A holiday to Tarra Valley with the dogs
Planning this road trip had a couple of ways of doing it – with or without the dogs. David’s back was still not up to the whole camping thing (packing heavy stuff and putting up and down a tent), so we decided to book a holiday in a cabin that was Dog friendly.
We didn’t want to have to drive too far and came across a place called “Best Friend Holiday Retreat” located in the Tarra Valley. This place is about 3 hours drive from where we live and totally built for dogs with 6 large fenced off-leash areas all within a parkland setting. They have luxury and budget cabins, caravan and tent sites – all individually fenced.
One of our dogs is a bit of a hunter and is easily runs off on a rabbit or bird scent never to come back. For this reason he is always on the lead while our other dog runs around free at any park we go to. Being able to take the dogs and stay in a fenced off cabin area and have the option of taking them to one of the 6 off leash areas is why we wanted to try Best Friend Holiday Retreat.
Dogs go for walkies while Dave finishes packing car.
We try not to let the dogs see us packing for holidays and they tend to go berserk and work out something different and perhaps exciting is going on. I took the dogs for a walk while David packed the car. The dogs also seem to settle well into a car trip after going for a walk and using up some of the energy.
We left Melbourne around 11am and set off towards Morewell, and then the Tarra Valley via Yarram.
Best Fish and Chips in Morewell = George Junior Fish and Chips.
There is not much happening or open in Morewell on a Sunday. We took the dogs for a bit of a walk up and down the main street and found the only food place that was open was “George Junior Fish and Chips” and ordered a Flake to share and 2 home made dim sims + chips. We sat in the car and ate. We don’t’ have fish and chips very often and the flake was magnificent. It was soft and juicy and yummy. I had to go in and tell the owner that the fish we had just eaten was the best flake we had eaten in years – it was perfectly cooked and delicious.
Dogs are great in the car when its moving and they are asleep. I do have a spray bottle with water in it if they start barking – particularly when the car stops!
More driving to Yarram which is an hour from Morewell, then onto Tarra Valley.
A stop in Yarram
David took the dogs for a wander while I went into the information centre in Yarram. It is a beautiful old building that used to be a court. The interior has lots of wood lining the walls and very high ceilings. A lovely old lady was sitting behind the information desk and I had a little chat with her, had a look at the art exhibition on display and picked up some brochures so that we could work out all the things to do in the area.
We bought some fresh bread from the Yarram bakery ( I just looked at the cakes on offer ) and decided I would go back another day to try a couple of cakes because they looked so good.
Best Friend Holiday Retreat
We arrived around 3pm at Best Friend Holiday Retreat and parked the car in the carpark near the reception area. We pressed the buzzer for help and were welcomed into the reception area and given our key and explained the rules. We checked into our Deluxe Cabin which was known as “Scooby-Doo’s Shack” and started the unpacking process.
First impressions of Scooby-Doo’s Shack
When we first entered the Cabin we did have a bit of a giggle and found it funny that the whole cabin was filled with Scooby Doo Memorabilia, Stickers, framed pictures, plastic and stuffed toy sculptures, Scooby Doo tissue box, etc.
Everything was clean however the whole cabin ( and its Scooby -Doo memorabilia) seemed to me to be stuck in a time warp and hadn’t moved or changed since the 1980’s.
Loved the pretty views looking out to green trees, the outdoor balcony with outdoor setting with 6 chairs, 2 oztrail lounge chairs and a Jumbuck BBQ.
Kitchen has got an oven, good size fridge, microwave and plenty of cooking utensils, cutlery, bowls plates and oven dishes.
Queen size bed (we took our own bedding) and there is air conditioning and heating set to 20 degrees if needed. Dogs had a wooden bed in the clothes wardrobe – which turned out great for them to sleep in together.
Dogs in play area
Once we had unpacked the car and settled into our cabin we thought we would take the dogs for a bit of a walk and explore our immediate surroundings. We went to a small fenced off area that was like a playground and let the dogs have a bit of a run around.
Taffee and Fudge exploring and not quite understanding the orange tube thing.
Steak cooked on the BBQ
After a busy day we cooked a steak on the BBQ and some sweet potato in the oven and ate dinner on the balcony of our cabin. Its a lovely place to sit and eat dinner with the views in the distance.
