Escape to the country with a kid-friendly Australian farmstay Telegraph Retreat, just north of Port Macquarie. This accommodation provides country hospitality, farm animals and delicious home-cooked meals.
Telegraph Retreat
Look, there’s wallabies!” excitedly exclaims my daughter as we approach our accommodation. We’ve just arrived at Telegraph Retreat and are being greeted by a posse of wallabies outside the gate. We couldn’t have asked for a better welcome for our country break. There’s even more animals inside the gate.
Geese flap their wings in welcome and Ollie the dog barks hello. We’re spending the weekend at Telegraph Retreat located just 20 minutes north of Port Macquarie. Melanie, owner of Telegraph Retreat warmly greets us and shows us to our gorgeous country cottage.
Our Accommodation
Located on 8.5 hectares, owners Melanie and Roger provide luxury family-friendly accommodation and country hospitality. Our accommodation is Federation House, a 2-level self-contained cottage with a wide verandah and private jacuzzi.
The cottage includes living area, kitchen, two bedrooms and a family bathroom downstairs and a loft upstairs.
In addition to Federation House, there’s two additional self-contained cottages on the property for couples and small families. With four kids of their own, they understand what families need for a holiday away. Living in a separate house on the property, Melanie and Roger are easily accessible if you need anything or have any questions.
Amenities
Being parents themselves, Melanie and Roger have gone to a lot of effort to make Telegraph Retreat kid-friendly. The loft of Federation House is full of fun activities for kids to enjoy such as the air hockey table, TV, kids DVDs and Wii games. There’s also a box full of toys as well as a bookcase containing a range of books for parents and kids alike.
However, the farm animals are the main drawcard for my daughter and she can’t wait to get out and meet them. Two of Melanie’s kids join us as we take some animal food and meet the resident critters. We start with feeding the geese and turkeys and then move down to the other animals.
We’re excited to meet the one-day old calf who is still unnamed. A little shy, the calf stays nursing by Mama Cow.
The goats aren’t as shy and as soon as they realise we have food, they bleat and run over. We’re soon introduced to some of the goats like Minnie, Mocha and Harry.
Farm stay tours are scheduled for 9am on weekends and school holidays. We make our way to the main house and join Roger and the kids with feeding the animals. First task is to collect the eggs from the chickens and then it’s off to meet Stella the Donkey and Andy the Sheep before feeding the ducks and geese.
There’s plenty of space and privacy on at Telegraph Retreat and families can do as little or as much as they want. Telegraph Retreat offers plenty of outdoor fun activities for kids including a heated swimming pool, kids play equipment and a trampoline and just the freedom to roam around and explore.
There’s also walking trails around the property. We spotted a bowerbird nest full of blue items.
There’s also plenty of relaxing to enjoy such as lounging on the comfortable verandah or slipping into the private jacuzzi. It’s glorious to relax and enjoy the country views and fresh air.
Dining
Although cottages are self-contained with a full kitchen, Telegraph Retreat also offers home-cooked dinners delivered to your door. We’ve opted for this choice and we’re so glad we did. Roger arrives with our meal and it looks divine. There’s a platter featuring tender lamb, potatoes, snow peas and asparagus and fresh baked foccacia. For dessert, we get to enjoy sticky date pudding, which incidentally is a favourite of my husband.
The next morning, we awake to a delivery of home-cooked sourdough bread to accompany our breakfast hamper that includes milk, orange juice, homemade granola, fresh farm eggs, bacon and homemade jams. We especially love the array of the multicoloured eggs. With these provisions, we can cook up a large country breakfast.
WHAT WORKS FOR FAMILIES
- Private yet comfortable family-friendly accommodation.
- Ideal for large families or groups of friends to get away together.
- Self-contained accommodation enables families to cook meals as required. However, can also order meals.
- Opportunity for kids to get up close with farmyard animals.
- Secluded rural location yet 20 minutes to Port Macquarie’s attractions and beaches.
- Relaxing country break with plenty of space for kids
- Heated outdoor pool, private jacuzzi and kids play area.
I highly recommend getting back to nature with a stay at Telegraph Retreat. It’s a wonderful family-friendly escape with trees, quiet and lots of friendly farm animals.
Check rates and availability for Telegraph Retreat.
Disclaimer: We stayed as a guest of Telegraph Retreat. However, all opinions are our own.
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