Sometimes sheep lamb during the most adverse weather you can imagine. I find that freezing cold and wet weather brings on the lambs. The last cold snap did not disappoint with new lambs arriving on Fordoun. However with the cold snap over and summer weather on its way, Fordoun is also having the last of…
View ArticleA brief profile of …Ntobeko (a member of the Fordoun Spa team) Peaceful and Happy is how Ntobeko describes the atmosphere at Fordoun Spa…. The head and neck house a large amount of nerve endings, and that is where Ntobeko works with her magic oils. She loves working with the Dr Ndlovu range of natural…
View ArticleA brief profile of … Andile (a member of the Fordoun Spa team) Andile will give you the perfect massage … at the perfect pressure. You are guaranteed to feel relaxed and ready to take on the world when she has worked her magic on you. For over a year she has been sharing her…
View ArticleA brief profile of …Gugu (a member of the Fordoun Spa team) Passionate about skin care …. that is how Gugu sums up her 10 years of experience in beauty therapy. And she has beautiful skin to back this up. After studying at the University of Johannesburg, Gugu continued with her passion and brought her…
View Article5 reasons to love Fordoun in the spring … The beginnings of life that abound on the farm. The snowy white new lambs that stick in their little nursery groups next to their dusty mums, the unsteady calves walking daintily next to their mums and the baby birds chirping noisily waiting for their food. Making…
View ArticleFordoun … the seasons are changing …. The midlands is known for experiencing four seasons in a day, and that has certainly been true for the last week. We had summer weather, bordering on a heat wave, with lovely evenings … then hectic winds that ravaged our province from coast to berg…and this week it…
View ArticleFordoun … Spring “Spring is sprung …” is such a cliche but really describes this season. It is the season of rejuvenation and renewal. The land that appeared dead shows resurrection and regrowth. Animals activities change as the babies start to appear. The world seems to wake up after its long rest of winter. Spring…
View ArticleFordoun – what is happening on the farm this week … The team have started their controlled burning. Done after the first few rainy days and the start of the spring rains (usually after about 20 mm has fallen) controlled burning is an important grass management tool. Out with the old and making way for…
View ArticleBefore the devastating rinderpest epidemic of 1897 and the introduction of the railways in the early 1900, ox wagon transport was the order of the day. Due to their physical location, Fordoun was on the main transport route from the Port of Durban up into the hinterland. Fordoun shows evidence of these “forgotten trails” today. …
View ArticleIf, like me woman’s day took you by surprise and bolted like the proverbial horse out of the stable, I have 4 ways you can make it up to the special woman or women in your life: Book a stay at Fordoun Hotel. Fordoun Hotel and Spa offers luxury 5 Star Accommodation in Nottingham Road in the…
View ArticleThree myths about winter shattered by Fordoun …. “Nothing happens in winter” … Your first step will be too look at the Fordoun website www.fordoun.com and select one of the many activities in the area. These range from mountain biking and fishing to flying and crafting, and of course there is the famous Fordoun Spa…
View Article7 of the many facts that make Fordoun unique …. Fordoun is a working farm. Along with its free range chickens there are the 120 head of angus cross Hereford cattle that need to be fed and looked after, bee hives that need maintaining, vegetable gardens that need tendering, and lands that need to be…
View ArticleIt is not too late to make special plans for National Father-In-Law Day, celebrated on 30 July. Dedicate this day to the father of your spouse, your father-in-law. Spend the time bonding with your father-in-law and strengthen your relationship with the man who was significant in raising your partner in life. Whether it is fishing,…
View ArticleFriendly Forked-tailed Drongo. iNtengu is what the gardeners at Fordoun call it …. Mikstertbyvanger is the Afrikaans name and to the English people it is the Forked-tailed Drongo. This is the gregarious, medium sized, friendly bird that keeps you company while you are outside doing gardening and pottering around. Traditionally it is known for its…
View ArticleA buzz word used currently in media is your carbon footprint … and how to keep it to a minimum. Following this Fordoun believes in valuing our lifestyle by trying to live ‘greener’. One of the goals of Fordoun is that all processes form part of a sustainable natural cycle. Part of this process is…
View ArticleAndrew and the Fordoun Farm team have started burning the fire breaks on Fordoun …..
View ArticleForefront on a midlands farmers mind at the beginning of winter is the security of lives, land, and infrastructure. The frosts of winter have made the already dry grass, brittle and highly combustible, it has forced any remaining nutrients out of the stems and back into the roots.The highveld sourveldt lives up to its name…
View ArticleGladys has been part of the Fordoun team for well over all 50 years… working in the gardens, cleaning the rooms … wherever she is needed. And a smiley ier, happy ier, keen to please lady you will never meet. If delight was a tangible force, it would hit you in the gut and double…
View ArticleSome say we are in the height of Autumn, some think winter has hit us with a bang ….. regardless… Fordoun is beautiful during this time of the year. The avenue of Pin Oak trees as you drive off the public road is shedding its leaves at an accelerated rate. Rushing into winter. But this…
View ArticleIn 2001 the KZNCF (KZN Crane Foundation) moved its head quarters to the Usher Conservation Centre outside Nottingham Road. This land had been generously donated by several concerned farming families from the area towards sustainable environmental projects. One of the substantial donations to this project was bequeathed by Lady Nora Usher and subsequently donated by…
View ArticleFollowing on from last week’s information: the ladies’ morning with guest speaker Lisa Bobbert to help raise funds for Aspens church mission to India, was a massive success. They managed to raise over R13 000. The community really pulled together and made this all possible. But, of course, it was the beautiful venue that made…
View ArticleWhen you google a symbiotic relationship, it is divided into three different types. Following on from this, Fordoun has a mutual symbiotic relationship with the local community. Both parties benefit from the relationship. And both parties are very happy with the relationship. The first example of these symbiotic relationships are the Fresh Fordoun Farm eggs…
View ArticleAccording to SANBI (National Biodiversity Institute) March to May are the official months of Autumn in the Natal midlands. Autumn is a time to recuperate. It is when the midlands change their colors to the deep reds, yellows and browns. All various shades and colors. The avenue as you enter Fordoun is an array of…
View Articlehave a look at what chef baked for the tea table for the J2C Clifton Notties stop …. it was donated to local Clifton Prtep School ….
View ArticleFordoun Farm has many varied enterprises. New to the farm are the 150 layer hens. Living “the life”, in their luxurious double story, shade cloth, coop. The eggs are collected each morning, and used in Skye Restaurant. No Carbon foot print here! Any children staying on the farm are welcome to join in the egg…
View ArticleTotal relaxation is just, a session in the floatation tank at the Fordoun Spa, away. The floatation tank (old dairy silo has been up scaled) at Fordoun is room temperature salt water and once your session begins the only outside stimuli you will have is the star light roof and the relaxing music that is…
View ArticleFor Fordoun farm hospitality is second nature … they have been doing it since 1850. Fordoun was first registered in the early 1850 by Mr. William Taylor, after his land grant was successful. He named the land Fordoun, after his private parish in his native area Kindcardineshire in Scotland. William came out to Natal on…
View ArticleTen years ago, a group of Kwa Zulu Natal’s top boutique hotels formed the Land Of Legends. The aim of LOL is to celebrate the history, tradition and culture of our country, with a long-standing records in the upliftment of local people and the preservation of the environment as major criteria. Those accepted in the…
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