Aspens Springs Farm, Porepunkah review: Animal attraction

Kate Nancarrow and her family get hands-on with the resident creatures at this rural retreat.

Aspens Springs Farm, in Victoria's north east, must convert many city types to rural life. Visitors are welcomed by a huge range of animals offering long-lashed gazes and the farm's setting against a misty mountain backdrop is far removed from rural Australia's usual dusty-grey, doing-it-tough offerings.

A beautiful entrance - beneath an arch of trees and across a bridge above a bubbling creek - gives an idea of what is to come and that is 40 picturesque hectares stuffed to the gills with animals, large and small.

It might be news to some tourism operators but families who choose farm holidays want to touch, feed, see and ride animals but, sadly, many farm stays are disappointing; the animals are either too few - one shaggy dog and a freaked-out guinea pig - or the farm is so much a working enterprise that children must be constantly supervised to avoid trouble.

Aspens Springs Farm, however, is a rare delight. It's home to a Scottish Highland cattle stud it also has alpacas, blackface sheep, Clydesdale horses, goats of many types, peafowl, turkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, cats, dogs, geese, a miniature pony and a Shetland pony. Visitors can collect (and eat) the eggs, offer (a few) chestnuts to the Clydesdales, pick up feathers the peafowl have lost, watch the cats on mouse-watch in the hay shed, go for a pony ride or feed the pigs.

Ah, the pigs. According to the farm's owners, they began their lives elsewhere, sold as miniature pigs. And then they grew and grew. Now three huge porkers live on easy street at Aspens Springs. We couldn't decide if it was wrong to feed them windfall apples and think of roast pork and apple sauce - but we did it anyway.

Even without so many animals, Aspens Springs Farm would be worth a visit; it's only five minutes from Bright and the area is packed with attractions including farm-gate produce, great restaurants, the child-friendly rail trail bike path to Myrtleford and Mount Buffalo's alpine walks ranging from easy to challenging.

Some visitors might not want to stray far and there's plenty to look at on the farm. It sits in a valley lined with tall hills, mountains beyond and, at one end of the farm, a beautiful fish-stocked lake holds the mountains' reflection. Farm tracks offer room enough for a brisk walk up to the yabby-filled dam or around the lake collecting blackberries and watching the kangaroos. The paddocks are dotted with chestnuts, black walnuts and paulownia - a tree native to Asia that has huge leaves and beautiful flowers - which gives garden lovers plenty to identify.

Guests can stay in any of the farm's four cottages - all converted farm buildings. We choose The Loft, a converted tobacco kiln similar to those seen in the area. The original corrugated-iron exterior has been retained and the kiln's height has allowed the creation of a mezzanine area, all topped by a tin-lined ceiling. It's cleverly done, clean and extremely comfortable, with a kitchen and living area on the ground floor, fitted with some cute corrugated panelling alongside a bedroom and an adjoining bathroom. Up the timber stairs, the loft bedroom has a double and a single bed.