Nyanza Farm and Animals

If you have come this far into the website, we would like to thank you for your interest in us and what we do.  So what are we on about?  Well, we are not just a commercial business, once you have visited us you will quickly learn that the predominant heartbeat of Nyanza is our great love for all our animals - they are what keep us going through thick and thin.

We have been involved in many welfare and rescue cases over the years and many animals have come to us to be restored to health, have their faith in humanity restored and have their physical bodies rested and healed. Some of the cases have broken our hearts and some have brought us such joy!

We would like you to hear some of their stories...

Dog Rescue - Meet Sparky:

Sparky (an indigenous Africanus) was burnt in a cane fire and nearly died.  He was a stray that someone found - he was barely alive, his skin was raw and looked so painful; we have a reputation in the area for taking in sick, crippled, unwanted and hurting animals so naturally he found his way into our care.  After a long convalescence he has now recovered and is in a wonderful home.  He looks like something out of a science fiction movie, with his ears burnt off and his body a mass of scars.. but is happy to be alive and in a loving home.

 Cats:

We currently have 13 resident cats, faithfully called in each night to make sure that nothing can happen to them - especially with the dangers at night in crossing the road.  So don't be surprised when you hear the first signal of nighttime.... "Mishka!  Mishie, Miiiiishie, Mishie- MishKA!!!!!"  and so on until each cat (when it suits them!  Never rush a cat!) strolls in.  We have, for example,  in the last two years taken in, tamed and re-homed 7 cats , and at the moment have a mother cat and two kittens being tamed and stabilized before homing them.

We have rescued horses off the Swazi mountains, riddled with ticks and their bones clearly visible, through their skin.  Palala was one of these…

Palala

(ku)-phalala means to rescue in siSwati

Palala was an old mare we found in one of the rural areas. Even though she could barely put one foot in front of the other she was being loaded with bags of cement and mielie meal. We had to buy her to get her out of there – when we went with the horsebox to fetch her we did not know if she would survive the trip. At this stage we believed we would have to euthenaze her, she was in such a bad way. Somehow she made it home, and tottered out the horsebox. One look around her and she was munching at the green grass, trying to make up for all the years of hunger. For a week whenever she lay down she was unable to rise and we would have to lift her, but then the survivor in her kicked in and she never looked back.

Donkeys also suffer terribly and we have some wonderful personalities on the farm who have come in to be healed and to find a loving home.  For instance we found Burri and Mbali the donkeys on the side of the road after Burri was hit by a car as a two month old foal.  He was badly injured and as his mother, Mbali stayed with him, she was unable to look for food or water.  We had to buy them from their owner in order to bring them home with us to help him heal and recover from the accident.

Amongst other animals we have rescued a goat and have even taken in a baby monkey...

Community

We also encourage the local schools to bring their children on school trips to visit the farm. The children spend the morning on the farm. During the visit they are shown around all the animals, and are given a brief talk on each type of animal and how to take care of it correctly. The depth of detail varies depending on the age group, as we have classes varying from pre-school to final year students. After the walk, each child has a ride on a pony. For most of the school children, this is their first time and the experience of a lifetime.

We try and combine a learning experience with fun. The emphasis for the visit is to show and educate those not fortunate enough to grow up around animals the correct way to handle and take care of them, and the friendship the animals have to share with them. There are many children in this part of the world who grow up with a fear and lack of understanding of the animal kingdom, and we would like to try and make a difference from an early age.

For those who have more experience around animals we take the learning experience further and go into more details as to their care and management.

Any school is welcome to contact us, and arrange to spend a morning on the farm with us and the animals.

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