For lunch we stopped at Warrook Cattle Farm where we had a truly wonderful 3 hour visit. Lunch was in the old ranch house which is now a museum as the owners have moved out to a new house that has been built elsewhere on the estate. It was originally built in 1904 to replace the previous farm house that burnt down. Each brick was made by hand on the estate and each room has 16 ft high ceilings and is furnished with Victorian furniture to show how it may have looked when it’s English owner first built it (The Grieves family). A hearty roast beef fare was provided for us before we went out on the farm to meet the animals and learn about the life of a working cattle ranch. We bottle fed baby calves first and then had a go at milking a very patient old cow called Daisy, who has retired from the commercial diary heard now. Milking was surprisingly easy to do! Next we went to see the sheep dogs rounding up the sheep and then watched Loretta shear a sheep in the barn. We then had a chance to use a cattle whip, the aim being to try and get it to snap/crack, which is the sound that actually gets the cattle to move. Unfortunately my whip was as quiet as a lamb – i won’t give up my day job.
To end the visit to Warrook we fed the Kangaroos and wallabies that are resident on the ranch. They appeared quite tame and human friendly and allowed us to get up close and feel their incredibly soft fur. We also saw our first wombat who, although mainly a nocturnal animal did come out to say hello. It was a truly memorable and enjoyable 3 hours.
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