Home > Categories > Entertainment > Fixed Venues > Bullswool Animal Park review
We offer an unforgettable hands-on rural experience, set in beautiful farmland. Follow the walking tracks and get up close to our many rare-breed farm animals. All are friendly and can be hand-fed.
The friendly animals of Bullswool farm include; miniature horses, emus, goats, alpacas, llamas, deer, paint horses, kune-kune pigs, axolotls, miniature cattle, rabbits, rare breed chickens, ducks, coloured sheep and donkeys.
Bring lunch and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Bullswool Farm a bit longer, in one of our several picnic areas.
www.bullswoolfarm.co.nz
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We have lived within half an hour's drive from Bullswool for almost 2 years and have only just recently had a chance to visit. We held my son's sixth birthday there, featuring 15 kids and 6 adults in total. We were blessed to have warm and sunny weather on the day, and wow what an awesome place to be on a fine day! The views are magnificent. They have some absolutely most adorable animals. My favourite were the miniature donkeys. We hired the birthday room. It was really spacious and had enough room to seat all our guests. It had a big kitchen with lots of bench space. Unfortunately the fridge didn't work and the oven was tiny. There were two gas hobs and an electric jug.
My favourite thing about this place was that our kids were occupied for ages. The children ranged from 2 to 12 years and there were fun outdoor activities for all ages. They played from about 10.30am to before lunch, then again after lunch, then again after cake until we all left at around 3pm. They fed animals, rolled down the hills, played on the bike tracks and with the life-sized snakes and ladders game.
I think that the owners would have preferred if our older kids had been less rambunctious- although they didn't cause any trouble they were rowdy and excited and the owners commented negatively on this. Our group was prevented from going on the nature walk, but other people and their children were allowed to.
Overall we had a great time and the value for money was high. I didn't get a deal off grabone or any of those other websites but we still were only charged $8 per head because of the size of our group. It was a really awesome day out had by all.
Bullswool Animal Park is such an amazing place to go with the family for a fun day out with or without animals, located in Paeroa and only an hours drive from Hamilton it is often a favourite place of ours to visit. Thew staff are always so friendly and welcoming and the entry is very reasonable, especially as you happen to come across a deal which they often have on treat me for $5 including food and entry into the Kauri Gold Walk.
They happen to have the most friendliest animals that are quick to rush over and great you for some yummy food to eat or just for a pat, with miniature horses, emus, goats, alpacas, llamas. deer, pigs, cows, rabbits, chickens, ducks and donkeys there is certainly a lot to see and do. The animal feeding system is very easy to understand and very well thought out, you get a ice cream container with 4 different pottles of food each one labelled for different animals, you also get a special feeding scoop to put the food onto, which is great for kids who are a bit worried about their hand being bitten.
Throughout the animal park there is a variety of play equipment to suit all ages, which is creatively themed, there is a 'gold mine centre' with a sandpit and trucks and various other equipment which you can use as though you are panning for gold. There is a band station with lots of home made instruments to play music on, there is even a scarecrow which you can dress up. The last few times we have been there there has also been a few new welcome additions, a sit in helicopter at the top of the hill and a bike track currently in the process of being constructed, if your child is not the biggest animal lover there certainly is still a lot for them to see and do.
There is also a nice trequal native kauri walk that has been recently been added, with lots of neat quirky little spaces to stop and look at along the way, with a running stream throughout, this is a great way to cool off through a shady walk on a hot day spent at the park, only problem with it is that it is not pram friendly so not very well suited to a younger audience.
The road is well signposted and easy to find. Definitely a place worth going if you love animals and want to get up close and personal to them. They cater for birthdays and school trips which would be a fantastic experience for all involved. Ice creams and cold drinks are available on-site and picnics are welcome which would make a great day out.
I have passed the sign to Bullswool Animal Park so many times on my way to the Coromandel. Every time we have passed it, I have thought that it would be a great place to take the kids. Unfortunately, we are usually in for a big trip and it hasn't fitted into our plans.
Earlier this year, I won a family pass (including 2 buckets of animal feed) to the park and have been waiting for the perfect time us use the pass. Last week, I finally made use of it. We found that making a special day trip to the Karangahake Gorge worked best for us. Armed with lunch, snacks and water. We spent a couple of hours on our bikes with kids in toe. Then we made our way to the Bullswool Animal Park. The road is a little narrow at times and windy but worth the short drive. I would imagine that you could meet a bus coming the other direction at any time, so it would pay to keep your eyes open and alert along that little stretch of a couple of kilometres. There was only one other family there at the time we went (arrived around 3pm).
Upon presentation of our voucher, we were given two buckets off food for the animals. Each bucket had four containers in it. The containers had clearly marked what animals the food was for. There was also a scoop in the bucket to feed the animals with so that fingers didn't get too close to the animals mouths. During the course of our visit, we enjoyed the relaxing nature of the animal park. There is an amazing view from the site and it is a place to chill out as well as enjoy the animals. Our children loved being able to get close to the animals and the ability to feed them really made it extra special.
There is a playground made up of a little bike track (with a couple of balance bikes available), a kids band stage and a few other fun, creative activities. As you work your way around the animals and up the hill, there is a REALLY COOL helicopter to enjoy. It is great to have such a fun target for the kids to want to walk up the hill (it isn't a tough hill but a hill nonetheless). My 2 and 4 years olds went running up the hill so they didn't miss the helicopter.
The day we chose to go was a frosty morning her in Hamilton and it made for a beautiful, calm afternoon in the Gorge. I would highly recommend a day in the gorge and to allow enough time to visit Bullswool Animal Park as well as the walking/biking tracks available there. We only allowed an hour as the whole trip was a last minute decision in the morning. I would recommend a minimum of two hours to enjoy the animals and the play areas available.
I visit Paeroa often and have driven past the Bullswool Farm Park sign many times wondering if it would be worth a visit at some stage....so when I remembered I checked them out on line and the farm looked interesting enough and what sealed the deal was the deal I got from Trade Me....a family of 4 pass for $22.00, 2 adults and 2 children, and the pass didn't expire for a few months so it was still valid for my next visit to Paeroa.
The farm was easy enough to find, it is very well signposted and signs along the road give indication of how far you still have to go. The long driveway gave a sneak preview of the animals on offer so the excited was building even before the car had come to a stop.
The owner meet us at the door which was fabulous and welcomed us in. The kids were given the complimentary animal food which was clearly labelled in separate containers. We started by looking at the smaller animals, the guinea pigs, rabbits and gold fish before we wondered through the larger animals.
At the time we went (which is roughly 2 years ago) the grass was rather long and the walking tracks weren't that defined, and we were the only ones at the farm when we visited. Being the only ones there we did have a quiet trouble free wonder around which was great!! My nieces loved the puppy/dog enclosure the best and they loved the little seats within the pen so the puppies could jumped up and have cuddles.
My favourite animal was the pot bellied pig and I love the plastic tube feeding shoots that deliver the food to the animals. The pig rested her nose at the end of the shoot to catch the food...totally too cute!!
The miniature horses and foals were another favourite and all the horses were supper friendly and loved receiving pats and rubs, they would willing walk over to the fence and wait for the attention. There was one deer that was super friendly and walked the length of the paddock because he didn't want us to leave!!
The playground activities with the apple tree that the children can climb and the drum horses the children can ride, the dress up scarecrows looking through the binoculars kept my nieces well entertained. All in all the farm park was a hit and I would be very interested to see the changes and improvements of any have been made tot he park. My nieces have asked a few times if we can go back....so I really should make the effort as it was a choice place to visit.
With the picnic area and great variety of animals on offer the park is a great place to take children or adults really as I really enjoyed wondering around too...so well worth checking this farm out if you are ever in the area.
Bullswool Animal Farm one hours drive for us from Hamilton but it is a great location for gatherings with family from Tauranga and Katikati. It is well signposted off the state highway. The last kilometre is a narrow gravel road which I am grateful I have never meet a vehicle coming the other direction.
There is a small playground and picnic area by the carpark which is very useful when you are waiting for others to arrive. Most of the play equipment in this area is now labelled with suitable ages which I appreciated as on my previous visit 18 months earlier there were older children playing dangerously on some of it.
Our group today consisted of six adults, a four year old, a three year old and an 18 month old. Thanks to a deal Bullswool had on one of the daily deal sites it cost us only $24 which is less than it would normally cost for two adults and two kids.
Like most similar attractions there are animal pellets you can buy. At Bullswool for $3.50 you get four small containers clearly labelled with which animals they were suitable for. They also have very handy gadgets so the younger kids can feed the animals without fear of being bitten. There are also chutes that you can put the pellets done for many of the animals.
The animals include chickens, ducks, a giant rabbit, miniature horses, donkeys, alpacas, goats, a cow and dogs. My three year old loved that you could brush the ponies. They all enjoyed hoping in the pen with the dogs too. The animals were all very friendly and came over to the fence as you approached hoping for some food.
Although we went there to see the animals we spent as much time in the playgrounds. There are a couple of scarecrows with a box of clothes that you can dress them with. This was a hit with the older two kids. The favourite for me was the band. There was a drum kit, guitar with amp and a microphone all made from wood. It was such a clever idea and popular with the kids that I would love to get one for my backyard.
Bullswool is well worth a visit if you have young kids especially if you can pick up one of their special deals.
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