Feeding a lamb – Paradise Country.
Providing families with a farm experience Paradise Country on the Gold Coast is owned by the same company that runs Movie World and Sea World. Opened eight years ago, until just two it was only accessible to overseas visitors. Entry to Paradise Country was included in our package deal to Sea World Resort, and being a parent to two animal mad little boys I thought we would take a look-see.
Visitors to Paradise Country should expect a sanitised farm experience befitting of a display farm owned by theme park operators. What do I mean by sanitised? Clean orderly paths, minimal animal dung, and a mysterious lack of farm smell as a result of probable air freshener usage. Very different to any genuine farms I have visited. This is not necessarily a bad thing however. Yes, I advocate for urban families to experience an authentic farm-stay on a working farm together at least once. I also recognise however that getting down and dirty on the farm is inherently challenging to some urban families, and an overnight stay may be prohibitive due to cost.
Paradise Country provides kids with the opportunity to enjoy a few simple farm pleasures, within a hop step and jump of both the Gold Coast and Brisbane’s urban centres, while mum and dad can remain clean.
So what did my kids enjoy? Bottle-feeding the lambs was a highlight for them. Of note though, I was informed that the lambs they fed were removed from their mothers so that tourists could feed them. This doesn’t sit well with me as on a real farm any bottle fed lambs are likely to require the feeding due to being orphaned, or rejected by their mother. My boys also had the opportunity to milk a cow, and observe sheep sheering.
A number of antique horse drawn vehicles are on site, and we ate our picnic lunch in one. A buffet barbeque restaurant is located at Paradise Country and Paradise Country asks families not to bring their own food into the park excepting that for infants. Having a picky eater and being unaware of the request not to bring our own food we chowed down in ignorance. Thankfully staff left us in peace and we were not reprimanded.
During our afternoon at Paradise Country all other visitors were members of Asian tour groups, and Paradise Country’s shows incorporated the type of camp humour usually reserved for international guests. Shows included in the admission price include sheep sheering, stockmen and a bit of a yarn over billy tea. The staff presenting at the shows were the real deal however, experienced stockmen, horse people and shearers. As such, due to the pace and style of the shows it suited our family best to miss them and interact with the farm animals at our own pace.
A couple of non-farm extras at Paradise Country – my kid’s favourite, feeding kangaroos was available onsite. They also loved digging for planted opals in “Clancy’s Opal Mine” at a small extra cost (we were charged $14 for the two of them).
Families should plan to spend either an afternoon or morning at Paradise Country. Paradise Country is located behind Movie World. Opening hours are 9.30am-4.30pm.
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Digging for opals – Clancy’s opal mine.
