A weekend at Wilindi Estate means waking up to grazing horses outside your window and letting the kids collect eggs before breakfast. It’s a cosy cottage stay set on a working animal rescue property near Tyabb, less than an hour from Melbourne, and it’s built for families who want a slower kind of getaway.
We head down with our two girls for two nights, staying in one of the property’s self-contained cottages and spending time with the rescue animals alongside owner Miriam. Here’s everything we find out about the cottages, the animals, the costs and the practical stuff parents need to sort out first, along with our own notes from the stay.
What to Expect at Wilindi Estate
Wilindi Estate sits on ten acres near Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula. The property is home to Herd Harmony, a registered charity that rescues and rehabilitates horses, along with a growing crew of pigs, goats and chickens.
There are three self-contained cottages on site — Maple, Poplar and Harmony — each with its own fenced garden and views over the paddocks. Guests can spend guided time with the rescue animals, sit by a cottage-side fire pit at night, or simply wander the grounds.
This isn’t a petting zoo with a car park and a gift shop, and there’s no open-access animal contact. Every interaction is guided and supervised by Miriam Heatherich, who has spent years working with both vulnerable children and animals, and who runs the whole experience on the animals’ terms rather than the visitors’.
That gives the stay a different feel to a standard animal encounter — quieter, more considered, and led entirely by someone who knows every animal individually.
Highlights for Kids
- Meeting the rescue horses and ponies — greeting and grooming is part of the guided animal experience, and there are sometimes foals on the ground to say hello to.
- Wilbur and Wally the pigs, plus Tim and Tam the goats — regulars on the property, along with visiting miniature goats during our stay.
- Collecting eggs from the chickens — and keeping them, which is a nice touch for kids who’ve never done this before.
- The pool — handy for warmer months.
- A cottage fire pit night — the property offers a marshmallow and firewood package for a cosy night in.
Meeting the Rescue Animals With Miriam
The guided animal experience is the main organised activity and runs for around an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. It’s fully supervised throughout, and covers meeting the horses and hearing their rescue stories, grooming a horse, saying hello to the pigs and goats, and collecting eggs.
What to know before booking the farm tour:
- Price: $100 for a family of four, with additional children at $15 and additional adults at $25.
- Booking: Sessions are booked separately to your cottage stay, through the property’s online booking link. Email questions to miriam@herdharmony.com.
- Footwear: Sturdy, closed-toe shoes are required. Gumboots are available if you don’t have your own.
- Pack: A hat, sunscreen and insect repellent are recommended, since the session is outdoors regardless of weather.
- Weather policy: Sessions can be altered or cancelled at short notice due to weather or animal welfare, with refunds issued if the property cancels. Cancellations made by guests need seven days’ notice for a refund.
- Proceeds: The fee goes towards Herd Harmony’s running costs as a rescue charity.
Which Cottage Suits Your Family
All three cottages are self-contained with their own kitchen, and each lists a portable cot and high chair available for younger children.
Maple Cottage (where we stay) Two bedrooms, sleeps up to five, with a queen bed in the main room and a bunk in the second. Has a private terrace, BBQ, fire pit and access to the pool. Rates run from $320 to $400 on weeknights and $380 to $550 on weekends, plus a $145 cleaning fee. The bunk beds suit our two girls well and are comfortable.
Poplar Cottage Two bedrooms, sleeps up to six, and is the property’s fully wheelchair-accessible cottage, with wide doorways, grab rails and a roll-in shower. Has an outdoor play area. Rates run from $380 to $420 on weeknights and $400 to $550 on weekends, plus a $160 cleaning fee.
Harmony Cottage A one-bedroom studio, around 27 square metres, sleeping a maximum of three — ideal for a parent travelling with one or two children. Set right by the horse paddocks and the hen house, with its own pool access. Rates run from $210 on weeknights and $250 on weekends, plus an $80 cleaning fee.
What Parents Need to Know
- Check-in and check-out: Check-in from 3pm, check-out by 10am, with self check-in via a keypad — handy if you’re travelling with tired kids and don’t want to wait around for someone to meet you.
- Kitchen facilities: Each cottage has a fridge, cooktop or oven, basic cooking equipment and a dishwasher (Maple and Poplar), so you can cook rather than eat out every meal.
- Parking: Free parking is available on site at each cottage.
- Toilets: Each cottage is self-contained with its own bathroom.
- Hand hygiene: As with any hands-on time with animals, it’s worth packing wipes or heading straight to a bathroom afterwards, especially before eating.
- No feeding: Animals aren’t fed during the session — Miriam’s approach is built around animals choosing to spend time with guests rather than being drawn in with treats, so there’s no hand-feeding involved at any point.
- Games room: The barn is a common area for visitors to rest and has football, table tennis and a bookshelf full of books to choose from. There’s also a sink with hand soap, sanitiser and sunscreen for guests to use at their leisure.
- Extra guests: Charges apply for guests beyond the base occupancy, and cots and high chairs need to be requested in advance.
- Smoking: Permitted outside only, with butts required to be removed from the property.
- Distance from Melbourne: Less than an hour’s drive from the CBD, making it doable as a weekend trip rather than a big road trip.
- Booking: Cottages are booked directly through the Wilindi Estate website; time with the animals is a separate booking.
Our Experience
We arrive when the blossom is dropping like snow across the driveway. The hedges are neatly trimmed and the garden edges are manicured, so the whole property feels looked after rather than just functional.
We stay in Maple Cottage. Our girls love the bunk beds in the second bedroom, and find a stash of pencils, colouring books and reading books in the desk.
Our cottage is cosy and the beds are all comfortable, which matters after a day of chasing kids around paddocks. The small touches stand out most: there’s a footstool in the bathroom so our girls can reach the sink on their own, and a basket of gumboots in every size, so nobody needs to bring their own for the farm.
Meeting the Rescue Animals
Our time with the rescue animals is the highlight of the whole stay, and it’s not what we expect. Miriam, who everyone calls Farmer Mim, doesn’t run a typical animal encounter.
She started the rescue when her own daughter was eight (she’s sixteen now), after realising a horse is roughly twenty times stronger than a small child and no amount of bridles or ropes changes that. Her solution is to get the animals to treat her daughter, and now every visiting family, as part of their herd. Her mission, in her words, is to strengthen the bond between children and animals — properly, not just for a photo.
The first thing she teaches the kids is how to say hello. Instead of walking up and patting an animal straight away, she has everyone cup their hand and let each animal sniff it first, since animals meet by smell rather than touch. Our girls find this fascinating rather than boring, and it changes how they approach every animal for the rest of the visit.
There’s no food involved anywhere in the experience — Miriam is clear that food-based encounters just teach animals to chase whoever’s holding the treats, and she wants the animals choosing to spend time with you instead. Everything is guided by her, step by step, and nobody goes near an animal without her leading the way first.
Highlights from our time with the animals:
- Tim and Tam, the goats — Tam loves a scratch between the horns and pushes his head into your hand for more. Tim, in the pink collar, prefers company over touch and happily just stands near you.
- Wilbur and Wally, the pigs — Wilbur is around 150 kilos and treats legs as scratching posts, so Miriam’s tip is to simply step away if you don’t want to be leaned on. Wally is quieter and a bit more insecure, and both pigs are loud by nature, which catches our girls off guard at first.
- Grooming Sally the horse — the girls hold out a brush for Sally to sniff before brushing her, following the same “ask first” approach used with every animal.
- Meeting the babies — Apollo, born on the property and raised with Miriam’s approach of always giving him the choice to say no, plus Comet and her foal Cash. Comet’s own rescue story, arriving from a difficult situation while already pregnant, is one Miriam tells honestly rather than glossing over.
- The walk around the dam — no leads, no halters, just the group walking and seeing which animals choose to come along. Miriam positions kids on one side and leaves a clear path on the other in case anyone gets excitable.
It’s worth knowing going in that Miriam talks about where these animals came from honestly, including some of the less comfortable realities of horse breeding and the dairy industry. It’s handled gently and age-appropriately, but it’s not a sanitised version of animal welfare, and we appreciate that.
Things to Do Nearby
Wilindi Estate is well placed for families wanting to make a full weekend of it on the Mornington Peninsula.
- Beaches: Somers, Rye, Rosebud, Dromana and Safety Beach are all family-friendly options nearby.
- Wineries: The region is known for its cellar doors, many with room for kids to run around outside.
- Antique shopping in Tyabb: The Tyabb Packing House Antiques complex is one of the largest in the country, if a wet-weather browse appeals.
- Walking trails: Shorter, family-friendly options like Baldrys Short Circuit and Farnsworth Track run around 1.5 kilometres, without needing a full day of hiking gear.
- Adventure activities: Tree-top ropes courses, stand-up paddle boarding and horse riding are all within reach of the peninsula.
Also read: 45 Best Things to Do in the Mornington Peninsula with Kids
Is It Worth Visiting With Kids?
Best for: families with primary-school-aged kids who are keen on animals, and families looking for a genuine break from screens for a night or two. Younger toddlers can still enjoy watching and taking part in some of the gentler moments, though the grooming and hands-on parts suit kids old enough to follow instructions calmly.
Time required: the guided animal experience itself takes just over an hour, but most families will want at least one full day to properly enjoy the grounds, pool and surrounding area — which is where the two-night stay makes sense over a day trip.
Value for money: cottage rates sit at the higher end for a self-contained stay, but they include full private accommodation rather than a shared bunkhouse, and the fee for time with the animals supports a working rescue charity rather than a commercial attraction.
Who’d enjoy it most: animal-loving families wanting a proper switch-off weekend, rather than families chasing a packed itinerary of activities.
FAQs
Is Wilindi Estate suitable for toddlers? Yes, though the more hands-on parts of the animal experience are better suited to kids old enough to follow simple instructions calmly. Younger children can still enjoy watching and collecting eggs.
Do I need to book time with the animals separately from the cottage? Yes. Cottage accommodation and the guided animal experience are booked separately through the property’s website and booking link.
Is there a pool at Wilindi Estate? Yes, perfectly suited to the warmer months.
How far is Wilindi Estate from Melbourne? Less than an hour’s drive from Melbourne’s CBD, making it manageable as a weekend trip.
What should we bring for time with the animals? Closed-toe shoes (or wear the gumboots provided), a hat, sunscreen and insect repellent, since the session runs outdoors regardless of weather.
How are animal interactions supervised? Every session is led by Miriam personally, following a guided introduction process where animals choose whether to engage rather than being fed or approached freely. There’s no unsupervised or open-access contact with any animal on the property.
Is Wilindi Estate wheelchair accessible? Poplar Cottage is fully wheelchair accessible and DDA certified, with wide hallways, grab rails and a roll-in shower.
The Tot team was invited and hosted by Wilindi Estate. All opinions are the writers’ own.
