Johann and Gudrun Engelbrecht have turned their family home into a luxurious farm destination where they look forward to welcoming and treating you to their exquisite hospitality and attention to detail! 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Dusk to Dawn! Since 1993 both local and international visitors of many different countries of the world have been treated lovingly by the Dusk to Dawn staff.
There are 9 rooms/units at Dusk to Dawn: 2 Standard rooms, 4 Standard suites and 3 Executive free-standing cottages. All rooms/units have coffee & tea stations, fridges, microwaves, air conditioning and electric blankets. 6 units have kitchens and are self-catering.
A full English and Continental breakfast is served in the beautiful dining room or on the verandah with a stunning view onto the large garden and the wide open spaces of the farm. For lunch and dinner guests can choose food from the Dusk to Dawn Deli. The meals are freshly prepared in our kitchen with produce from our farm. Guests can choose a starter, main meal and dessert. Home-baked bread and fresh salads are prepared daily. These meals can be enjoyed either in the comfort of their own room or in the garden room overlooking the pool or on the wooden deck in the lower garden.
The garden has 2 dams, mini golf, jungle gym and a tree house for children. Conference Facilities: Kingfisher’s Perch is ideal for smaller meetings and conferences accommodating up to 25 delegates.
BIRDERS OVERVIEW
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ACCESSIBLE WITH A HIGH CLEARANCE VEHICLE
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VENUE/TRAIL MAP
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FIELD GUIDE BOOKS
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BIRD HIDES
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SELF DRIVES
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BIRD LISTS
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WALKING TRAILS
BIRD SPECIALS
Bald Ibis, Grey-crowned crane,Black-winged Lapwing, Secretary bird, Blue Crane, European Honey-buzzard, Red-winged Francolin, Long-crested Eagle and Black-chested Snake Eagle have all been seen recently on the farm.
HABITATS
With an altitude of 950m above sea level, we are situated in the Middle veld biome, with an overlap of tall grass veld and thornveld habitats. A consistent flowing stream and two irrigation dams attract water birds such as Kingfishers, Hamerkop, ducks, geese, moorhen and coots, African rail and crakes and warblers. The timber plantations attract various cuckoo species in summer and Golden breasted Bunting, White crowned Helmeted shrike, Black headed Tchagra, Canary and different species of Honey guides. The grassveld is home to larks, pipits, longclaws, cisticolas and widowbird species. The abundance of feed in the lush sub-tropical garden and the piggery attract large numbers of seedeaters, especially in winter when food becomes scarce in the parts of the farm. These include doves,Queleas, weaver birds, Bishop Birds, Widowfinches ,mannikins and Firefinches and waxtails.Different flycatchers, barbets The Kikuyu pastures offer ample nutrition to insectivorous birds such as the Bald, Sacred and Hadeda Ibis, Lapwings, Larks and Egrets. During the warmer months we also host many migratory bird species which include some waders, cuckoos, rollers, swallows and bee-eaters. The Ithala Game Reserve is, as the crow flies, only 40 km south from Dusk to Dawn and we have had Crowned, Trumpeter and Ground Hornbills visiting us during the dry winter months.
Dusk to Dawn is situated close to the N2 national road and is the ideal stopover for tourists travelling from Gauteng or the Low-veld to the KZN North Coast. It is situated on a working farm, where maize and soybeans are grown in summer. We also do timber production and beef cattle on kikuyu pastures and natural veld. All of these farming enterprises attract different bird species during different times of the year. Birders have access to the whole farm of 1200 hectares. There are two large dams (one with a bird hide) which attract a variety of water and vlei bird species. Due to our mild climate we have a sub tropical garden with a lot of indigenous trees and fruit bearing trees. A section of the farm is game fenced and has some plains game species such as Zebra, Blue wildebeest, Impala and Blesbuck. This section of the farm offers grassland and thornveld birds an ideal breeding habitat. Guided bird tours are available by prior arrangement.