from FUTHI MBHELE in Durban
KwaZulu Natal Bureau
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – THE move to convert a sugarcane farm into a game farm has paid off as the Rain Farm Game and Lodge has grown into a successful accommodation and wildlife establishment.
Married couple, Cara and Chris McDaniel, run the facility.
Cara said her parents were the visionary of the whole sanitary of the farm, the wildlife and building it up before converting from sugar cane farm into the game farm.
“That was 30 odd years it took to get to that point,” she recalled in an interview.
“It was all sugar cane before and taking out that sugar cane, planting all the grass and trees literally creating this whole new eco system.”
“This place obviously had to be sufficient for the amount of animals that we had, it was only 22 hectares at that stage. The whole farm as it is today it’s just under 600 hectares,” Cara said.
The Rain Farm Game and Lodge have grown to include ten self-catering units and six luxury tree-top tents.
“We’ve also got our other units situated on the edge of the dam so it has beautiful views, the animals also come through to drink the water. We’ve also got our popular wooden stalton cavin on the dam where you literally throw a line and do some fishing from the lounge,” Cara said.
Chris said as the farm developed over the years, they have noticed which species specifically are suited for the local environment.
Zebras, impalas and inyalas are some that have done well.
The facility has over the past couple of years focused on conferencing.
Other offerings are wall climbing and archery as well as hosting parties.
“For couples, we are popular for night ways because we are close to town, it’s quite a 15-20 minutes drive and we always had an in-house restaurant overlooking the pool and the farm itself,” Chris said.
– CAJ News