Maleny Dairies

There's something so peaceful and refreshing about being out in the countryside. I had a voucher to take the Maleny Dairies farm tour, so the boys and I took a day trip up to the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands with our friends. It's a long drive so I'm glad we had the extra company. 

We stopped for lunch in the town of Maleny at Colin James Fine Foods. We enjoyed some delicious aged cheddar and award-winning gelato at Colin James Fine Foods, but I didn't particularly like their service.

Afterwards, we arrived quite early so the boys had plenty of time to play a giant game of chess, climb around on some rusty old tractors and run around the field.

Have I mentioned how much I love old stuff? Farms have so much of it. I spotted an old wooden crate with a couple of old milk bottles sitting at the side of an old barn and I was so, so tempted to ask if I could take them home.

Ever since I told Caleb we were going to a dairy farm, he wanted to touch a cow. It was the only thing he wanted and he was so excited to see this gorgeous cow standing so close to the fence. He eagerly looked at me for permission to touch it and his face absolutely lit up when I said yes.

We toured the milk factory and saw where they process and package the milk into the different products they offer. The boys thought that was pretty cool.

It was a pretty chilly day so Caleb stuck pretty close to me and I loved every moment of it. I'm going to miss walking around with this little guy holding my hand.

The boys got to feed some chickens.

Caleb waited so patiently for his turn to brush the cow. I didn't think he would mind either way if he got to brush the cow or not, but he kept asking and really wanted a turn so we made sure he got a chance. He was over the moon!

Then, the boys got to feed a couple of baby calves. Boy, they were hungry! They would not let go of that bottle, even when it was empty.

And of course, we got to see where the cows are milked twice a day. I'm so glad the boys had this experience, even though their time with the animals was quite short. I think it'd be worth taking them on a farm stay in the future so they can experience real farm life!

This last picture here is for my sister. We have a bit of history with these cardboard cutouts and since it was her birthday the day we went to the farm, I thought it was appropriate to have the boys take this photo.