Broekhaven: Animal house

Broekhaven, near Rotorua, with its flock of friendly farm animals, is a brilliant place to take city kids for a getaway. Photo / Supplied

When it comes to booking accommodation for my young family, five-star means zilch. What really gives a place star-status is whether it has furry things that poo. So when booking a trip to Rotorua, I was looking for a place to stay with animals, namely ones that baa and quack. I knew my city boys Zach, 4, and Lachlan, 2, would go wild about being able to talk to the animals.

Happily, at the edge of Lake Rotorua, near Hamurana, less than three hours' drive from Auckland, sits Broekhaven, a small farmlet owned by Ed and Debbie Van Den Broek.

He's a policeman, she's an animal lover and mum who runs the accommodation. Their house sits 50m away from the rentable cottage, found at the end of a brick path lined with fragrant white daphne blooms.

The immaculate one-bedroom, self-catering cottage sleeps up to five (six, including the cot) and is like a tiny home-away-from-home, with a full kitchen, laundry, TV, DVD, stereo, wireless internet, linen, towels, bathrobes, spa and slippers.

There's a heavily laden lemon tree is out front - ready for gin-and-tonics later - and a view over lawn and fruit trees to a peep of the lake. A golf course and hot springs are a short walk away.

The kitchen is stocked with yummy home-baked bread (10 choices) and blueberry muffins. I just can't believe how excited I am to find two litres of milk (more than the sniff in hotels and great for kids), fresh farm eggs and other breakfast delights.

My husband Damien and I breathe a sigh of relief that we can have a getaway without being caged in a cell-sized hotel room. We relax as the kids clump about in gumboots, feeding bread to the sheep, chickens, rabbits, hedgehogs and goats.

Lachlan squeals "Schleeeeep!" and learns a new word "hedgehock", as he's first up to pat the animals that tower above him, while Zach hangs back for a bit, then giggles with delight, too.

Debbie is president of Rotorua SPCA and many of the animals here have been rescued - like the three-legged, one-eyed rabbit Millie, Gracie the sheep, now recovered from a broken pelvis, a bald hedgehog and many birds (one is called Tegal), whose assorted injuries have healed but know they are on to too good a thing to fly away.

Broekhaven won the AA's 2009 Spirit of Hospitality Award and it's easy to see why.

This is a fantastic place to stay with kids... and pretty relaxing for mum and dad, too.