Australian Farmstay
Myella Central Queensland
by Kate Wiley
When I tell people that I’m from Australia they automatically assume that I live in Sydney. In fact, I’ve noticed that plenty of foreigners seem to completely associate Australia with Sydney, kangaroos and that’s about it. They’ve got it all wrong! If you want to experience the real Australia, you need to do a farmstay, mate!
You can’t go home and say you truly experienced Oz unless you go on a farm stay during your holiday, and believe me, there are plenty around. In fact, farm stay is a booming part of Australia’s tourism industry.
If you go on a farmstay you’re guaranteed to make new friends, get great photos and experience a way of life that you’ll find nowhere else in the world.
Of all the farmstays I know of one comes to mind that stands out above all else for brilliant hospitality and an awesome, genuine experience. I’ve been to Myella Farmstay at Baralaba, Queensland twice, and I had the time of my life both times.
A farmstay is the real deal
On a farmstay, no matter where it is, you get the real deal. I can guarantee you that you will get the bluest sky you’ve ever seen, with some of the reddest dust you’ve ever seen. That makes for for a sunset like no other you’ve ever seen followed by a majestic night sky studded with the brightest stars you ever saw.
This is definitely true at Myella Farmstay.
When I went there I had no idea what I was in for. Having been twice now, I can’t wait to go back! Hosts Lyn, Olive, Peter and Ken are some of the most genuine people I have ever met and they have done a marvellous job of opening their family cattle station to travellers from all over the world. Believe me, Myella Farmstay is good old Aussie country hospitality at its best.
At Myella, and no doubt many other farmstays as well, expect to spend your days horse riding, riding motorbikes and helping out around the property. I read on one of the Myella brochures once that you will leave sore and dirty, but very happy – how true that is! If you don’t like getting dirty then don’t go to a farmstay when I showered the water washed out of my hair tinged red and I was cleaning red dust out of my ears for a while there, too!
And yep, I was sore too. During my farmstay I was assigned to a buckskin horse called Rebel. He had a bit more go than some of the other horses (I’m a horse girl from way back and have my own horses) so I was up for a bit of fun. At Myella Farmstay everyone is assigned to horses according to personality and ability – and I’ve got to give it to them, because they usually get it spot on. I had an absolute ball riding Rebel, but even though I ride all the time I was so sore on day two after several hours in the saddle on my first day at the farm stay. On day two I got the opportunity to give him a go at barrel racing – a real eye opener given that I’m a dressage rider, but sooo much fun!
Me feeding an orphaned baby kangaroo at Myella
Between all the great farmstay activities take the opportunity to do a bit of washing, play games, go into Baralaba or go for a dip in the pool.
At the end of the day there’s nothing quite like sitting around the campfire with a few coldies (Australian for an ice cold beer) chatting to your new mates and sharing stories. Then its to bed to do it all again the next day, and believe me, it will be one of the best and most welcome night’s sleep you’ll ever have!
Aussie country hospitality is legendary,so why not experience it for yourself on a farmstay?
Kate Wiley
Myella Farm Stay, Queensland, Australia, August 2010
We spend 4 days of our Australia vacation this year in August on this farm. An unforgettable and very impressive experience. The children always asking to get there again …
Blog posts about Myella Farm Stay
Will and Loulou's travel diary: Day 144 : Myella Farm and bumping …
Got picked up early from Rockhampton YHA to go to Myella farm stay in the outback; Had some breakfast then collected eggs and cuddled chickens; Learnt another style of riding similar to western (not that we needed to steer …
We stayed here for 3 days. My son – 9 years old – had the time of his life! The picked us up at our hostel in Rockhampton at 6.30am and we were in…
Publish Date: 12/19/2010 23:49
http://www.travbuddy.com/Myella-Farmstay-Baralaba-v277487
Myella Farm Stay Horse Riding Motorbike Farmstay Myella Queensland …
Website: Myella Farm Stay. OK… You’re travelling around oz in your Wicked Rental Camper and so far so good. You’ve boozed up with your fellow backpackers in some of the major Australian cities and you’ve even managed to make friends …
Publish Date: 07/03/2007 17:16
http://www.wickedfriends.com/nature-wildlife/myella-farm-stay/
This past weekend, we spent 3 days and 2 nights at the Myella Farm Stay in Baralaba, Queensland. To get there, we flew from Sydney to Rockhampton, aka Rocky – the Beef capital of Australia. We happened to arrive a few days before the …
Publish Date: 05/04/2009 21:33
http://shirleygrantland.blogspot.com/2009/05/myella-farm-stay.html
Man or Horse. This Japanese guy came to stay with this great horse head costume and oh boy did we have some confused horses at Myella!
Publish Date: 12/21/2007 21:46
http://myellafarm.blogspot.com/2007/12/half-man-half-horse.html