The Ashburton Aloe Festival will be held over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd July in the Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy, 10 km east of Pietermaritzburg. An annual event borne out of the close-knit communities passion for conserving this beautiful bushveld environment, six venues are open to the public, between 09h00 and 17h00, to enjoy a full programme of walks and talks amidst bushveld setting of the beautiful wild, giant flowering Aloe candelabrum. The event helps raise awareness for the conservation of both natural and cultural heritage, and raises funds for the protection of the plants and wildlife species of the area, as a living legacy for our children. The event is hosted by the Mpushini Valley Conservancy and showcases the Mpushini Protected Environment, the first such community conservation area in Kwazulu-Natal. The six venues include: Galago Farm, TopRock Farm, Impala Bend, Rocky Wonder Aloes Nursery, Spencer’s Place and the Hackland Aloe Garden. Things to do include: Specialist talks and walks, Self-Guided trails, Aloe, and indigenous plant sales including succulent, grasses, groundcovers, enjoy light music, browse a variety of stalls, including, crystal, mineral and gemstones, hot meals including vegetarian options, soups and home baked bread, tea garden, pancakes and refreshments, pony rides and the natural beauty, peace and tranquillity of this special hidden valley. Tickets are R30 per person and allow entry to all venues for the duration of the weekend. Children under 12 are free. There is a children’s art and environmental programme at venue 1 including child supervision at a nominal cost. Directions: take N3, Ashburton exit 69, Turn right, and continue 4 km onto D389, after the ticket sales booth, follow the signs to venues 1 – 5. To get to venue six, continue past venue 5 and proceed for 12 km as follows. After crossing the Msunduzi River, turn right at the junction of D389 towards Bishopstowe. Continue 2km and turn right. Continue for 2km and turn left at the signpost Rick Hackland Farm. After 50m turn right into the palm lined avenue to reach Femma and Rick Hackland’s Aloe Garden. For more information phone Darlene Bond on 082 933 5036 Facebook Pages, Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy; Event Facebook Page - Ashburton Aloe Festival 2017; Twitter @mpushini
Aloe Festival Programme
Saturday 1st July
10h00 Venue 1 - Galago Farm: “Discover your past and reclaim your heritage!” walk & talk by Celeste Rossouw & Hester Roodt
11h30 Venue 3 - Impala Bend: “Ideas for Ecological Waterwise Gardening with Indigenous Plants” by Alison Young
14h00 Venue 4 – Rocky Wonder: “Critically Endangered Vultures” by Tammy Caine
15h00 Venue 3 – Impala Bend: Wildlife feeding time with Karin Saks talking about Samango Monkey research in the Midlands.
15h30 Venue 2 – TopRock: “The Golden Age of Palaeoanthropology – Why the current decade will go down in History” by Alexander Haig Parkinson
16h30 Venue 1 – Galago Farm: Campfire Stories, Howard Bradshaw and friends read Bosman, Paton, Mtshali, Bessie Head and others.
Sunday 2nd July
10h00 Venue 6 – Hackland Aloe Garden: “Pollinators for your Garden” by Val Payne
10h00 Venue 1 – Galago Farm: “A guide to indigenous trees” walk & talk by Dr David Johnson
11h30 Venue 4 – Rocky Wonder: “Wild Orchid, Blood Orchid & Orchid Thief – Why are orchid flowers special?” by Timo van der Niet
12h30 Venue 5 – Spencers Place: Gundog Display by David Padbury
14h00 Venue 2 – TopRock: “Snake’s Live’s Matter” by Zane Barnard
15h00 Venue 3 – Impala Bend: Wildlife feeding time with Wade Whitehead talking about ‘Freeme’ Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
15h30 Venue 3 – Impala Bend: “Honory Officers – Our Work for Wildlife” by Darlene Bond
Venue Activities
Venue 1 – Galago Farm
• Tea Garden/Soup & Bread/Pancakes
• Self-Guided Trails
• Children’s Exciting Day Programme & Supervision
• Indigenous Plant Sales
• Art & Craft
• Book Stall
• Camp Fire
Venue 2 – TopRock
• Crystal Shop
• Art & Craft Stalls
• Hot Meals
• Live Music
• Cash Bar
Venue 3 – Impala Bend
• Hot Lunches
• Craft stalls
• Self-Guided Aloe Trail
• Ronnocco Nursery Indigenous grasses and groundcovers
• Cash Bar
• Wildlife feeding time from 15h00
Venue 4 – Rocky Wonder
• Aloe Display Garden
• Aloe Sales
• Self-Guided Bird Trails
• Refreshments
Venue 5: Spencers Place
• Self-guided Bird Trails open from 6am
• Pony Rides
• Gundog Demo
Venue 6: Hackland Garden
• Guided tour by Femma and Rick Hackland
• Refreshments - Soup and bread
For more information contact Darlene Bond on 082 933 5036.
News supplied.
