Modern House in a Stunning Rural Setting

Enjoy spectacular views from our modern, solar-passive home, situated on a 500-acre property near the village of O'Connell, 25 minutes from Bathurst, and just three hours’ drive west of Sydney. This self-contained 4-bedroom wing adjoins a larger house, occupied by Kate and Bruce. Our house has everything you could need for a relaxing weekend in the country, and the views over Bathurst, the Fish River Valley and Ben Chifley Dam are something special. A four-bedroom, self-contained separate wing of our house. North and east facing windows overlook spectacular views of the Fish River Valley. There is a small kitchen with a stove top, utensils and basic ingredients, including olive oil and balsamic vinegar and herbs and spices. Please note there is no oven, however we do have a BBQ available for guests. Please clean the BBQ after use. We will also provide basic breakfast ingredients – milk, bread, eggs, butter, spreads. You are welcome to explore the farm - if you're feeling energetic it is a 3km walk down to the edge of Ben Chifley Dam - a great spot for a swim if you are ok with a few reeds! There is a road down to the dam if you'd prefer to drive down, however it is a very rocky gravel road and a 4WD is required. Kate and Bruce live in an adjoining, but entirely separate wing of the house. You are welcome to spend as much or as little time with them as you wish. Bruce loves to introduce visitors to the property, the native wildlife and the principles of sustainable livestock grazing. Previous guests have enjoyed a tour of the farm to see our cows and the large population of resident kangaroos. Kate breeds dogs, mostly mini groodles, quite often there are litters of puppies down in the kennels that Kate will be happy to introduce you to. The kennels are well away from the house and it is rare to hear any barking! Ours is a working farm producing grass fed beef cattle in an environmentally sustainable system which includes conservation of an endangered box gum woodland. Situated in the historic Bathurst district, there are lovely old villages nearby, including our local O'Connell (which had a delightful cafe and pub) and Tarana (which has a pub, cafe and monthly Farmers Market and great views from the Evans Crown walk). PLEASE NOTE: A car is essential for visitors to our farm – the road up to our house is a rocky gravel country road. Four-wheel drive is not necessary, however cars with low-clearance will need to drive slowly and use caution. The property is 20 minutes’ drive from Bathurst, where there is limited public transport. In rural Australia, bush flies mean that you need fly repellant in spring and summer when walking and that screen doors need to be kept closed at all times. We do our best to make sure the house is free of flies and other harmless but annoying creepy crawlies - but this house is in a woodland setting and they do make their way back in from time to time. You may come across the occasional totally harmless spider - something to consider if you are spider phobic. There is a BBQ available for your enjoyment. Please clean the BBQ after use. Cleaning products are stored below the BBQ. We appreciate if guests take their recycling with them when they leave, as we are on a farm we do not have our own recycling facilities. We can dispose of food scraps (which we feed to our chooks!) and general waste.