With Easter just around the corner why not consider spending your weekend with some real rabbits! Take the family out to one of the farm stays listed on our site and have a ‘back-to-nature’ easter holiday. There’s some great accommodation in rural areas and if you don’t want to stay over try some of the produce being sold directly from the many farm produce shops dotted around the countryside. A winery trip also makes for a nice day out, take a picnic basket and rug and enjoy!

I’ve had a request from a Canadian student who is doing a research project on agritourism in Australia and she’d like to find our more info. about ‘dude ranches’ here. I must say I had to ask what that was and it appears it’s a ranch where you can go to ride horses and learn about ranching life. So I guess if any of you have a business like this you might like to put a post here that Courtney can access and have a read about what you are offering.

Thanks Pauline

We just had a lovely break on the Mornington Peninsula; staying high on the hill in Dromana, within a hop skip and a jump from the wonderful Red Hill area. We indulged ourselves a couple of days and meandered around the area calling into wineries and food places along the way. We really enjoyed ourselves at Ten Minutes by Tractor winery where a helpful young man took much time in explaining wines to our 21 year old son, Marcus (who we are trying to educate away from mixed drinks and beer to wine!). The young man in question created a friendly and non-threatening environment for Marcus to feel comfortable in asking a range of questions on wine – it was very pleasant indeed!

We also tried some delicious cheeses on the balcony at Red Hill Cheese, where they have quite a lovely system set up to try the cheeses using a tick off sheet with all the cheese names clearly listed so you don’t forget as you go along. Staff there explain the types of cheeses and how they are made before letting you loose on them, another great experience! The setting on the balcony amongst the tall forests surrounding the homestead is just delightful.

Stawberries too were on the menu. We left Sunny Ridge Stawberry Farm armed with mountains of the sweetest, plumpest strawberries I have eaten in ages and I must admit to also buying a jar of their chocolate dipping sauce which accompanied our stawberries later that night – wicked but wonderful!

On one of our day trips we also stopped off for lunch at The Long Table in Red Hill South who specialize in regional seasonal produce and Peninsula wines. The food was exquisite and the wines superb; coupled with an inviting ambience it too was worth the visit. Actually we also came out of there armed with some local produce; the Leontyna extra virgin olive oil they served with the bread was so stunning we had to ask what it was and bought some, I highly recommend you find some!

Another day saw us having a light lunch at Stillwater at Crittenden’s winery which is set on a small lake on the property; the perfect place for lunch under the umbrellas out on the lawn on a nice day. Their little local produce shop also saw us walking away with armfuls of goodies.

The break ended all too quickly but with its easing driving distance to Melbourne we’ll surely go back again and again; for those of you heading down that way pop in to the Dromana Visitor Information Centre for all the food and wine maps and have yourselves a wonderfully wicked time.

Cheers for now, Pauline

Hi all, a little out of our normal realm but we are selling one of our little rental properties in Italy and would love to hear from you if you are interested in an investment property which can get good rental returns from tourists. We have two properties in the town of Bracciano, just 40 kms north of Rome (easy commuting distance away). It’s actually the town Tom Cruise married Katie a few years back in the beautiful Castello Odescalchi, it has a lovely medieval town centre and a volcanic lake at the bottom of the hill. Great for renting to tourists and we can help you set it up as a rental property. We rent our other one out and get great returns and at least 60% occupancy a year (up to about 75% with little to no marketing), renting at $100 per night.

Offers above $320,000 means you get a great investment and a great little holiday house. It’s tiny but all you need for this purpose – downstairs a kitchen, laundry, bathroom and small lounge, upstairs a large bedroom and ensuite and a small room (either a study or small bedroom at a pinch), with small balcony. Give us a call if you are interested. Regards Pauline 0414872729

It was very exciting to hear from Dot at Rostrata Country House, who told us that since listing on our site she is starting to see hits on her website from all around the world. Recently she took a booking from a client in the UK who told her that he found her farm stay on our site.

I checked today and now we have had visitors to the site from 42 different countries and they are staying on the site for a while and searching around. It’s great to see how powerful our name is at attracting visitors from all around the world!

Our advice to farmers is to upgrade to a premium listing while the price is still low, set at $9 per month for a period of 2 years. Dot has already recouped what she paid!

Give us a call if you need more information, cheers Pauline

Don’t forget for your January holidays to source farms as an alternative accommodation source. Many farmers offer accommodation within easy distance of the beach or by lakes and rivers for those who like to fish. Accommodation is from 5 star retreats to family self contained so search through our pages to find somewhere to lay your head down over the summer. We wish you a safe and happy holiday season, cheers Pauline

The ABC has reported “There are reports of damage to buildings in north-west Western Australia as Cyclone Laurence passes over the coast.” (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/21/2777893.htm)

Our thoughts and wishes are with the agritourism operators and all the farming communities that are literally weathering the strorm as I write; our hearts and wishes are with you all. Kindest regards Pauline

Agritourism is thriving in Western Australia! It’s a fascinating state to visit as it has such a broad range of agritourism businesses; from 5 star retreats with the very best in food and wine to outback cattle stations where we can experience quintessential Australia. Browsing through the different areas in WA certainly highlights all this country has to offer, have a look for yourself at some of the amazing experiences and some of the great food and wine on offer for the ‘foodies’. Happy browsing! regards Pauline

In researching the states for entries on the website we have come across some wonderful examples of food and wine provision in our regional areas. A little gem we came across, which is now in our featured listings is the providore “Slice of Orange” in, where else but, Orange in NSW. Looking at their tempting hampers certainly had my mouth watering and I thought what a great idea for a useful Christmas gift. Hop on their site and have a look. Remember everything we buy that features regional produce is helping our farming communities. Regards Pauline

A recent comment made to me was there was no real emphasis on food on our site. We certainly have tried to include restaurants or cafes on farms and wineries but we do need to also highlight local food venues that highlight local produce.

The philosophy of our site is to support the farming communities through a range of forms of agritourism, whereby, consumers either buy directly from the farmers at the farm gate, try food and wine on the farm, or perhaps savour food that is grown in the local region and prepared by the many wonderful chefs working in the many regional hotels and restaurants, who have bought produce directly from local farmers. All these avenues support the farming communities and we are therefore happy to inlcude them on the site.

What we need from you is the names and details of these places. We have the suggest a listing section on our site and we’d love to know about all the great places that you know about so please use the suggestion box. The site will only be as good as the information we get from all of you. It is important though that you check with the food businesses that they are definitely supporting local farmers before we pop them up.

We look forward to your many suggestions, regards Pauline