A Gold Mine of Fun At Lucky Linton

From my previous blog posts it's clear to see that our family is the adventuring type.

Ashley, Danielle and I love the outdoors and are always looking for new spots to visit.

I often find myself searching Google for "activities for kids in Durban" or "child friendly entertainment spots" etc.

Which is how I found out about the Lucky Linton Gold Mine and Children's Farmyard.

It is a farm with an old, genuine gold mine on the North Coast, just 15km from Ballito and 60km from Durban.

Here's some history from the Farmstay website: In about 1880 a prospector and geologist - Mr Richie from Linton, a small village in Scotland - went to Brazil to seek his fortune. A few years later his sister decided to settle in South Africa and realizing there was potential for prospecting she persuaded Mr Richie to join her here and prospect for gold, which he did. He finally discovered a gold bearing seam right on the farm where he settled and called then mine “Linton”.

Today the farm is owned by a lovely couple, Sandy and Anne Bell. The Gold Mine offers lots of fun for the kids as they can pan for gold and collect gems at the semi precious stone Scratch Patch. 

The kids will also enjoy feeding an array of farm animals which include piglets, chickens and ducks or go for a ride on “Thunder” and “Lightning”, the resident ponies. 

My daughter Danielle was in awe of the animals as they are rather friendly around humans. The cute little piglets came up to us to be petted and the ponies were calm and graceful.

For both the kids and adults there's the Lucky Linton Museum which is an old boat house filled with everything from old fishing equipment to antique appliances and taxidermy birds. 

The museum also has a lovely dock which you can fish from. My husband Ashley, an avid fisherman, tried it out and caught an eel. *Eek*. Better than nothing I say :) Other activities on offer include bass fishing, bird watching and hiking trails.

We were on a day visit at Lucky Linton where there is ample picnic and braai spots, but if you'd like an overnight escape from the city there's also the Luck Linton House.

This is a colonial style farm house that can be booked as accommodation for a maximum of 8 people. If you're a smaller group there's also the Lucky Linton Cottage which sleeps a maximum of 4 people.

So if ever you find yourself between Ballito and Stanger, give Lucky Linton a visit. It's a great disconnect from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and the kids will thank you for it.