Explore the ‘magical fairy forest’ in Magoebaskloof
Colleen Ballenden says her intention with the fairy forest is to uplift people within the peace frame.
HAENERTSBURG – The ‘fairy forest’ in the Magoebaskloof at Stanford Farm diagonally opposite Stanford Lake College off the R71.
Follow the footprint signs along the part-dirt, part-cement road to Colleen’s peaceful and beautiful home surrounded by an indigenous forest.
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Colleen ran a nursery school called Footprints many years ago. She retained the sign as a marker to her home and has turned her love of children, magic and a lifelong love of fairies into taking them exploring in her indigenous fairy forest.
Children from age four to 12 will delight in fairy godmother Colleen firing up their imagination, asking questions and letting them come to their own conclusions.
Children have seen fairies riding on butterflies’ wings. While exploring they find fairy houses, fairy swings, fairy seats and they listen to holes in the gnarled old trees and hear whatever their imagination wishes them to hear.
At the entrance to the fairy forest, Colleen asks the children to be quiet and to tread softly on the fallen brown leaves.
The farm has been in Colleen’s family for just over a century and the forest has remained untouched since that time. Not only does Colleen let the children’s imagination run riot but the hour-long walk is also educational.
She identifies the indigenous trees which include white stinkwood, yellowwood, kiepersol, strangler fig as well as orchids and forest vines. Colleen explains how the strangler figs, slowly over decades, strangle an indigenous tree until it crashes down dead. The tree is left to rot and turns to dust as new shoots arise.
Huge mushrooms are growing on one fallen tree and this forms various stage levels for the fairy theatre productions.
There are two large indentations in the forest soil that formed the saw pits of days gone by. Saw pits were used to cut up felled trees before the days of machinery. However the forest has remained untouched since Colleen’s grandfather bought the farm.
After the fairy forest walk Colleen takes the children through her beautiful home and into the sunny courtyard. This courtyard has miniature fairy statues, little ponds and there’s magic everywhere.
The tour continues to the healing room where Colleen does her relaxing foot reading, mainly for adults. Her recent success is foot reading via Skype. Clients send seven photos of their feet in order for her to conduct foot readings.
The magical tour goes down into the reading room, the children’s rooms and further garden delights that are geared towards relaxation and are a child’s paradise.
A walk through the fairy forest is by appointment only and the weather must be good. Colleen takes a maximum of five children, parents are also welcome. Phone Colleen at 072 277 4809 for an appointment.
