It’s hard to believe you are only 14km from the city when you visit Bundoora Park Farm. The enormous open-air animal farm in Bundoora extends over a huge block of land with large dedicated areas for all kinds of farm animals. We visited Bundoorra farm on a weekday and there was so much to keep us occupied throughout the day from scheduled animal feeding and animal experiences to enjoying the Bundoora Park cafe.
This is a great activity to take the kids to or even if you want to catch up with friends and enjoy a walking track with a few more animals on your route. Read on if you’re looking for all the info on Bundoora Farm and cafe tickets.
Bundoora Animal Farm experiences
When we attended there were school students on excursions ready to visit as there are different animal experiences to participate in. They had their own tour route and times and did not impact our visit. The animal experience sessions run in the mornings and in the afternoon and you can buy your Bundoora farm tickets ahead of time or when you arrive. During the school holidays, it might be wise to call ahead to see if you have to book these sessions ahead of time. When you attend Bundoora Park Farm you will be able to see and/or pat sheep, goat, chickens, guinea pigs, pigs, alpacas, cows, horses, ponies and ducks.
Be sure to bring your camera as well so you can grab those Bundoora Park farm and cafe photos. The three Bundoora Park Farm animal experiences on offer are:
1. Animal feeding
Starting at 11 am and 3 pm every day there are buckets of food dispensed by the farmers and farm hands to feed various animals. Arrive at the main barn at these times and they will tell you which animals can eat the buckets of hay and grain and which animals you might want to avoid if you have a few younger children with you. There is also a cow milking demonstration. We were able to feed the cows, ponies, lambs and goat. Be sure to wear your gumboots as the animals at Bundoora Farm can create a bit of mud around them and you do not want to slip.
2. Guinea pig handling
After 30 minutes of feeding the animals, we headed to the small amphitheatre opposite the guinea pig and rabbit barn where the farmhands greeted us with a trolley full of guinea pigs in small containers with grass. They handed the small containers to each family or group and we got to pat our little furry friend for about 15 minutes. We had a brown, small guinea pig and eventually swapped with the family next to us after a while and also got to pat a large caramel-coloured one with long hair.
Note, if the temperature is 35 degrees or above on the day you visit Bundoora Park Farm, this animal experience will not be offered as it poses a threat to the animal. If you have some flexibility when choosing your day to visit, make sure it isn’t too hot of a day. As the farm in Bundoora is open all year its not often this is an issue.
3. Animal wildlife rides
This is an animal experience that you will not want to miss! There are morning and afternoon sessions at Bundoora Park Farm to take a ride on one of the farm tractors, or children aged 2-8 years old can enjoy a pony ride. During the wildlife rides, you will also get to see parts of the farm that have emus and kangaroos onsite. The tractor rides are $3.30 and you can buy this when you arrive at the farm. Pony rides were not available when we attended as there had been rain the night before and there was too much mud.
Bundoora Park Farm and cafe tickets
The Bundoora Park farm cafe was a welcome sight after a day of traipsing around the park and getting to see all the farm animals. The Bundoora Park farm cafe is more of like a tuckshop style eatery, which suited our needs perfectly. We ordered some hot chips and a Turkish salad roll with a coffee for the adults and milkshakes for the kids. There are also some jars filled with lollies and other treats that you can grab before the drive home.
We would suggest making sure you’re one of the first to arrive at the cafe after all of the animal experiences as the line can get long and you don’t want to be waiting longer than you need to be. There is inside seating as well as outdoor seating, and we preferred the look and atmosphere outside. There are large tables for Groups and smaller tables if it’s just you and the little one attending. There was not much in the way of food catering to dietary requirements so if you are vegan or coeliac you may want to bring a snack or two.
Bundoora Park Farm tickets
The Bundoora Park Farm and cafe tickets prices are quite reasonable for a farm in the middle of the city, especially when compared to the big zoos, and there is quite a lot to do. If you live close by and think you will attend a few times throughout the year it might be more economical to buy an annual membership. This means you can head there at different times of the year and see the stunning farm property in autumn as well as spring.
Just note that the animal experiences do not really vary throughout the year but if your little ones love the animals then you are likely to get a lot of value out of your annual membership. If you just want to explore Bundoora Park farm for yourself or you were visiting from out of town then here is the price for a day visit to the farm. You might be asked to prove the age of your child when you attend, although we had no problems in securing our tickets. We purchased the two adults and two children family ticket to Bundoora Farm.
Bundoora Farm Park ticket prices
Prices as at 2023, Bundoora farm tickets are subject to change.
| TICKET | PRICE |
| Adults | $11.40 |
| Children 2-16 years | $7.60 |
| Concession | $7.60 |
| Family (2 adults, 2 children OR 1 adult, 3 children) | $30.40 |
| Family Concession (2 adults, 2 children OR 1 adult, 3 children) | $15.30 |
| Groups of 15 people or more | $7.60/each |
| Companion or carer | Free |
| ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP TICKET | PRICE |
| Adult (16+ years old) | $76 |
| Family (2 adults, 2 children OR 1 adult, 3 children) | $200 |
| Children 2-16 years | $48 |
Bundoora Park Farm playground and holiday programs
If Bundoora Park Farm or cafe doesn’t wear out the little ones then there are playgrounds nearby that you can check out before heading home. They can be reached on foot or you can jump back in the car and head up the winding road and park closer to the playgrounds. The acreage that this property sits on is really beautiful so we would suggest exploring the area and even pitching a picnic blanket near the playground if you want to spend a few more hours outside in the sun.
Be sure to see what is happening during the Melbourne school holidays at Bundoora Park Farm as there are programs that children can sign up for. There are school excursions through the school terms and more casual programs outside of the school term. We also noticed some educational information throughout the Farm which was interesting to see. Bundoora is an area that has a rich indigenous history and connection to land, so be sure to research the area before attending if you want to know the story behind this land.
Have you visited Bundoora Park Farm or cafe before? You can check out our other Melbourne family activities on the blog, or you may like the other outdoor activities in Melbourne that we have covered!
