Farm Life

No matter what season, there is always something to do at Bellwood and so much for children to investigate and explore.

Bellwood is a working stud farm that has a large herd of Braford cattle, horses, ducks, and indigenous bird life including some rare crane species and buck.

Horses

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Wander through the beautiful old stable block and quadrangle built and designed on old English lines, which forms the centre of the Stud farm.  This is where Key of Destiny – the South African champion sprinter in 2004 was bred. While the farm has retired from the race horse business, it still serves as home for some lucky retired equines.

Cattle

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Bellwood’s farming activities include also an enviable herd of Braford Beef Cattle. One can amble over the fields and see the cows and their babies. Children love to see the calves and there is always great excitement when a calf is born.

fully stocked dam

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Fishermen love fishing in our two dams that are stocked annually with rainbow and brown trout. Life does not get much better than pulling out a big trout and putting it straight on the braai!

Wildlife

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A walk through the fields or even just to the front gate will reveal many species of birds, buck and monkeys.  There is no shooting on the farm and the word seems to have got around that it is a pretty great place to raise a family!

Springtime

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Spring is a special time but never more so than at Bellwood.  The avenues of ancient trees are shrugging off the winter gloom. Baby calves are everywhere and one can see the can see fluffy yellow ducklings waddling around looking for puddles. The trees are dripping with weaver bird nests and all vegetation is bursting out in new growth.

Crops

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A number of the paddocks are devoted to growing maize for cattle fodder which is mixed with molasses to form silage used to feed the cattle in the winter months. There is a resident pair of crown cranes that spend their time digging in the cultivated fields.

Farm Pets

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We love our farm dogs and for the most part they are very good around the animals. Jess, our doberman, thinks she is beautiful and likes to be the centre of attention. Max the bull terrier loves playing and being around people all the time. They enjoy roaming around the homestead and stables and enjoying being taken for runs to the gate.