A $10 day that completely over-delivered
I didn’t research this one beforehand, just the opening hours, and honestly I’m glad I didn’t, because the whole day turned into one nice surprise after another. Myuna Farm is out in Doveton, about 40 minutes south-east of the city, and for what it costs to get in, it is genuinely one of the best value days we’ve had with the kids all year.
We got there not long after it opens at 10, and the first thing that happens is someone hands you a paper bag of feed at the gate — no extra charge, it comes with your ticket. I filled mine about a third of the way, thinking that’d be plenty. Big mistake, in the best way. There is so much to feed at this place that I had to walk back and top the bag up halfway round. Fill it properly the first time, you’ll use every bit of it.
There’s a map at the entrance if you want one, but you honestly don’t need it. The farm isn’t huge, and you naturally wander into everything without trying.
Start at the animal nursery, it’s the best bit
We went into the Animal Nursery first, before it got busy, and it might have been my favourite part of the whole day. You’re actually in with the animals rather than looking over a rail — lambs, rabbits, guinea pigs, one enormous, blissfully chilled-out sheep that just let the kids sit right next to it. Everything was so calm and used to being handled, not skittish at all, which made it so much more fun to get close. You can’t feed anything inside the nursery, but the patting alone is worth the trip.
Tractor rides, milking, and the most satisfying bottle feeding
After the nursery we did the tractor ride, a little train that loops around the farm past the paddocks and out to the wetlands and back. Takes about ten to fifteen minutes and it’s an easy add-on ticket, so good for breaking up all the walking.
Around 3:15 we wandered past the dairy right as a milking demonstration was starting — staff showing everyone how it’s done, then letting people try it themselves. I had a go. It’s genuinely one of those things you have to feel for yourself, no amount of describing does it justice. My hands had absolutely no idea what they were doing, and it was brilliant.
Then at 3:30, back in the nursery, they do bottle feeding of the baby animals, and this was the moment of the whole day for my kid. They hand you a proper bottle and you feed one of the babies yourself. If you plan your afternoon around one thing, make it being near the nursery at 3:30.
The feed trail is the real highlight
Honestly, this might be the best part of the whole farm. A path loops past sheep, goats, alpacas, camels, deer, even kangaroos, and you just walk along hand-feeding as you go. Some of them come straight up to you before you’ve even got your hand out of the bag. It’s a much closer, warmer kind of animal encounter than a normal zoo, where everything’s usually behind glass or a fence, and it makes for genuinely great photos too.
By the time we left mid-afternoon, we’d been there close to four hours and it flew by completely.
What it actually cost us
I checked the current prices against City of Casey’s own page, because a lot of what’s floating around online is years out of date. Right now single entry is $10, a family of four is $39, concession is $8.75, and train or pony rides are $3.60 each on top of that. We paid for two adults, added a couple of ride tickets, and came in under $20 each for a near four-hour day. That’s an incredible amount of fun for the money.
No car? Still an easy day out
If you don’t drive, this is one of the few farms near Melbourne you can get to properly on public transport — train to Dandenong Station, then the 843 or 845 bus, which drops you right outside. We drove ourselves, but I looked this up afterwards because people asked, and it checks out on PTV’s site, so it’s a great option if you’re a car-free family looking for school holiday ideas. If you do drive, there’s parking on Betula Park Reserve just off Kidds Road — it was fairly full by late morning on the Saturday we went, so getting there earlier is worth it on weekends.
Worth knowing: weekends get popular with birthday parties, and there were a few different groups celebrating in the function spaces the day we went, which meant a slightly longer wait for the tractor ride. A weekday during the holidays would probably be an even calmer version of the same great day.
We brought our own lunch and used one of the free barbecues, which was a lovely way to break up the afternoon, though the on-site café is there too if you’d rather not.
Would I go back? In a heartbeat
Yes, absolutely, and probably will before these school holidays are even over. It’s not a huge property and you won’t need a full day for it, but every part of it felt worth doing, and the price makes it an easy yes. If you’re building out a bigger list for the holidays, it pairs really well with something like the dinosaur parks around Melbourne — Myuna in the morning, something else after lunch.
If animal farms are your thing, we’ve also written up Koala Park in West Pennant Hills, and you’ll find more options in our animal farms and zoos list.