Our Journey Together: Western Australia - Day 4 (Pt 1): Sunflowers Animal Farm

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Western Australia - Day 4 (Pt 1): Sunflowers Animal Farm

Although it was already summer, the night in Margaret River still felt a tad too cold for us. (According to a friend who was local in WA, at this time it was unusually cold.) I was so glad that I had chosen a room with a reverse air-conditioner and it proved very useful. It was a restful night, and I woke up before the rest of the family to catch a glimpse of the morning sun.

The scenery right outside our room was a real treat! Watching the sheep grazing was kind of therapeutic in its own way, and time seemed to pass very quickly.

A sheep came near the fence as I stepped out of the house. It appeared to be waiting for food, probably used to be fed by guests in the farm. Sorry, no food for now!!!

OOPS!!! I left the door ajar and a bird (a crow?) had entered the house. It demonstrated zero fear towards human beings and we had to follow it around the living room, until it finally decided to find a greener pasture elsewhere and we quickly shut the door.

One of the farm dogs sat serenely outside our patio. I wondered if this was its daily routine, waiting for one of the visiting children to play with it? Unfortunately for it, our dog-loving children were still snoring on the comfortable beds! The weather plus the tranquility here were perfect for sleeping in!

Hubby woke up and we started to prepare breakfast, including some of free-range eggs that we saw everywhere in the supermarkets here. There was also a box of Cesar salad that we had purchased on the previous evening from Woolworths.

Time was precious, so we woke the children up to have their brekkie and be ready for the farm activities!!!

The highlight of the farmstay for little Belle was pony-riding. We arrived before the scheduled time and could not see Farmer Jones, so we loitered around the area for a while. Belle could not keep her eyes off the pony.

I wondered where her profound interest in this activity originated from? Her brother had zero interest in it and was only keen in playing with the dogs.

Farmer Jones finally arrived, much to Belle's delight. He led the pony around the field a couple of rounds before the next little guest was invited to have her turn.

The farmers decorated their bales of hay into Halloween Minions, right at the entrance.

We set off from the farm to visit a few other places of interest around the region, before returning in the afternoon for another round of farm activities. (Other activities in day 4 would be written in a separate post.)

In the afternoon, we returned slightly early and so, the children had some time to play in this interesting-looking playground in the farm. They had some fun, before a bug scared the wits out of little Belle.

We visited the animal nursery again to have a better look at the baby animals. The previous evening was a little too rush for a proper look. It was cool that you could actually see these chicks so close.

My boy found one of the farm dogs and lost interest in all other things. He was chasing the dogs and playing with them.

At last, it was time for bottle-feeding. One of the farm helpers demonstrated the proper way to do it, before allowing the guests to have a go at it.

Next up was the tractor ride, that was offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. We had planned our trip to coincide on a Tuesday so that we would not miss this! I was thankful for the beautiful weather on this day, sunny but cool. Farmer Jones drove us around his vast property with Debbie commentating on the way. Two of the farm dogs also accompanied us on this journey, with one sitting comfortably on the tractor and another running alongside us.

At last, we arrived at this place where they had used for filming a Chinese TV program. We had a short break to absorb the scenery and take a few pictures.

Here's driver Belle for ya!

Back at the farm, we fed the animals for a short while, before going out for dinner. The bonus of staying in this farm was that the town was a mere 3-minute drive away with many options for food.