Happy Days Accommodation, 7Kms from Maffra

Happy Days Accommodation is a motel-style country stay on five acres just outside Tinamba, about seven kilometres from Maffra in Central Gippsland. It has a homely, unfussy feel rather than a corporate motel setup, and it is one of the rare stays in the region that openly invites dogs onto the property.

Dogs at Happy Days

Dogs are genuinely welcome across the five-acre grounds, and the hosts have built a reputation for rolling out the welcome mat for travelling pets. Rooms are motel-style with private ensuites and reverse-cycle air conditioning, ranging from garden-setting suites to family setups and whole-homestead bookings for groups. Rather than a fixed published pet fee, the owners take what they describe as a common-sense approach to pricing, so ring ahead and confirm the pet tariff and which rooms suit dogs before you book. The expectation is a well-behaved dog under control, which is easy here: the gardens and open lawn give plenty of room for a proper leg-stretch at the end of a driving day.

The setting

The property sits on the rural fringe with wide views over Gippsland farmland, a garden rotunda to sit in, and quiet country roads at the gate for an evening walk. Watch for farm traffic and livestock on the roads, and keep your dog leashed around the property boundaries. Free Wi-Fi, parking and breakfast options cover the practical side, and there is a spa for the humans after a day of exploring.

Make a day of it

The killer combination is dinner and a bed: the Tinamba Hotel, one of Gippsland's best-known dining pubs, is a two-minute stroll away, and the two venues actively market the dine-and-stay pairing. Maffra, Sale, Heyfield and Lake Glenmaggie are all short drives, and Sale's fenced dog park makes a good off-lead stop on a Sale day trip. The Food Store in Maffra is the local coffee-and-breakfast call. For a wider shortlist, compare pet friendly stays across Victoria or the Tinamba guide.

Pepsi: Five acres of sniffing, then a two-minute walk to dinner with the humans. Rough life.