The Goats of Kangaroo Ridge Retreat

Kangaroo Ridge Retreat is a sustainable accommodation retreat in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, where working goats help manage weeds, grass and fire fuel across the steep bushland property. The goats are part of the retreat’s practical approach to land care, sustainability accreditation and responsible tourism.

Not every sustainability initiative comes with solar panels, battery storage or accreditation paperwork.

Some come with hooves.

At Kangaroo Ridge Retreat, our goats have a very important job to do. They help us manage weeds, keep grass under control, reduce fuel load and care for the steep parts of the ridge that are not exactly easy to reach with standard equipment.

Their work is practical, low-impact and very much suited to the landscape. The ridge is beautiful, but it is also steep, wild in places and constantly growing. Blackberries, long grass and other weeds do not politely stay where they are told. Our goats help keep that growth in check in a way that feels more in tune with the property.

We currently have six goats: Baby, Bieber, Bubba, Lucy, Motek and Mr Collins. They are not here as a petting zoo, although they do add a fair bit of character to the place. They are working goats, quietly doing their job in the background.

That said, guests may spot them from time to time. You might be sitting back with a glass of local wine, gazing out across the mountains, when a small goat procession rambles past on the hunt for blackberries. It is one of those ridge moments we could never quite manufacture, and would not want to.

A quick guide to the herd

Baby is the white one. She got her name because, for reasons only goats could explain, the others kept putting Baby in the corner.

Bieber is the famously handsome one. He is also the one you might hear singing like a teenager playing an old man in community theatre. Subtle, he is not.

Lucy is the matriarch of the herd and has a distinctly grandmotherly look about her. You will know it when you see it.

Motek is the big one and likes to sing out of tune. He believes he is the king. We have chosen not to correct him.

Bubba is the one with the split ear.

And Mr Collins is the one who likes Collingwood, which we accept as one of his more complex personality traits.

As charming as they are, we do ask guests not to feed them. They have plenty to get on with across the property, and their diet is part of how we manage them safely and responsibly.

The goats are part of our broader approach to sustainability and land care at Kangaroo Ridge Retreat. Alongside our solar panels, battery storage, rainwater systems and ongoing work towards sustainability accreditation, they remind us that responsible tourism is not always shiny or high-tech. Sometimes it is about choosing the right solution for the land in front of you.

For us, sustainability is practical. It is about energy, water, waste, local sourcing, fire awareness, land management and the day-to-day decisions that help us care for this place properly.

And sometimes, it is about letting Baby, Bieber, Bubba, Lucy, Motek and Mr Collins get stuck into the blackberries.