At Violinos can sleep 6 guests. There are two bedrooms inside the cottage with queen-size beds, and an adjacent sleep-out with two single beds. All beds have electric blankets and all linen is provided. Bathroom facilities are shared with the cottage. Bathroom has shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand cleanser and a hair dryer provided as well as a heated towel rail with musical towels. The kitchen is self contained with a stove top, multifunction microwave plus a five in one cook pot, toaster and fridge/freezer. Tea, coffee, milo, sugar and herbal tea is provided. The kitchen, dining room and living room are open planned. There is a TV and DVD player. Internet available. Guests have their own laundry facilities including a washing machine, clothes dryer and iron. Wash powder, clothes line and pegs provided. There is a heat pump for heating.
In 2010 New Zealand's first Music Farm was developed. It is fun, it is informative and it is unique.
The magic begins in the refurbished house - a piano keyboard mat greets visitors - and extends throughout the house into the garden, into a magical playground, into fields, and into sheds large and small.
At each turn there are musical contraptions built with the help of Ashburton engineering whizz Lester Hobbs.
It contains the largest private cow bell collection in NZ. Over 100 of the cow bells have been imported from Switzerland and have been made into 4 different instruments. Some of the tuned cow bells are on a metal frame with the name of the notes marked on the bells for playing melodies.
Inside another shed you find the boomwhammers, not to be confused with the boomwhackers. The boomwhammers resemble at first glance a giant organ. It is fashioned from PVC downpipes, each cut to the right length, and to which is added a U-bend. To play a song, the open end of the U- tubes are struck with a jandal.
Another shed contains a stripped-down piano and a piano harp, the piano wires marked with notes. They are tuned to the same pitch and you can have a lot of fun playing duets, either plucking the strings or creating different sounds with the available tools.
Further afield are marimbas and Chinese gongs and even the windmill plays a famous NZ tune.
The ultimate musical treat is a musical outhouse. You'll have to see for yourself!!
A play area has been made in the shape of a giant guitar. At one end is a see-saw on which a long musical box is mounted. Metal xylophone keys go across the box and a golf ball travels up and down the keys when the see-saw gets activated. The ball plays a lovely tune.
Next door is a musical merry-go-round for four. As the merry-go-round moves, a special ocean drum (a flattish drum with small ball bearings inside) moves on a shifting plane. The noise as the balls move, is like the ocean.
Just past the guitar's neck is a neat shed containing more magic: Swiss cow bells on a frame and a frame upon which aluminium tubes are mounted. Each tube is cut to an exact length and when struck emits a note.
There is also a giant checker board, a giant chess board, a super-size Connect Four, and a giant Swiss game called Nine Men Morris. It involves moving life size pieces and reducing the opposition to no pieces left on the board.
Close to the play ground is musical croquet which is very popular with visitors.
For younger children there is quoits, giant jenga or giant tower and snakes and ladders.
At Violinos Music Farm is located on Highway 77 between Ashburton and Methven but only 5 minutes out of Ashburton. We are very close to the conveniences of Ashburton with its restaurants and shops. Besides the musical instruments which are taking up a fifth of the farm, we are farming Suffolk sheep. We are set on 23 ha of farmland with fantastic views of the mountains and are close to the Ashburton River. Mt Hutt is famous for it's winter sports. We are 20 minutes from the Rakaia River which is famous for it's salmon fishing.
Book the romantic option with the beautifully decorated bedroom. Enjoy a spa bubble bath in the main homestead with candle light, Soak up the ambience and enjoy special food and drinks. Robes and slippers are provided. Your host is happy to play some romantic pieces on the violin for you.
Ruth hails from Switzerland and enjoys meeting people from all over the world. I would like to make your stay a unique and memorable, musical experience. Ruth is fluent in Swiss, German and English.
