In June 2024, we packed up our Caravan and headed to Hosanna Farm in Northern NSW for a quick weekend escape! Nestled in the beautiful Tweed Valley, just an hour from the Gold Coast, this charming farm offered us an unforgettable experience. From fun-filled activities for the kids to the serene countryside setting, it's definitely a must-visit for families looking for an authentic farm getaway. Trust me, you won't regret adding this gem to your travel plans!
Hosanna Farm Stay provides a variety of accommodation options, including powered and unpowered camping sites, huts, cabins, and a homestead house. View pricing here.
Our Stay -
We had a fantastic three-night stay at Hosanna Farm, opting for a powered site alongside two other families who are our caravan buddies. Our group, consisting of six adults and six kids, had a blast. We had the option of choosing between two powered site areas: up on The Ridge or behind the main Kitchen and Dining area. We decided on The Ridge giving us the option of some quiet downtime away from the main hustle and bustle of the farm when we weren't engaged in activities. It helped that our friends had stayed in this spot the previous year, so they were familiar with the farm's layout!
Check-in at noon was smooth sailing, exactly as planned. We quickly sorted out the formalities and grabbed some firewood from reception. While we were there, we also confirmed our pre-booked paid activities: the Farm tour and the Bunny Cuddles, before heading up to The Ridge.
Given the recent rainfall and the forecast for more, we were a tad worried about muddy conditions. However, a quick check-in with the staff a day prior put us at ease. They were incredibly helpful, even sending us photos of the area and ensuring that any wet patches were covered with gravel and crusher dust before our arrival. Thankfully, the weather gods smiled upon us, and what we thought would be a wet weekend turned out to be just a bit of rain on Saturday night!
Once we set up camp, we wasted no time heading down to the farm to explore and take advantage of some of the free activities. From animal feedings to building Bush Cubbies, treasure hunts (including one in the dark!), and roasting marshmallows by the fire, we were never short of things to do. (I'll dive into each activity a bit more below.) Overall, our time at Hosanna Farm was nothing short of amazing! The kids were entertained non-stop, and even us adults had a blast joining in on the fun!
Farm Activities -
Hosanna's got loads of free stuff to do while you're there. And from $7 per person, you can visit just for the day, to enjoy all they've got going on. Their Activities change slightly each term, so this is what was on when we visited.
Animal Feedings
Every day, there are three-time slots for animal feedings: morning, midday, and afternoon. You can join the staff in hand-feeding the goats through the fence. It can get a bit hectic with kids, and the food bucket empties fast, so be sure to arrive on time! Alternatively, you can buy animal food at reception and have your own little feeding session. Afterwards, they take you to the chicken pens to cuddle with the baby chicks, most of which have hatched just a day or two prior! It's incredibly adorable! Then, once you're done with your cuddle time, there's a small pen of chickens you're allowed to enter. You can interact with the larger chickens, and if you're quick enough, you can even pick them up for a lap cuddle!
Treasure Hunt
Every day at 2:00 pm, they hosted a free treasure hunt! You'd pick up clues from reception and then explore the farm, matching locations from photos, uncovering hidden words, and ultimately solving the final clue to find the "Treasure." It was a race against other players—the first person or team to find it won! The hunt was a blast for both adults and kids, taking us on a full tour around the farm. We took part in the hunt on the Sunday during our stay but had a bunny booking at 3 pm, so unfortunately, we didn't get to finish it!
Waterslide & Water Activities
The Hosanna Dam sits right at the heart of the farm! You can float lazily on inner tubes, leap off pontoons, or paddle around in kayaks. And don't miss the gigantic old-school plastic waterslide that sends you zooming down the hill straight into the dam! Note, though, the slide is open only on weekends and during school holidays, with reduced hours in winter—perfectly understandable. I can picture it being the centre of summer fun! A creek also meanders through the grounds, offering swimming holes and shallow ponds for endless enjoyment. Alongside the creek, you'll discover mud kitchens, ideal for crafting the perfect mud pies—a great option if it's too chilly for water play! During our visit, it was a bit cold for us to partake in the water activities, so we decided to opt out this time.
Live Music & Pizza (Saturday nights)
Every Saturday night, they host live music sessions on the grassed area near reception! You can grab a chair or blanket by one of the fire pits, order delicious pizza from Gunter's Flammkuchen on-site, and relax while soaking in the good vibes. The live music is free for overnight guests, but you can also join with a $10 evening family pass! Unfortunately, we had a bit of rain during our visit, so we only got to enjoy the music for about an hour before heading back to our campsite early. However, we did manage to grab some pizzas, which were absolutely delicious!
Playground & Fort
In the main farm area, you'll discover some natural play equipment such as climbing frames and wooden boats, along with a two-story "Fort" that has surely been the centrepiece of many kids' games and battles!
Walking Trails
There are so many trails to explore around the farm - We used our "Adventure passport" (details below) to explore a lot of them as we tracked through the property to complete all the missions! It's a great way to see a lot of the farm!
If that isn't enough, they have some pretty amazing paid experiences you can do as well.
Adventure Passports - $5.00 ea
The Adventure Passports turned out to be such a hit with our group! We picked one up for each of the kids as a little extra activity. Later, back at camp, we flipped through them and realized there were plenty of nostalgic activities for all of us to enjoy together! Some of the highlights included...
Stamp Station: At Reception, there's this big stamp station where the kids can stamp their passports once they've tackled all the fun activities around the farm, from feeding animals to building bush cubbies and sharing campfire stories etc.
Animal Sculpture Game: There are four metal animal sculptures spread throughout the farm! Each one is marked on the Adventure Passport map, making it a mission to discover and identify them by name. Our whole group (6 adults & 6 kids) took on this adventure together, turning it into a fun team effort! It's such a playful way to explore every corner of the farm.
Find the Golden Pig: This challenge seemed like a lot of fun, but we didn't get around to it because we stumbled upon the prized Golden Pig during our Bushranger exploration! If we had more time, we would have loved to tackle all the riddles and crack the code!
Track down the Night Bushranger: I have to admit, this was probably one of the most challenging yet rewarding adventures in the book. (My opinion might have been different in the midst of it, though—haha!) Rated "Mega Difficult" in the Passport, this nighttime hunt requires adult supervision and good torches! The goal is to track down Ned Kelly by following the small markers on the trees, which aren't always easy to spot. Along the way, you also need to watch out for the orange markers that help decipher the code. The trail turned out to be a 2km loop, and I initially underestimated it as a simple stroll through the farm's paths and trails... boy, was I wrong! They weren't kidding when they said "mega difficult"! It led us through bushland, up and down hills, with a little rope climb up a ledge and through thick trees. All the kids being older (8-12yrs), had a blast — Havana (4yrs), did partake in the entire trek, though we did have to carry her through some parts due to the uneven ground and her occasional fright amid the older kids' excitement and screams. In the end, we found Ned and cracked the code. Once we returned to camp, (despite the adults feeling a bit sore) we were all so glad we took on the challenge! It took around an hour in total!
Those are just a few of the activities we enjoyed during our stay, but there are plenty more fun things listed in the Activity Passport! I highly recommend picking one up if you're planning to stay at the farm!
Walking Farm Tour - $20.00 pp
The farm tour is a 40-minute adventure that kicks off with the alpacas! We had an amazing time getting up close and personal with these cuddly creatures—Mason and Demo even managed to steal a kiss from Dreambell! After feeding them and snapping a heap of selfies with the Alpacas, we made our way to the pig pen where we tossed in treats of bread and tomatoes. It was a treat to see the adorable new week-old piglets too! Continuing our tour, we headed to the chicken pen and pitched in with the farmers to collect fresh eggs. Catching a chicken for a cuddle proved quite the challenge—they're surprisingly speedy! With the basket full of eggs, we moved on to the hatchery where we learned all about the fascinating journey of egg to chicken, and even cuddled with some newly hatched chicks! The whole experience was really fun! Please note, that the farm tour is a paid attraction with limited spots available, so I highly recommend booking online in advance to ensure you don't miss out on this memorable experience!
Meet the Bunnies - $15.00 pp
A new program at Hosanna is Bunny Cuddles! They offer two daily 20-minute cuddle sessions where you can hold and feed carrots to their incredibly soft and friendly bunnies. We were even lucky enough to meet two tiny baby bunnies named Bluey and Bingo! Due to the current enclosure size, sessions are limited to 6 people and tend to book up fast, so I recommend securing your spot early.
Camping Facilities -
Our caravan has a kitchen, toilet, and shower, so we didn't need to rely on the facilities much. However, our sites were conveniently located near the amenities block, which we ended up using quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised by them! Unlike many farms we've visited where facilities are often basic portaloos or very rustic, Hosanna's amenities were modern and kept very clean. One thing to note is that they don't have a dump point for vans with toilets onsite; the closest one is about 20 minutes away. This can be inconvenient if you need to empty your toilet during your stay.
The camp kitchen, located near the reception area, was a bit of a trek for us on the ridge, but we didn't need to use it personally, so we didn't. However, we did check it out and found it spacious and well-equipped with everything one might need. The small shop and café at reception were a delightful convenience for morning coffee and essential supplies—we always seem to forget something! Additionally, there's a laundry facility and BBQ/picnic area onsite. All the sites on the ridge feature fire pits, and there are plenty more at the communal grassed area near reception for everyone to enjoy.
Final Thoughts -
Our stay at Hosanna Farm would be up there in the top three caravan getaways we've experienced. Now I understand why it's challenging to secure a booking here—we had to book a year in advance after missing out last year. Our travel plan involves exploring inland areas during winter and saving summer for beach and water-fun caravan parks, and Hosanna was the perfect winter retreat!
The kids were completely immersed in outdoor exploration and hardly asked for screen time, which is exactly what I love about caravan trips. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, and the facilities were impressively clean and modern. It's clear they've put a lot of thought into catering to families and creating genuine farm experiences for all ages.
We're already planning our next visit and may even make a day trip or two in the future!
I hope you've had a good time checking out our Caravanning adventures and it helped if you're planning on visiting! If there's anything I missed or if you need more info Comment below or contact me on my socials, I love sharing our adventures and tips, so feel free to hit me up anytime!
And hey, if you found it useful and wouldn't mind, I'd be forever grateful if you could leave a rating and comment below, or even drop a review on our Facebook page! Your interaction really does make a big difference in getting the word out about my blog and means I can continue sharing our adventures!
- Courts xx
Thanks for sharing this review. Planning to visit Hosanna Farmstay in two weeks