Day 2… All in the farm…

This is where we had our farm stay experience… Settlers Rest Farm Stay.

We stayed here for 4 nights and used it as a base to travel around the Swan Valley region.

When we were searching for a farm stay accommodation, we chose a private farm stay with no other visitors and no planned activities.

 

View of the living room with the TV set and DVD player hidden from view. There were some movies and cartoons DVDs provided. There were also some toys and games for the little kids to help themselves to.

 

This cottage is fully equipped with cooking facilities… oven, cooker, fridge, microwave, toaster, sandwich maker, pots and pans, tea set, wine glasses, porcelain and melamine dinnerware, knife, can opener etc… Everything that you need for cooking! The only thing we brought was a new sponge for washing dishes and food supplies that we need.

 

The cottage has a washing machine and a dryer… and even a fishing rod if you want to try fishing at Swan River which is situated at the end of the farm.

 

This is the first time we use a hammock and we all loved it! The kids would come here first every morning the moment they step outdoors. Wish I could have a longer time on it so that I could laze and read a book.

 

It’s so comfy to sit out there in the natural air con, on the grass, with some popcorn… and enjoy the view of God’s creations…

 

We are free to feed the animals anytime of the day as we are the only guests on the farm. Instructions on how and what to feed the animals with are provided in the cottage. So we prepared the food accordingly to what is indicated. The owners feed the animals at 5pm daily and would invite us to join them when we are around.

 

Jeanne fell in love with horses during this trip. She is afraid to go near all the animals except the horses.

 

The owners’ daughters are into horse equestrian and would bring the horses around for competitions. They diligently care for the horses and we admire the parents’ spirit in supporting what the kids love since young.

 

When everyone comes together to help in food preparation, the meal will be extra tasty…

 

Julian spotted this whimsical, old fashioned weather vane on the rooftop of the stable… North, South, East, West… Where is the wind blowing today?

 

The area of the farm is about 13 acres! So big that they need to use a tractor to send food to the horses in the farm! If you are wondering how big is 1 acre, it’s about 4047sqm. That’s about 37 HDB 5-room flats in Singapore! With 13 acres, that’s about 480 5-room flats!

 

This cute looking animal standing behind Julian is an alpaca. The owner shared with us that alpacas are there to guard the animals from foxes and wild dogs. They are very protective over the other animals like sheep, goats and chickens. So during the night while the other animals are locked up, the alpacas are left roaming around to protect them.

We are standing outside the chicken coop waiting for daddy to open the gate for us to go in and collect fresh eggs! Looks like the animals are as eager as us… There is a tub of food in the chicken coop and the animals are eyeing on it!

 

There was a chicken standing right in front of Julian watching him, clucking non stop as if telling him.. Are you going to take my eggs???

 

Coast clear! Feel like we are stealing eggs from the chicken! Hahaha…

 

Walking through the farm to the end where Swan River is… it was a long stroll… but a good family walk in the nature, collecting treasures as we go… Simply love it…

 

Look at the rocks the 2 kids had collected… Julian got the bigger ones and Jeanne found the smaller ones…

 

The owner shared with us that these are competition show horses, so they cover them with 3 layers of cloths of different materials to keep them warm. This will ensure that their hair will remain short and beautiful instead of growing too much.

 

Every different kind of birds that flew by amazed us. We rarely see this kind of creatures other than in the zoo or Bird Park. Beautiful!

 

After about 20mins walk, we finally reached the river. Stayed there only a short while as the sun was setting soon and we went back for the 5pm animal feeding time.

 

Feeding time is what Julian was looking forward to!

This lady in the picture is Corinne, the owner and host at Settlers Rest Farmstay… Can see how friendly she is?