Avalanche Homestead

Avalanche homestead was booked as a bit of an afterthought. We were at the end of our holiday and had to fly out of Canberra. Rather than fly from Sydney to canberra we decided to stay somewhere local. Being animal lovers we decided on a farm stay. The direction given to the hotel were good and we found it without any problems. Frank & Fay met us on our arrival. Frank was leading a young lad on a pony and I saw another pony over in the field. We were intending to go horse riding, but the first pony I saw was only small - I'm not! I figured it wouldn't be good for me to ride that one. Frank told me that the other one was quite feisty and as I'm not an experienced rider I decided not to bother. I think if we had notified them before our arrival that I was heavy, Frank would have borrowed a suitable horse from a neighbour. Fay showed us to our room and round the rest of the homestead. It was very nice with an awesome lounge/ dining room. Very high beamed ceiling. Our room had a huge bed, which turned out to be 2 singles joined together. It was perfectly serviceable and clean. Quite unexpectedly, Fay prepared lunch for us and it was delicious - and plentiful. There was another couple and 2 boys staying at the same time. After lunch we just relaxed for a while and then went to watch Frank muster the cattle and ear tag the young calves. Very interesting and at times a little scary - but then we didn't have to put ourselves in the pen with the cattle and horse. Frank also showed us how he dealt with the bull calves - giving us a graphic display with "The demasculator" My husband will never be the same again. Before dinner we were dropped off in the woods to walk back to the homestead. The hope was that we would spot some kangaroos. We were not so lucky. Possibly because I spent most of the walk talking about al the dangerous animals Australia has and generally being paranoid that I was about to be bitten/eaten. I wasn't. Noone was. Dinner was another resounding success. Frank & Fay joined us and were excellent hosts. After dinner Frank took us out roo spotting again. this time in his 4 wheel. We got to see a wombat crossing the track and around 10 kangaroos. Very happy. We had to leave early the following morning and didn't expect breakfast. However Frank & Fay were both up and breakfast was simple but sufficient - just as we had asked for. On the early morning trip from the homestead (6.15am), we saw more kangaroos than we could shake a stick at. Plus a fawn. Overall - great trip. Very relaxing with lovely hosts.

Our stay at the Homestead was a wonderful experience. We were the only guests at the time, which allowed us to get to know our hosts, Frank and Faye Biddle. Frank met us at the airport in Canberra and gave us a guided tour of select attractions in Canberra. We also arranged some custom sight-seeing to the Deep Space Communications Center and a nature preserve. Our room was very comfortable with twin beds and private bath. Meals were tasty and generous in portion, and served in the great room. The best part of our stay was the lively conversation during our evening meal.