Working farm accommodation · Dannevirke, Tararua
Sleep on a working farm
Two cottages, 320 hectares of hill country, 450 Romney ewes, and a pig called Kevin. Check dates around lambing and shearing, then book direct.
- Tui Cottage (sleeps 4)
- $195 / night
- Rimu Cottage (sleeps 2)
- $165 / night
Minimum two nights · prices include GST and linen
01 · Check availability
Pick your dates
Select a check-in date, then a check-out date. Greyed-out days are booked. Lambing season (August–September) books early — we can still host you, but the farm is busy and noisy at 5am.
- Selected
- Booked
- Today
Select a check-in date to begin.
02 · The cottages
Two places to stay
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Tui Cottage
$195 / night
Two bedrooms, sleeps four. Full kitchen with gas hob and oven, dining table for six, a wood burner for winter, and a north-facing deck with views to the Tararua Range.
- Queen bed + twin room (bunks on request)
- Full kitchen, dishwasher, fridge/freezer
- Bathroom with shower and bath
- Wood burner — firewood provided
- Covered deck with outdoor table
- Freeview TV, Wi-Fi, books and games
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Rimu Cottage
$165 / night
One bedroom, sleeps two. Kitchenette with cooktop and microwave, a clawfoot bath on the porch, and a private garden with a fire pit.
- Queen bed with electric blanket
- Kitchenette — cooktop, microwave, fridge
- Bathroom with shower
- Outdoor clawfoot bath (wood-fired)
- Fire pit with camp chairs
- Wi-Fi, books, telescope for star gazing
03 · Farm activities
Things to do on the farm
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7:00 am
Morning animal feed
Help Rob with the chook run, collect eggs, feed Kevin the pig and check the water troughs. Gumboots provided.
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8:30 am
Bottle-feed the lambs
September – October only
Orphan lambs get a bottle three times a day during lambing. Kids love this — and the lambs are loud about it.
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10:00 am
Farm walk
A 5km loop through the back paddocks with views of the Ruahine Range, bush remnants, a stream crossing and usually a hawk overhead. Self-guided; map at the cottage.
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2:00 pm
Shearing demonstration
November bookings — ask Rob
Watch Rob and his team shear. If you want to try a handpiece on a belly, he will let you. Wool goes to a Napier scour.
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Anytime
Mountain bikes & fishing
Two mountain bikes and a rod are in the barn. The creek holds small trout and the farm tracks run for 12km. Helmets provided.
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After dark
Star gazing
Rimu Cottage has a telescope on the porch. No light pollution. The Milky Way is directly overhead in winter. Bring warm socks.
04 · What's on the farm
The numbers
- 0Hectares
- 0Romney ewes
- 0Angus cattle
- 0Established
- 0Generations
Romney Ewes
450 ewes lambing in August–September. Dual purpose: wool and meat. Lambing percentage last year was 148%.
Angus Cattle
120 breeding cows calving July–August. Grass-fed, finished on the flat paddocks. Weaner sales in April.
Working Dogs
Four heading dogs and two huntaways. Meg, the eldest, is retired and lives on the cottage porch. She will find you.
Chickens
Fifteen Hyline browns. Eggs go to the cottage fridge each morning. Help yourself.
Kevin the Pig
A Kunekune of uncertain age and enormous personality. He likes ear scratches and leftover toast. Do not feed him avocado.
Seasonal calendar
| Season | Months | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| Calving | July – August | Cows calving on the flats. Muddy, cold, dramatic. Early mornings. |
| Lambing | August – September | Peak farm noise. Bottle lambs available for guests. Book early. |
| Docking | October | Lamb tailing and marking. Yards busy for a week. |
| Shearing | November | A four-person gang for three days. Demonstrations on request. |
| Summer | December – March | Quietest time. Hay making, swimming in the creek, long evenings. |
| Weaning | April | Calves separated and weighed. Sales week at the Dannevirke saleyards. |
05 · How to find us
Getting here
742 State Highway 2
Dannevirke 4930
Tararua, New Zealand
06 374 0000
stay@tararuafarmstays.co.nz
Directions
From Dannevirke, head north on State Highway 2 for 3 km. Turn right at the Totara Grove mailbox — a green mailbox with a tui painted on it. The drive is 800 m of gravel. Park beside the woolshed; the cottages are up the hill.
From Palmerston North: 75 minutes via the Manawatū Gorge road (SH3 to Woodville, then SH2 north). From Wellington: 3.5 hours via SH2 through Masterton.