Trickle Hill, enjoy bush, wine, and relaxation - Cockatoo

Trickle Hill is a lovely cottage tucked away in a converted shed at the edge of our bush. You have your own little patio, and can go for adventurous walks straight from your living room !

Our property is close to Dandenong ranges, Yarra valley, Bunyip state park, and Puffing Billy.

We are just behind Avalon castle- so great if you are attending a wedding there and want to stay an extra day.

The area is fantastic - you are in the middle of the bush, away from it all, while being only a short drive to lots of activities, with shopping and great restaurants nearby! We welcome couples, solo adventurers and families. We are of course LGBTIQ+ friendly!

Dogs are very welcome.

The cottage is a converted shed, with three bedrooms, a lovely living area and a cosy woodfire. We have a sheltered outdoor area, where you can have a barbeque, or have a small fire in a firedish. The cottage is in the bush, so you can walk out and try to find our resident breeding pair of Lyrebirds, echidnas, wombats, wallabies and kangaroos or the deer that live in our 'back yard'. Or just roam, which shouldn't be too hard on 67 acres .

We are close to massive areas of bush with riding trails. We love dogs, but cats can't come, as we do love our lizards and birds too.

As we live in the bush, we do our best to keep everything as 'green' as we can- so please don't use harsh chemicals.

Living in the bush brings with it that you cannot light a fire in fire danger periods, and, heating on a woodstove, means there is a hot stove in the room. (watch those little fingers...)

Our aim is to give you a place of rest and enjoyment. We love to share our space as we love it here so much- and hope you love it too.

As life is a project - don't expect 10* linen and luxury, state of the art gardens and clipped lawns. Do expect a friendly welcoming atmosphere where you can be yourself and relax.

You will have access to the cottage and the outdoor area, all the bush around the house and the area around our animals if you like.

The area around our own house we would like to keep private.

We are both artists, and our studio's are close to the cottage, which might make some noise, but we'll try to keep it at a minimum when guests are here.

The upside is, you could learn something if interested :-)

We have a working hobby farm- with some machinery, animals (pigs, dogs, horses, ducks and chickens). You can interact with the animals if you talk to us about safety first, but please keep off the machinery, and the horse paddock is out of bounds, unless we are there to read our horses body language, and invite you in. They love a pat, and sometimes can be a bit insistent :-)

Our dogs are very friendly and will most probably visit you. Our wolfhound is very large, and when you bring a dog we like to introduce them gradually- to avoid any problems. her playfulness is easy to misinterpret.

We both work from home and live in the house on the property- but are mostly outside. We will welcome you and explain about the cottage, and you can always ask any questions when we are around. We know lots of things to do in the area, ranging from organised activities, the loveliest wineries, best tourist attractions, to nice walks or drives.

Aukje teaches art from her workshop- Arthur works with wood, and we both work in the garden. We can give plenty of tips on the area, nice day trips, or where to go for rides or walks.

If you are here to get away from everything - we will welcome you, and it's up to you how much interaction you want after that.

Cockatoo is only an hour away from Melbourne, but feels much further away as it is such a small quiet township. We have some very nice restaurants close by though- (The Independent, BamBam and the newly opened 'the local' are very close, there are too many nice lunchplaces to mention here) and of course the Puffing Billy railway, Dandenong forest for walking, Bunyip state forest and Kurth Kiln for walks, cycling, horse-rides, 4WDing and picknicking. There are plenty of wineries in the area for indulging yourself a little, and if you want to stay closer to the cottage, you can go for walks in our bush, and spot some wildlife if you are treading lightly.

Dogs; Discuss with us first of you want to take a dog. Dogs need to be under your control at all times- inside and out. There is no secure yard.

We are a rural property with animals, and there are dams on the property, (not close to the cottage) so please keep an eye on children - we cannot take responsibility for your persons or animals.

Living on a farm means that not everything is neat, safe, flat or person-proof. Some days there is actual work being done involving machinery. Coming here is entirely at your own risk, but of course- if there is anything we can do to make your visit more pleasurable, we will do our best to do so!