Latest news with #farmstay


Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Airbnb host stunned after guest flees stunning farm at sight of Trump-Vance flag nailed to fence post
An AirBnB host was left stunned after guests fled her stunning North Carolina farm after spotting a MAGA flag nailed to a fence on the property. Danielle Durham's luxurious farm stay in Lexington, south of Winston-Salem, offers guests the opportunity to escape the city and experience farm life first hand. The Outskirts of Heaven Farm, where the average stay costs $170 per night, is a rural oasis where visitors can horseback ride, hike, swim and interact directly with animals. Guests rave about Durham's charming home which they say is run by 'good, down to earth people' who have made the farm a 'fantastic retreat for the whole family'. So it's unsurprising that Durham was flabbergasted last week after a guest checked in and decided to leave just five minutes later. 'Our AirBnB guest said there is no way she could stay somewhere like this,' Durham said as she panned across the farm's beautiful landscape in a now-viral video. 'Because she saw this...' the host continued, before stopping the camera on a small flag supporting Donald Trump and JD Vance 's 2024 election campaign that had been pinned to the fencing of an animal pen on the property. Durham claimed the guest then 'got in her car and drove away, and left', leaving farm dog Zoey - who features in the clip - feeling 'sad'. Durham was soon attacked by progressives suggesting anyone with different politics to them should be canceled. Some allege it would be 'unsettling' to stay in a place where guests are 'greeted by signs that signal exclusion, extremism, and a disregard for many people's dignity'. Others argue Durham and her team have 'terrible politics should not be supported'. A few went as far as saying they 'would have stayed here in a heartbeat' but would no longer even considered it because Durham 'posted her political views for all to see and they do not mesh well with my morals'. But the host - who has received dozens of raving reviews from former guests - does not seem too bothered by the campaign to attack her business. In another video posted Sunday, Durham directly called out 'everyone trying to cancel the farm because of my sign'. 'I took it down. I'm going to make a new TikTok, right Chip Chip?' she said as she showcased a cute little pig who lives on the farm. 'Tell everybody you love them, Chippy,' she added before launching into an montage highlighting all of the glamour the property has to offer. Guests can 'wake up to animals right outside your window', she captioned a photo of a bedroom outfitted in farmhouse-inspired décor. She also showcased the property's 'cute breakfast nook', large living space, another bedroom and the home's exterior. 'All animal lovers welcome!' she added, before promoting the property's hiking trails, fishing area, river, hammock napping area, campfire pit and in-ground swimming pool. The clip ends with a close-up on Chippy the pig, who is seen sticking his snot near the break in the white fence. The only sign left in sight is one baring a drawing of a pig that reads, 'every butt deserves to be rubbed'. Although several MAGA critics have slammed Durham for putting her alleged political affiliations on display at the farm, many social media users have also rushed to her defense. 'If you get mad over a political view and hate this place soley (sic) over that… you are literally what's wrong with the world. Hypocritical as can be and the amount of cognitive dissonance it requires is pathetic,' one person wrote on the farm's Facebook page. 'Get a life and go do something that actually matters and makes a difference because these people are.' A veteran echoed the sentiment, writing: '10 stars beautiful property. 'People should stop harassing a lovely business just bc you don't agree with them politically. It's not left or right. 'We're all American. I didn't join the military to protect the constitution only for those I agree with politically.' 'As a business owner myself I have received the same exact backlash as this owner has. 'It must be really exhausting to literally sit there and ask every place of business who they voted for,' another sympathized. ''I bet some businesses even LIE to you just to get your business and you wouldn't even know it! Jokes on you. Keep on representing America and keep American businesses thriving.'


Times
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Somerset's coolest new farm stay with its own private vineyard
It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment I decided I wouldn't mind staying in this patch of southwest Somerset for the rest of time. I suppose it could have been during my Sunday-morning lakeside massage. Specifically when gazing out through the door of the tumbledown boating shed-turned-treatment room at the reeds swaying in the summer breeze and realising the choral birdsong soundtrack wasn't being piped through the portable speakers but coming live and direct from the trees outside. Or perhaps it was the previous day, on a grassy slope amid apple orchards, surrounded by local families and their dogs, as a dinky Glastonbury-style knees-up unfolded around us featuring acrobats and pints of homebrew. Actually, I think it was back at our farmstay watching our host, Panu Long, point out ancient-looking pagan symbols scratched into the walls of the barn where his hulking 150-year-old cider press and shiny new silver fermentation vats reside. Cider has long been a big deal in these parts, but Panu and his wife, Sophie Brendel, are just as serious about bringing wine here as climate change starts to see southern England give France's Champagne region a run for its money. The couple and their two children moved to this 40-acre farmstead, four miles east of Taunton in the gaze of the Quantock and Blackdown Hills, in 2022 (and have since acquired a labrador, kitten, Legbar chickens and a cote of doves). The following year they began planting vineyards and have since rechristened it Thornfalcon Winery & Press. But while production of their wine range is still a work in progress (it takes three to four years from planting before the grapes can be used), their hospitality is already well underway. We spent two nights in the Coach House, a barn conversion dominated by beautiful timber frames and a vast open-plan living/kitchen area with a creaking dining table at its heart. Flagstone floors lead to the children's twin room, an adorable Enid Blyton-style den decked out in folk wallpaper, stripy blinds, checked bedspreads and patterned quilts. Then we duck into the mezzanine master bedroom for more arts and crafts-inspired interiors. A welcome hamper in the kitchen is loaded with goodies from the farmhouse gardens (eggs, lettuces, carrots, asparagus, broadbeans, rhubarb…), plus local cheeses, jams and bread. The first night we arrive late to find a fish pie in the oven courtesy of Sophie, and Panu knocking on the door with a tray of Thornfalcon house martinis. Before they upped sticks Sophie worked as marketing, digital and commercial director for the Victoria and Albert Museum, where her love of fabrics and interiors was ignited, while Panu was in drinks, overseeing the bars at big-ticket events such as the Baftas and Elton John's White Tie and Tiara Ball. • Discover our full guide to Somerset Outside in the Coach House paddock stands their latest pride and joy: a traditional vardo Gypsy caravan. The plan is for it to be wheeled to any of Thornfalcon's three guest stays as a portable extra children's bedroom. There's also the Vine Hut — a roomy shepherd's hut with an outdoor copper bath and fire pit overlooking the vineyard — and the Lambing Shed, a more isolated retreat hidden away in the orchards with a wood-fire garden bath. Both sleep two, have kitchens, log-burning stoves, (indoor!) showers and look like giant doll's houses, such is the attention to detail across every last inch. • 13 of the best luxury hotels in Somerset The next morning the pair take us on a tour past their handsome 250-year-old thatched farmhouse and up a lush track to the lake. Normally they would be encouraging us to swim in it, but it is out of bounds while the resident nesters, Mr and Mrs Swan, hatch their cygnets. Then it's on to the vineyards, where Panu shows us the fledgling chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier grapes that will be made into their sparkling wine, and his innovative deterrent for hungry deer: a movement-triggered speaker system that blasts Radio 4 across the hillside. A discussion about the UK-EU youth mobility scheme on The Week in Westminster was certainly enough to move me on quickly. Future plans include converting an outbuilding into an events space for supper clubs and corporate getaways, plus Sophie's long-term dream of turning the stables into music studios for more creative escapes (they have already hosted their first writers' retreat). Panu has further drink-related ambitions too; he has already planted more vineyards with hardier, hybrid grape varieties and is busy perfecting his 'keeved' cider — a naturally carbonated delicacy, sold in champagne-like bottles, which should be ready this autumn. That afternoon we're packed off to the nearby Burrow Hill Farm for Cider Bus Saturday, a local tradition that started during the pandemic when groups could only meet outside ( It's hosted by the illustrious cider-making Temperley family, who have owned Burrow Hill since the 1960s, and whose blue double-decker Somerset Cider Bus will be a familiar sight to anyone who has been to Glastonbury Festival. Most other summer weekends it's the centrepiece for this small local shindig that also features a pop-up food stall and some sort of family-friendly music performance or circus act hidden down an orchard track. Today we get pizza and an all-female troupe of tightrope walkers called Daughters of the Dust. A little onsite shop also sells Mary Temperley's homeware and toiletries. It's impossible to visit Burrow Hill without someone mentioning Mary's sister and the most famous family member of all: Alice Temperley, whose eponymous fashion emporium relocated from London to nearby Ilminster a few years ago. Now housed in the Victorian former magistrate's court, it's an Aladdin's cave of bohemian fabulousness and well worth a visit, particularly because of its outlet store prices. I screech in just as it's closing but still manage to walk out with most of a new summer wardrobe. Back at Thornfalcon, the traditional wood-burning hot tub and sauna have been fired up, ready for us to pile in. They're on the banks of the lake, overlooking a beached fishing boat, the nesting swans and setting sun beyond. Sophie arrives carrying a white-label prototype of Thornfalcon fizz and my family wonder why we don't just move to Somerset to start a vineyard too. The next morning the kids help collect eggs from the henhouse, I have my life-affirming massage and we bid Thornfalcon an emotional farewell as Sophie delivers one last delight: she has booked us Sunday lunch at the Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George — a film set-ready 17th-century inn with the best roasts in the vicinity (mains from £20, B&B doubles from £120; But crucially, it's also off the A303 on the way back home to London, otherwise I'm not sure she'd have ever convinced us to leave. Krissi Murison was a guest of Thornfalcon, which has B&B doubles from £125 ( By Siobhan Grogan The market town of Ilminster is a 15-minute drive from Thornfalcon and has a 15th-century church, a popular theatre, and plenty of independent cafés and shops for pottering around. Half an hour further from there, higgledy-piggledy Bruton is (famously) well worth the day trip for its terraced streets, acclaimed Godminster cheese shop and art gallery Hauser & Wirth in a former farmstead with a stunning landscaped garden (free; Get another art fix at Close Gallery, which showcases contemporary works, in the grounds of Close House in Hatch Beauchamp (free; The Quantock Hills were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are the best place for hiking and cycling with their windswept heathland, wildlife sightings and stretches of wilderness. Rocky ridge Haddon Hill is another good option for a countryside ramble, with lunch afterwards at the modern fine-dining restaurant Holm in South Petherton — it's full of clever ideas such as Westcombe cheddar fries with asparagus or chocolate crémeux with Jerusalem artichoke ice cream (mains from £23; Afterwards stroll around the village, which has a church with an octagonal central tower with 12 bells and a performing arts centre, the David Hall ( There's history galore at the 50-acre 16th-century Hestercombe Gardens (£17; the Jacobean almshouses of Taunton and Castle Neroche, an Iron Age hillfort. The National Trust's Tudor mansion Barrington Court also has gardens, a café and independent artisan studios for shopping (£12 or free for National Trust members; The award-winning gastropub the Barrington Boar is nearby and recently opened a new bakery in the converted cider barn next door (mains from £23;


Washington Post
25-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
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.' Story continues below advertisement Advertisement 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. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement 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.


Times
20-06-2025
- Times
Life on the farm has never looked as good as this
Mossy dry stone walls have an indescribable charm. Perhaps it's their quiet defiance, the way these ancient feats of engineering have stood long enough to be claimed by nature. As you leave Kirkcaldy, driving up into the patchwork of ancient fields above the Firth of Forth, their charm is heightened by the way the town — best known for its linoleum — suddenly melts into a landscape where these walls seem to be the only human fingerprints. Heading past rolling fields, with spring poking its head above the parapet and only the occasional russet of a Highland cow catching the eye, it feels as if there is nobody else here. Then, rounding a bend, my friend Anna and I happen upon Banchory Farm. Here, dotted around a warm pink farmhouse where owners Jane and Jonathan Manifold live with their two children, six farmhands' cottages have been converted into luxury rental cottages. Our home for the weekend is The Grieves, a two-bedroom cottage named after the farm manager, or 'grieve', who once lived here. A beautiful vase of hyacinths and tulips, as well as a basket groaning with seasonal produce, welcome us in an impeccably appointed, brass-knobbed deVOL kitchen. Cottagecore floral wallpaper, marble bathroom tiles — you'd never guess that The Grieves, now impeccably restored, had rising damp and no central heating a few years ago. Jane explains how they've also installed air source heat pumps, planted 4,500 trees and rewilded field edges around the cottages. We make porcini mushroom pasta from our welcome basket ingredients, run luxurious baths in the master bedroom then slip into linen bedding in our high-ceilinged but cosy double rooms to sleep the sort of sleep you get only after swapping city for deep, dark countryside. The next morning, after a hearty breakfast (again courtesy of the cornucopian gift basket), we follow the Manifolds' helpfully detailed guidebook to Falkland, former seat of Stuart kings and perhaps the most handsome of Scotland's royal burghs. The village, about 30 miles away at the foot of the Lomond Hills in the lovely Howe of Fife, has been frequently used as a filming location for Outlander. Fans of the show will know it as a stand-in for the Highlands where Frank Randall and Claire Beauchamp go on their honeymoon. • Falkland Palace — who can resist the draw of the world's oldest tennis court? After peeking up charming cobbled streets and briefly exploring Falkland Palace, the royal hunting lodge favoured by Mary, Queen of Scots, we tackle East Lomond, site of a prehistoric hillfort that the Picts chose as their lofty seat of power. The final 150 metres have us wedging toes into footholds but the sweeping summit views down over forest, field and the Firth of Forth mean we quickly forget the strain. Back at Banchory, Jane has arranged for Lesley Brown, a touring masseuse, to work out the kinks from our walk. The rest of the day drifts by in a haze of indulgence — a wander around Loch Leven, where we pause to spy on birds from a hide and browse the farm shop on its banks, a dinner of scallops and halibut at the family-run Wee Restaurant in North Queensferry, then Bananagrams in The Grieves' snug sitting room. • 16 of the most beautiful places in Scotland On our final night, which comes far too fast, Anna and I find ourselves in the garden in front of a crackling fire pit. The books, which we really did intend to read, are cast aside in favour of simply sitting in the cool, relaxing air. We are backlit by the warm light from the kitchen of our home-from-home, snug under the blue tartan rugs left thoughtfully in the boot room. We sit there as night falls, looking out beyond the wall at the foot of 'our' garden, laughing and swapping stories until the fire dies to embers and we retreat indoors. It's the kind of night that stays with you. As we pack up the next morning, we lament how quickly the trip has gone. Some places just make you want to linger, gathering moss like those old stone walls above Kirkcaldy. Lottie Hayton was a guest of Banchory Farm ( which has one night self-catering for two from £120

News.com.au
18-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Business listed for sale complete with a camel called Sandy
A unique business opportunity is for sale, and it comes complete with a camel called Sandy. Operating at EcoPark Fishing Park & Farm Stay, the 3.11ha site is located at Luscombe, which is located between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Listed with Ray White Shore Group, 2 Hall St is zoned Commercial and classified as a Special Tourist Attraction. It boasts 'beautifully landscaped grounds featuring fishing ponds, open picnic areas, native wildlife, and engaging family-friendly activities'. At the entrance is a retail gift shop and fully operational kitchen, servicing visitors and guests throughout the week. An onsite property also provides a steady income stream. The business website describes it as a fishing park and farm stay. There are two accommodations types - the EcoPark Lodge and overnight camping for one group only. Exclusive overnight camping starts at $499 for four people, with an additional $75 per person, right up to $1500 for 20 people, and $75 per person after that. EcoPark Lodge is a self-contained house that sleeps up to 18 people. Activities include fishing, with all gear supplied, a 36-hole mini golf course, animal and bird feeding, a jumping castle, paddleboats. waterbikes, large boardgames, swings and slides, table tennis and football. There is also pedal go karts, 4WD buggy rides and tours. The catch and release fishing involves try to land one of the thousands of fish within the ponds, including Barcoo Grunter, Sooty Grunter, Silver Perch, Eel-tailed catfish, Australian Bass, Golden Perch (or Yellow Belly) and Murray Cod. 'Our catch and release policy ensure that there are plenty of fish for all to enjoy catching,' the website says. ATO's dragnet: Millions of side hustles face shock tax bill And as for the other animals, these include Sandy the Camel, rabbits Miss Poppins and Lady Blue, a number of macaws, deer, and Dorothy the Pig. The website also says that a shark and ray encounter is 'coming soon'. There is also peacocks, donkeys, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, ducks, turkeys and baby chicks.