13 hours ago
Sunsets, sheep and safari tents: Life on an Australian farmstay
SPICERS CREEK, Australia
The scent of rain floods the yellowing countryside, quieting bleating sheep and sending kangaroos bolting for cover. Thick drops thud on the roof of Mountview Camp, a palatial two-bedroom canvas tent perched on a ridge at Budgalong, a 7,000-acre farm in this former goldmining town less than 200 miles west of Sydney.
The drive to the farmstay from the front gate is two miles up a steep winding track that crosses five livestock grates and leaves behind a plume of chalky pink dust. My tent is filled with luxury amenities and rural necessities: a snake-bite kit within reaching distance of the linen-topped queen bed, a steel teapot beside a biscuit jar filled with buttery shortbread, rainwater feeding wide showerheads in tiled bathrooms.
'Farming is a way of life,' says Nick Sutherland, a third-generation sheep farmer and Budgalong's manager. 'The adventure starts when you get here.'
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The Sutherlands have farmed crops and livestock in the craggy, eucalyptus-filled hills of Spicers Creek since 1959. This 630-acre patch is scrubby grazing territory for 120 of the farm's 13,000 sheep and, recently, home to two custom-designed, self-contained farmstays, Mountview included. The family is among a growing group of Australian farmers investing in agritourism, providing travelers with an experience that demonstrates the physical labor, environmental management and beautiful scenery that make up life on the land.
Agritourism combines elements synonymous with the Australian identity: world-renowned produce and viticulture, exceptional geological beauty, and the boisterous culture of mateship. CSIRO, Australia's national scientific research organization, predicts agritourism will contribute $18.6 billion to the economy by 2030. It's a method to bring visitors to regional and rural Australia as much as it is an educational tool, sharing the journey from paddock — as it were — to plate.
Georgina Simson watches the sun set on a commercial farm in Premer, Australia, on March 18. Sheep are seen in a pasture near Budgalong Lodge in Spicers Creek on March 20.
Agritourism allows travelers to experience rural life in Australia. The sun sets at Budgalong.
Australian growers are susceptible to some of the most chaotic, unpredictable and catastrophic weather in the world, and they are often hamstrung by market pricing. Agritourism allows farmers to diversify income, sell direct to consumers and broaden understanding of farming communities.
Much of Australia sits behind closed gates and cattle grates. The landmass is more than 50 percent farmland, and the average farm is 10.6 acres; Australia's largest farms are closer to 6,000 square miles, which is more than 3.8 million acres. From July 2023 through June 2024, 777,000 of overnight visitors in Victoria, a state in southeastern Australia, sought out farms for on-site farm-gate shopping, overnight experiences and agricultural activities, according to Visit Victoria, the state's tourism body.
From inside the tarped walls at Mountview, flyscreened 'windows' zipper down to reveal ghost gum trees and moss-covered ancient shale. The world outside is tangible and accessible, and yet my seclusion is intentional and complete. The fridge is stocked with succulent cutlets from Sutherland's lambs and staples from neighboring pork, egg and dairy producers.
When I cook the cutlets later that night, the lamb tastes as vibrant and robust as the Australian landscape it grazed. The honey I spoon into my tea — left on the counter with a handwritten label after being harvested from hives nearby — reminds me of the scent of Australian wildflowers.
Nick Sutherland's 7,000-acre farm in Spicers Creek features large herds of sheep.
From my viewing perch (an oversize, waxed-canvas beanbag on the deck), I can hear satisfied moos as cows scratch on fences and am absorbed watching lambs follow ewes through well-worn tracks in the grasslands. Distant from the urban centers and other people, I exhale.
The impatient rain pauses as quickly as it appears. Late-afternoon sunlight turns the horizon shades of magenta that match the endemic pink galah bird's chest. Wind whistles through the towering gums. Beyond the distant green-gold ripples of Coolah Tops National Park and the Warrumbungle mountain ranges, half a rainbow appears.
'The farming lifestyle and what happens on the land — you don't understand it until you experience it,' Sutherland says. '[Staying for a weekend] might just be a small little taste of that.'
Fairfield Camp at Budgalong, which is on the Sutherland's family farm. Local cheese and wine, homemade cookies, and honey from the farm are stocked for guests at Budgalong. Sutherland checks on his sheep. The sun rises over Mountview, located on the Sutherland's family farm.
At Budgalong, guests can observe the rugged landscape, wander secluded trails, watch livestock and consume the bounty of the land. At other farms around the country, visitors might ride horses, pluck berries and camp beneath the cosmos. These stays take customers up close and personal with ringers, jillaroos and stockmen (Australia's cowboys, cowgirls and farmhands) as they round up livestock or harvest.
Agritourism casts a wide net, spanning from cellar door trails in Victoria's Rutherglen wine region, fruit-picking experiences at Cape Trib Farm in the country's northeast, and aquaculture experiences, such as shucking tours at Melshell Oysters, on Tasmania's east coast. Travelers can enjoy remote luxury stays at the 400,000-acre conservation-driven Bullo River Station in the Northern Territory (NT), a night at a farm's eco-lodge in Western Australia (WA), or BYO tent to camp in designated paddocks found on sites such as Hipcamp.
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It is not without challenges, however: Australia has long faced extreme weather events and suffers from connectivity black spots, labor shortages, imperfect regional infrastructure and poorly maintained roads. Distance between properties can be a matter of days, not miles, with limited resources between far-flung towns.
Regional action groups, farming communities and individual operators are embracing the yonder, deeming it a chance to collaborate and craft bespoke experiences that give travelers a resason to journey far and stay for longer.
Cattle are moved at Tommerup's Dairy Farm in Queensland on March 17. Dave Tommerup closes a gate after moving cattle at Tommerup's Dairy Farm.
Chickens provide fresh eggs at Tommerup's Dairy Farm in Queensland.
Multiday regional festivals such as Taste Great Southern in WA, Tasting Australia in South Australia, Tasmania's Tasting Trail and the self-drive New South Wales (NSW) Northern Rivers Harvest Food Trail guide travelers to properties they might otherwise miss, connecting multiple farming operations and food businesses for consumers.
'We've learned that people want what you have on a farm and they don't necessarily want you to change who you are or what you do,' says Kay Tommerup, co-owner of Tommerup's Dairy Farm in Queensland's Scenic Rim, one hour inland from Brisbane.
Tommerup has watched agritourism bloom since her family diversified their sixth-generation dairy and mixed-farming property. National milk prices were deregulated in 2000, and pivoting into agritourism — starting with milking experiences and tours — saved the 150-year-old business. Tommerup farm is a working dairy, with market days, buttermaking classes, long lunches and barn dances.
'You'll never get the experience of real Australia if you don't step onto somebody's farm and meet a farmer, shake their hand and eat what they produce,' says Tommerup, who is also president of nonprofit Agritourism Queensland. 'There's nothing that can compare to that in Australia: that genuine connection.'
Georgina Simson at the Plantation, a 32,123-acre commercial farm in New South Wales, on March 19.
Florence Simson sits on her pony at the Plantation.
World Farmers' Organization Vice President Fiona Simson and her husband, Ed, recently handed over operations of the Plantation, their 32,123-acre farm in the Liverpool Plains of NSW to their son Tom and daughter-in-law Georgina, who has been the impetus behind driving the family business into agritourism.
The property is halfway between Tamworth, Australia's country music capital, and Mudgee, a major wine region. After the catastrophic 2019 drought (which saw the hottest, driest conditions in 120 years and two years of the lowest rainfall on record), the Simsons took part in a regional, post-Covid-lockdown sunflower trail and welcomed 5,000 visitors over eight weeks. They now host farm tours and paddock lunches for inland-rail visitors and plan to add overnight stays in the future.
Georgina Simson said most of the farmers who get into agritourism aren't trying to make it a big business. They're sharing something they love.
'If you get talking to any farmer, they're very passionate about what they do,' she says. 'Once they get going, they won't stop.'
Tom Simson works in a sorghum field at the Plantation. Kangaroos pass by the Plantation. Tom and Georgina Simson look at vegetation on the Plantation, which they run.
Tom Simson works in a sorghum field at The Plantation. A horse stands on the Plantation.
Online platforms such as Farmers Stays, WA Station Stays and Harvest Trails & Markets are making it easier to find such farmers. Before launching Farmer Stays in 2021, founder Eliza Sanby spent time on farms in Queensland, WA and the NT. The platform lists over 100 properties — including Budgalong and McKeown's Rest at Kenzell Farm, a 250-acre farm and homestead at Jenolan Caves in NSW, that hosts hands-on camel feeding, donkey brushing, farm stewardship lessons and milking, as well as the chance to stay overnight.
The successful marriage of agricultural advocacy and entrepreneurship is epitomized in Tasmania, the triangular island of wilderness at the bottom of Australia. The state is 25 percent farmland, 34 percent national park and Australia's largest aquaculture producer.
In 2020, 60 small- to large-scale farmers developed agritourism offerings and 30 established operators fine-tuned theirs as part of the two-year Opening the Gate program. Allison Clark, a former Huon Valley orchardist and the executor of the project, says the program highlighted agritourism's four cores: people, product, passion and place.
'It's not just giving the keys to a shearer's shed and saying, 'Here you go and stay there for the night,'' she says. 'It's about providing an experience that connects the farmer and the visitor … the passion of the farmer and why they do what they do.'
The night sky over Mountview at Budgalong.
