Glen Avon Farm Activities
Below is a list of all activities at Glen Avon Farm.
Agri-Tourism
For those who like to get back to basics, there is a variety of farming activities in which guests can participate if they would like to.
There is hand milking every morning and if you’re feeling energetic you can join the morning rounds which include changing sprinklers, and checking on the small stock in the pastures.
There is also a good chance that your visit will coincide with either lambing, kidding or shearing of sheep or goats.
Bird Watching
Boasting a list of just over 260 species, the diversity of both birds and habitats makes Glen Avon a wonderful birding destination. Habitats range from afro-montane forests on the slopes of the Boschberg to dohne sourveld on top and thornveld as well as bushveld on the plains below. There is also riverine habitat, cultivated fields, farm and storage dams and an element of karoo veld. The altitude ranges from 700 to 1400 metres above sea level and average annual rainfall from 500 in the thornveld, to over 900mm up on top of the mountain. A list of 100 plus in a day is easily obtainable in summer.
Glen Avon Top 10 Resident Birds
Knysna Woodpecker
African Scops-Owl
Buff-streaked Chat
Bush Blackcap
Southern Tchagra
Half-collared Kingfisher
Narina Trogon
Knysna Turaco
Verreaux's Eagle
African Crowned Eagle
Birding
Knysna Woodpecker and African Scops-Owl are the two special birds to be found in and around the gardens. Pairs of African Crowned, Verreaux’s and Martial Eagle...
Fly Fishing
Keen anglers can try their hand at fly fishing in the three stocked dams on the farm.
Members of the Bankberg fly fishing club can also fish the Naude river, which includes the pools below Glen Avon Falls.
One can also swim or canoe in the dams.
We also have a swimming pool and tennis court for your enjoyment.
Enjoy the peace and serenity of Glen Avon on your farm holiday.
Mountain Biking
Mountain biking through Glen Avon Farm is an experience of a lifetime.
You can traverse well known farm roads for beginners and experienced bikers can create their own path as they explore the farm.
The Glen Avon Waterfall
In addition to the three self-guided trails visitors can hike along the river, or the road, to the Glen Avon waterfall.
This waterfall, the scale of which is only appreciated from close up, has the reputation of being one of the highest drops of water on private land.
A refreshing dip in the pool below the falls awaits you at your destination.
Alternatively one can hike to the top of the mountain and down into the gorge above the falls.
4 x 4 outings to the spectacular Glen Avon Falls or to the top of the Boschberg can be arranged and the farm offers wonderful mountain biking opportunities.
The Heritage Walk
This walk takes approximately 1 and a half hours to complete is marked with red dots along the way.
This gentle meander takes you down to the river via the family cemetery. I would have liked to call it the Cemetry Stroll but perhaps not everyone enjoys looking at gravestones!
Look for the start of the Red dots to the left of the swimming pool at the little garden gate. As you go through the gate bear right and the left again, walking down the avenue of oak trees, with the Lucerne fields on your right. Only about 150m down this road, the cemetry comes into view. For those who are interested in having a look at the Vault which is a unique feature of our graveyard, please feel free to go into the graveyard and follow the little path which takes you down to the Hart Vault. Inscriptions on the vault indicate clearly which members of the Hart family are buried inside the vault.
You may then continue, following the markers down to the river. This is an ideal spot to sit and enjoy the peace a...
The Intake Walk Hike
The path is marked with yellow dot along the route.
This is a quiet, scenic route that winds its way up the Naude’s River Valley for 3km and ends at the “Intake”. The Intake is a junction in the river where a weir dams up the river and water is piped for pasture irrigation. A furrow that follows most of the route carries excess water into storage dams. Best in the early morning or late afternoon, this stroll takes about an hour and a half. Remember to take your binoculars as you are bound to see plenty of birds and buck.
It starts just behind Pecan Cottage where you will see the first yellow dot on the old shed. After crossing the log bridge, one turns left through a gate and walks through the kikuyu pasture, past the old cow shed and onto the main road.
About 200m along the road, instead of heading down to the river, the route takes you left through a gate and along one of the farm roads. When you come to a closed gate, please be sure to close it again behind you.
Wh...
The Mountain Route Hike
Approx 4 hours leisurely walk
Please take sufficient water with you as sometimes the streams run dry, especially in winter. binoculars and camera are essential!
This trail is marked with large white do ts and starts behind the house at the gate near the shed.
It takes you on the farm road past the dairy and stone kraal, crossing the district road and directly opposite, through a large gate, with a ‘PRIVATE’ sign on it, towards the shearing shed and Water Mill.
Keeping the mill on your right and shed on your left, you follow the mountain road which gradually climbs, getting steeper as one gets higher up. After approx. 1km, the trail branches off to the left leaving the mountain road
Following the markers you soon leave the drier thorn scrub and reach a more moist and lush area, where wild olives, white stinkwoods proliferate.
After a short climb, you suddenly notice that again the vegetation has changed, to more open grassveld.
This pattern repeats itself as the trail takes ...
Water Mill
Who was Robert Hart? In 1795 he was an 18 year old private in the Argyllshire Highlanders when the regiment disembarked at Cape Town. The regiment served for a while on the Cape frontier until Britain returned the Cape to Holland where after it returned to Britain.
In 1807, however, Robert Hart, now a married man, returned to the Cape as an officer in Colonel Graham's newly formed Cape Regiment and was stationed at Grahamstown. Later, he was put in charge of the experimental farm founded by Lord Charles Somerset, the governor of the Cape, and which provided supplies to the army.
In 1825 the farm was closed down and the little town of Somerset East laid out on its grounds. Many of the original houses still stand in this charming little place.Hart and his family then settled on farmland adjacent to the town which he was granted in recognition of his services to the government. Here he built a homestead - Glen Avon. Hart, who was a pioneer of Merino sheep farming, farmed sheep, grew fruit...
