him for their menus at popular eateries like Moosewood and Stonecat Cafe, serving mushrooms infused with flavors of rosemary and lavender for local consumption.
Sierigk takes great pride in producing organically grown mushrooms. He emphasizes their non-indoor cultivation in bags of sawdust or grain, which produces higher amounts of fungus but weakens bioactive compounds with healthful benefits. He boasts that all chefs who have experienced his mushrooms noticed the difference.
Hawk Meadow offers more than mushroom yard tours; in addition, educational workshops address sustainable and health-related topics. Guests can also partake in Japanese tradition known as shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing), which involves strolling through wooded areas to reduce stress and promote wellbeing.
One day on the farm is more than enough fun, but spending an extended amount of time is even better! Hipcamp connects users with ranches, farms, vineyards, and public-land campsites across the United States where guests can pitch tents or bring RVs or campers for overnight stays at one of these campsites.
4. Little Peak Creek Farm
Little Peak Creek Farm in Jefferson, North Carolina features chickens, goats, ducks, geese and horses as part of its 68 acre facility. Here guests can learn sustainable living practices while caring for its animal inhabitants – lambing, shearing or cow herding are just a few activities they can participate in while taking in breathtaking mountain scenery!
This charming cottage farm sleeps up to 35 and provides the ideal venue for hosting luxurious family dinners at its farmhouse table, gathering around its cowboy cauldron for s’mores, trading stories and participating in cattle roundups or learning how to herd goats! Plus there’s an expansive equestrian center providing horseback riding lessons and boarding!
The owners of this property already enjoy rave reviews for their Farm House cabin on Vrbo; now, they’ve added an incredible TREE HOUSE cabin on 25 acres that has already received outstanding reviews from guests. All post and beams in this tree house were constructed using pine harvested on site, while custom pieces and original artwork enhance every corner of this space.
Molley Chomper Cidery partners with this property owners to offer visitors an impressive selection of local and regional hard ciders crafted from heirloom apples grown in the High Country. In addition, they produce pastured pigs and poultry while offering 100% grass-fed beef at 100% grass fed beef prices; all this with first generation female ownership and animal welfare approval certifications in place. In summertime they host a farmers market featuring goods produced both on-farm as well as from other area farms.