RESTING on top of a hill, tucked away in the King Valley is a little piece of the Mongolian Empire.
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Out of the 230 rooms available around the Border on short-term accommodation site Airbnb, Sharon and John Jarrott of Myrrhee own one of the most unique. A genuine Mongolian yurt.
Mrs Jarrott said they had more bookings than they could handle.
“I’m getting bookings for October now,” she said.
Mrs Jarrott, a beauty therapist and her husband John, a King Valley farmer, said the idea of a yurt had been recommended by a friend who had lived in Mongolia.
“I wanted something up the top of our property because we’ve got some really nice views and we wanted to maximise that and use it as an added income to supplement our farming,” she said.
“They’re really good for farmers who want to earn some extra income. They're so easy.”
“They’re transportable if you want to move them around and they are only around $12,000.”
“I’ve got three houses that I rent out and I make more money out of my yurt than those houses put together by the time you pay rates, mortgages and repairs,” she said.
The yurt is currently advertised on Airbnb for $100 per night.
Mrs Jarrott said it mostly attracted young couples and families who are looking for something a little different.
“We’re on a farm and the yurt is about two kilometres from our house in a vineyard overlooking the King Valley,” she said.
“It’s got beautiful panoramic views, everybody loves it.
“There are no neighbours to be seen so there is absolute privacy.
“I sort of say it’s Mongolian with an Aussie twist because it’s got an Aussie type shed out the front.”
The yurt is five metres in diameter with double glass and wooden doors, painted with Mongolian emblems.
Inside, there is a double bed, cast iron stove to light a fire and a glass dome in the ceiling for star gazing.
“It’s got a half-inch thick lamb's wool felt liner around it and that keeps it cool in summer and warm in winter,” Mrs Jarrott said.
“In the winter it was surrounded by snow which was really snug and warm inside.
“In Mongolia it gets to minus-30 degrees and the people (who) live in the yurts are warm and cosy, probably more so than the people living in the apartments.”
Mrs Jarrott is planning to purchase more yurts from Mongolia this year.
Airbnb most’s popular destination around the Border is Indigo Shire town Beechworth and surrounding areas with about 60 rooms for rent. The tourist destination is followed closely by regional centres Wodonga at 55, Albury 47 and Wangaratta with 49.