'Sulina Fairy Sanctuary'
About a 10 minute amble from Impangele is a 'fairy sanctuary'. It's bordered by high tangled bushes and the entrance is a highly mysterious looking woven branch gate, and lots of rainbow signs advertising the sanctuary, and promising crystal healing.
Mum and Dave have been here over a year, have got the place advertised on their website, but have never actually been - fearing a whole world of twee.
I, personally, really wanted to go - in deference to the small child i used to be who was OBSESSED with all things unicorn, dragon, winged, fluttery, pink and/or sparkly and so on.
We arrived, and rang the bell. We were welcomed by a lady with long flowing grey hair, and a long velvet dress with bells and ribbons &c &c. I am sure you can imagine. She introduced herself as 'Minky' (mum had to try really hard not to say "do you 'ave a lah-sanse for that minky?' in her best Peter Sellars voice.) She managed to listen politely with a big smile as Minky told us we looked like fairy queens, and that it was nice to finally meet mum, although of course they'd met every night in the dream lands. As we wandered alone into the garden, Mum's smile remained, as she said through it in a sing song voice 'she's a nutter'. She was a very sincere and well meaning nutter though, and she was really sweet, so I'm inclined to be more accepting - again in deference to the inner 5 year old who is already going 'EEEE!! DRAGONS! UNICORNS! SPARKLY LIGHTS! FAIRIES! PRETTY UNDERCOVER WILD GARDEN! while the outer 28 year old looks on in horror.
It was, well, pretty much as one would expect from a fairy (or Faerie, as they spell it) sanctuary. Lovely wild gardens, all overgrown and covered with traily plants, lots of water features, and anywhere a fairy, gnome, dragon, wizard, or friendly faced animals and plants could possibly be put, there was one. The collection was eclectic to the point of obsession, and there must literally be hundreds of thousands of fairy-related ornamentation here. The garden, fairies aside, is actually very beautiful, and there are crystals hanging in the trees, which catch the sun beautifully and look, if you are looking with the eyes of your inner 5 year old, like the lights of little fairies flying about you.
Halfway around the path is a little sheltered section where you can help yourself to water or tea in china mugs decorated with, gosh, fairies. There's also a handmade visitors book, with a handmade pen for you to use. The book melts your heart to read, all these messages from little girls who seem to have been made the happiest little things alive to have come here. I just know if I'd have been here up to the age of about 13 I'd have absolutely loved it too. We saw a few mums with their little girls walking around - the mums with a similar fixed expression as my mum had, and the little girls all in pretty dresses with faces full of sheer wonder.
All the way along the path are little nooks and crannies, crammed with miniature water features with fairies and happy frogs and happy dragons and happy, well, anythings; with little benches and toadstools for you to sit on, and contemplate. Quite what you'd contemplate is entirely up to you, I'm sure.
I think I'm too jaded now to really love it - and some of the ornaments really don't just push the boundaries of twee - they skip right up to it, give it flowers and carry skipping till they are long past that boundary, blowing pink heart shaped bubbles as they go.
The owners are really sweet though, and obviously genuinely love their garden and the people that come. The entrance fee is voluntary, and is only R10 for adults and R5 for children under 13 (about 70p and 45p respectively) and the money is shared among local charities.
At the end of your little walk you reach the shop -(or 'gallery as they put it) had many more thousands of fairies and related paraphernalia for sale (or 'adoption' as they put it) for prices varying from R5 up to R600. We had spotted this goth fairy in the garden earlier:
Seeing as I really have to bring something back from there, and she's available for 'adoption' for the equivalent of about £3.50, she may end up coming home with me. I'd totally failed to have my money with me, so i need to talk mum or dave in taking me back there tomorrow.
Actually, it's probably safer to leave Dave behind. Where as Mum managed to keep a big smile on her face the whole time we were talking to Minky and her Husband (a chap that looked like he was only wanting a pointed hat to make him the very image of a cheerful gnome) and accept the place for what it is, i think Dave might not be able to keep his true opinions of places like this to himself...
I thought it was well intentioned, genuinely meant, and pretty cute, if perhaps a bit of an overload of cutesy, even for me. I think the inner 5 year old was charmed and loved it, the outer, more jaded and cynical 28 year old could have taken the piss for hours. But I don't want to, as it really is, despite taste leaving its boots at the gate along with everything else, very sweet, and peaceful.
I would say though, only go if you
a - really, REALLY like fairies
b - have small children (girls for preference) who like such things
c - are into crystals and angels and healing and things of that ilk
or
d - are really mean and like laughing at hippies
Mum and Dave have been here over a year, have got the place advertised on their website, but have never actually been - fearing a whole world of twee.
I, personally, really wanted to go - in deference to the small child i used to be who was OBSESSED with all things unicorn, dragon, winged, fluttery, pink and/or sparkly and so on.
We arrived, and rang the bell. We were welcomed by a lady with long flowing grey hair, and a long velvet dress with bells and ribbons &c &c. I am sure you can imagine. She introduced herself as 'Minky' (mum had to try really hard not to say "do you 'ave a lah-sanse for that minky?' in her best Peter Sellars voice.) She managed to listen politely with a big smile as Minky told us we looked like fairy queens, and that it was nice to finally meet mum, although of course they'd met every night in the dream lands. As we wandered alone into the garden, Mum's smile remained, as she said through it in a sing song voice 'she's a nutter'. She was a very sincere and well meaning nutter though, and she was really sweet, so I'm inclined to be more accepting - again in deference to the inner 5 year old who is already going 'EEEE!! DRAGONS! UNICORNS! SPARKLY LIGHTS! FAIRIES! PRETTY UNDERCOVER WILD GARDEN! while the outer 28 year old looks on in horror.
It was, well, pretty much as one would expect from a fairy (or Faerie, as they spell it) sanctuary. Lovely wild gardens, all overgrown and covered with traily plants, lots of water features, and anywhere a fairy, gnome, dragon, wizard, or friendly faced animals and plants could possibly be put, there was one. The collection was eclectic to the point of obsession, and there must literally be hundreds of thousands of fairy-related ornamentation here. The garden, fairies aside, is actually very beautiful, and there are crystals hanging in the trees, which catch the sun beautifully and look, if you are looking with the eyes of your inner 5 year old, like the lights of little fairies flying about you.
Halfway around the path is a little sheltered section where you can help yourself to water or tea in china mugs decorated with, gosh, fairies. There's also a handmade visitors book, with a handmade pen for you to use. The book melts your heart to read, all these messages from little girls who seem to have been made the happiest little things alive to have come here. I just know if I'd have been here up to the age of about 13 I'd have absolutely loved it too. We saw a few mums with their little girls walking around - the mums with a similar fixed expression as my mum had, and the little girls all in pretty dresses with faces full of sheer wonder.
All the way along the path are little nooks and crannies, crammed with miniature water features with fairies and happy frogs and happy dragons and happy, well, anythings; with little benches and toadstools for you to sit on, and contemplate. Quite what you'd contemplate is entirely up to you, I'm sure.
I think I'm too jaded now to really love it - and some of the ornaments really don't just push the boundaries of twee - they skip right up to it, give it flowers and carry skipping till they are long past that boundary, blowing pink heart shaped bubbles as they go.
The owners are really sweet though, and obviously genuinely love their garden and the people that come. The entrance fee is voluntary, and is only R10 for adults and R5 for children under 13 (about 70p and 45p respectively) and the money is shared among local charities.
At the end of your little walk you reach the shop -(or 'gallery as they put it) had many more thousands of fairies and related paraphernalia for sale (or 'adoption' as they put it) for prices varying from R5 up to R600. We had spotted this goth fairy in the garden earlier:
Seeing as I really have to bring something back from there, and she's available for 'adoption' for the equivalent of about £3.50, she may end up coming home with me. I'd totally failed to have my money with me, so i need to talk mum or dave in taking me back there tomorrow.
Actually, it's probably safer to leave Dave behind. Where as Mum managed to keep a big smile on her face the whole time we were talking to Minky and her Husband (a chap that looked like he was only wanting a pointed hat to make him the very image of a cheerful gnome) and accept the place for what it is, i think Dave might not be able to keep his true opinions of places like this to himself...
I thought it was well intentioned, genuinely meant, and pretty cute, if perhaps a bit of an overload of cutesy, even for me. I think the inner 5 year old was charmed and loved it, the outer, more jaded and cynical 28 year old could have taken the piss for hours. But I don't want to, as it really is, despite taste leaving its boots at the gate along with everything else, very sweet, and peaceful.
I would say though, only go if you
a - really, REALLY like fairies
b - have small children (girls for preference) who like such things
c - are into crystals and angels and healing and things of that ilk
or
d - are really mean and like laughing at hippies