As the cold winter days arrive in full force, there is one bright silver lining for most school children – the winter term break! While drinking hot chocolate and cosying up under blankets watching family favourite movies definitely sounds tempting, we also know that it might lead to some cabin fever after a few days!

That’s why Fairview invites you to bring the whole family to the Fairview farm on Sundays during the school holiday! Once again, we’ve enlisted the talents of Fern from Art4Kids who will be offering kids art activities in the afternoons at the Gallery Studio (just behind the Beryl Back Master Tasting Room).

Starting from this Sunday 17th June (just in time for Father’s Day) and every Sunday during the school holidays, we invite children to take part in a ceramics art afternoon event. Spend the day ceramic painting a unique art piece!

The post Winter Holidays | Kids Art Classes at Fairview! appeared first on Fairview.

Yes. You read that right! Goat Yoga is now a trend. After first gaining traction in the USA, the animal therapy-meets-exercise concept has been grabbing the attention of everyone, with videos going viral across social media and the key message being about having fun, getting out in nature, bonding with an animal and getting exercise.

As kidding season started on our farm this Spring, we had a light bulb moment. After a round table meeting with our goat herd, our baby goats agreed to hop on board. We are proud to introduce Africa’s very first Goat Yoga! We first tested the concept out at this year’s La Capra Goat Run. Due to the overwhelming response to the pilot session, we have decided to open the paddock to the public! Goat Yoga is all about relaxing – the world is so serious all the time, that sometimes it’s necessary to take a deep breath, stretch and let a baby goat nibble on your hair.

Our baby goats are completely untrained and we let them do what they want. So the only thing you can expect is for each class to be different. Maybe one time the baby goat will hop on your back, maybe another they will all huddle in a corner and sleep. At the end of the day, all that matters is to enjoy a simple and natural class and see things from a different perspective. After all, happy goats make happy people which make a happier world.

Check out our video to get excited! All details below:

From October until December 2017, Raine Dunn of Body Poetry will be leading Goat Yoga classes (featuring the baby goats, of course) every Saturday 9am to 10am at Fairview Wine and Cheese!

*SPECIAL OFFER*

Come enjoy a 1-hour Goat Yoga session followed by a delicious Goatshed breakfast consisting of our home-made granola, Fairview yoghurt, seasonal fruit and honey + your choice of hot beverage. Why not bring a bunch of friends and book an entire class for an end-of-year function or celebration? Spaces are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment.

Special offer: R185 per person (including Goat Yoga + breakfast)

Space is limited to 30 people per class, so bookings are essential to reserve your spot!

You can pay your deposit into the following account:

Raine Dunn
Capitec
1413576360
Lonehill 470010

Use your full name as reference and sms proof of payment to 0837295858.

There are mats available to rent if you don’t have your own, at an extra cost of R10. Please inform Raine if you need a mat, and add R10 per mat to the EFT total. Please be there 20 min before 9am so that you can fill in the indemnity, get set up and enjoy some extra goatie time!

To book, please call Raine at 083 729 5858, or drop her an email at raine@bodypoetry.co.za.

Raine has been passionate about health and fitness since a young age, and always dove into all sports with enthusiasm, with a particular love for horseriding and ballet. She has been practicing yoga for 13 years and Pilates for 6 years, and has been teaching full time for the last 2 years in Joburg. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge of the body, and helping people to heal themselves both physically and emotionally through these two powerful practices. She is also enthusiastic about healthy eating (having attended chef school after matric and later ran a wholefoods blog) and encourages people to take an holistic approach to their health.

In 2016 she opened Joburg’s first Barre Body studio – a high intensity cardio fusion of ballet barre and Pilates. In 2017, having had enough of the big city, she decided to make the move to Paarl, where she will be able to fuse her love of nature with her passion for helping people.

Raine is forever on a quest to expand her knowledge about health, the body and the mind in order to help her clients become the happiest version of themselves.

Check out our gallery to see what you can expect:

The post An African First – Goat Yoga at Fairview! appeared first on Fairview.

Baby Toby

From the start, Toby was different. Born 30^th June 2014, Tobias do Roam aka Toby came into the world with an immediate identity crisis and unusual brown and black markings, making him stand out from the crowd. So much so that his initial owners mistook him for a little lamb, and sold him onto Fairview’s farm manager, Donald Mouton, who would come to be Toby’s much loved, adopted dad.

Upon arrival at the Fairview barn, Toby was immediately kidnapped, but not the type you’re thinking of. In goat culture, the nanny goats, being particularly maternal, all vied to mother young Toby, and eventually a few lucky nanny’s ‘kidnapped’ the kid goat and raised him to be one of them. Or so they thought …

Toby, without even trying, stands out from the crowd

Toby and his best bud, Inkukhu the Ostrich

From the start, Toby showed extreme independence – with a capricious nature in his DNA, unafraid of climbing and always looking for new opportunities, he soon grew out of his sweet kid years and became a somewhat rebellious teen, sneaking out of the barn at night and spending his time with the rabble-rouser Inkhuku the ostrich, a long-standing resident of the farm who shared Toby’s species confusion, as she was raised by chickens. Perhaps bonding over their similarities or simply becoming the best of friends, to this day, you’re likely to spot Toby and Inkhuku roaming the Fairview grassy paths like infantry.

Growing into a charming adult goat, Toby proceeded to jump the barn walls (with complete ease, as the walls are low and goats are built to climb) on a regular basis. His favourite activity was to roam the vineyards, hunting for his favourite thing – perfectly ripe grapes from some of our Mediterranean vines. To the delight and surprise of our winemakers, Toby had a real knack for isolating some of the finest blocks of the vineyards where only the best berries grew, and soon enough, he persuaded a few more goats to roam the farm with him. Toby’s unusual, quirky sense of adventure served as the inspiration for our Goats Do Roam range, which sprouted in 2000, and has come to be the best selling South African wine brand abroad.

Today, Toby enjoys spending his time being official ‘cheese taster’ at the cheese factory and of course, mowing the lawn.
Our Goats Do Roam range is available on our online shop. Click here to explore.

Donald Mouton, our ‘goat whisperer’, with one of our precious Nanny Goats

The post Happy World Farm Animal Day! appeared first on Fairview.

As a farm, our goal is simple. We want to cut out the middle man, and sell direct to our visitors. Why? Because we are agriculturally-driven farmers, and believe that we should be able to supply our restaurant, deli and customers with as much paddock to plate options as possible. After all, we have all the resources right on our doorstep, and want to be involved in every part of the process. Starting with our chickens.

Not too long ago, we wanted to provide the Goatshed Restaurant with farm-fresh eggs for their breakfasts. So we brought some chickens. And our first priority was to ensure they live a great life, just like all our other animals here on the farm. After all, happy chickens make high-quality eggs. So we’ve given our flock a large space to roam freely – they can happily graze on the grass outside, or come inside the barn for snacks. This is a far cry from the life of a battery hen. We ensure our hens have plenty of space, and at the moment, they’ve taken to digging little holes in the ground where they rest by day, soaking up the winter sun.  Just opposite the chickens, our herd of sheep graze, with our goats and resident ostrich a stone’s throw away for good company.

We love our chickens. We love our goats. We love all our animals. And we hope that that love comes through.
Our eggs are available in the Tasting Room for R15 for 6. Free-range. 100% organic. 100% happy chicken.

Toby the Goat with his best friend, Inkhuku the Ostrich

The post Our Happy Chickens appeared first on Fairview.