Homebush Stables

Homebush Stables

Homebush Stables
4.5
What people are saying
No way to run a business
1.0 of 5 bubblesMar 2020
Our tour company made a last-minute substitution of afternoon tea at Homebush Stables when the sheep farm we were supposed to visit had a family emergency. I hope they never make that mistake again. First, there is absolutely no signage whatsoever indicating where the stables are located; to the contrary, there is a “Private Property, No Trespassing” sign at the gate. There isn’t even an address shown. As a result, the tour van drove up and down the road looking for this place for 15 minutes before we finally decided to take our chances and drive up the unwelcoming drive. On the way in, we passed a catering truck and another vehicle on the driveway. When we arrived, there was no one in sight. The tour guide finally found the owner’s son, who informed him that his mother had departed, along with the caterer that was supposed to provide the afternoon tea, because we had arrived late. The guide explained that both his home office and he himself had called and emailed repeatedly to let them know we were behind schedule, but no one responded. “We have no service here,” was the reply. When I said to him, “We had a hard time finding you — you could use a sign out front,” he responded, “It’s really simple if you know where you’re going.” He opened the old barn where some antiques are stored, and showed us a water turbine, but no tea was served. In fact, nothing was served. We were led into a small grove of apple trees and were told we could pick our own apples if we wanted. What a huge, annoying waste of time. Avoid at all costs.

Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.
The area
Address
2142 Homebush Road R D 1 Darfield, Darfield 7571 New Zealand
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles7 reviews
Excellent
5
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1

Sophie A
Barrytown, New Zealand39 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021
A great place to go to see the things that helped develop our country. Extensive collections of everyday items from as far back as the first settlers. The water turbine is in restoration and is one of a kind, it will be fantastic to see this monster operating again.
I hope the woolshed can be restored as well as its such an iconic building. Me and my mother stuck in there for some photos many many years ago, it would be great to have it safe enough to do so again.
We also used catering and had a lovely spread in the onsite "cafe"
Written 6 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Beryl R
Greater Sydney, Australia198 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
We stopped here after our train trip to Arthurs' Pass for a break and something to eat. The place has history written all over it. There is a restaurant [lovely food], Museum [interesting and quite comprehensive], a shop and gardens. The trees are an absolute delight as is the staff. Well worth a visit - hope to return on our own in the future.
Written 15 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brenda201049
Ashington, UK135 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Friends
After our train ride to Arthur's Pass we stopped here for a short break. Wish it had been longer. What a lovely place to wander around. Plenty to see in the small museums and shop. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. We had a delicious afternoon tea in the grounds.
Written 8 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ilze T
New York City, NY35 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Couples
Our tour company made a last-minute substitution of afternoon tea at Homebush Stables when the sheep farm we were supposed to visit had a family emergency. I hope they never make that mistake again. First, there is absolutely no signage whatsoever indicating where the stables are located; to the contrary, there is a “Private Property, No Trespassing” sign at the gate. There isn’t even an address shown. As a result, the tour van drove up and down the road looking for this place for 15 minutes before we finally decided to take our chances and drive up the unwelcoming drive. On the way in, we passed a catering truck and another vehicle on the driveway. When we arrived, there was no one in sight. The tour guide finally found the owner’s son, who informed him that his mother had departed, along with the caterer that was supposed to provide the afternoon tea, because we had arrived late. The guide explained that both his home office and he himself had called and emailed repeatedly to let them know we were behind schedule, but no one responded. “We have no service here,” was the reply. When I said to him, “We had a hard time finding you — you could use a sign out front,” he responded, “It’s really simple if you know where you’re going.” He opened the old barn where some antiques are stored, and showed us a water turbine, but no tea was served. In fact, nothing was served. We were led into a small grove of apple trees and were told we could pick our own apples if we wanted. What a huge, annoying waste of time. Avoid at all costs.
Written 8 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Geoff F
Waikanae, New Zealand189 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2018 • Family
Well worth a visit. Great museum of early NZ. Buildings in brick from their own brickworks. Impressive water turbine and water tower. Amazing gardens and large trees. One could wander around for some time enjoying the scenes. Established in the 1800s and still in the Deans family it truly is a window into out history and pioneering spirit.
Written 29 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cruzee2017
Christchurch, New Zealand46 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2017 • Family
Held a picnic here with friends and enjoyed a walk and tour of the grounds and museum ..... entry $10 (i think children are free). Beautiful grounds with much to look at ... expect to be here 4/5 hours or more especially on a very warm day such as the one we were there on ......
Written 8 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mario D
Brisbane, Australia225 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2016 • Couples
We stopped off at this farm for afternoon tea and we were well taken care of.

Its about 45 minutes from Christchurch. We just loved the history dating back to 1870. It still has the old brick buildings including the horse stables as the place is named.

If you love museums then you will enjoy the extensive collection of domestic, farming and local artefact's. We noticed collection of Bob Deans 1905 All Black Rugby memorabilia. So if your into rugby this will certainly be of interest to you.

There is a restaurant, souvenir shop, farm animals and the gardens are great and plenty of it.

We wish we had more time to explore, but if you are in the area it's certainly worth a visit.
Written 30 December 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

HOMEBUSH STABLES (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

All things to do in Darfield
RestaurantsFlightsHoliday HomesTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire