GIVE US ONE DAY AND WE GIVE YOU 280 MILLION YEARS! At Ganora you do not only get accommodation but to let you experience our discoveries we like to share with you. Our Accommodation is Three Star graded and "Highly Recommended" by AA. We do various options of accommodation. 1. A self catering cottage that sleeps 6 and has two bathrooms with a small lounge and kitchen as well as a patio overlooking the farm yard. 2. Standard double or twin en-suite bedrooms with tea and coffee facilities. 3. Larger double or twin en-suite bedrooms that can be with King - or single beds. It has a few extras and overlooks the lucern fields that might have sheep grazing in them at the time of your visit. GUIDED DAY TOURS TO: Bushman Rock art site, Anglo Boer War story & engravings, Fossil and artifact museum, Fossil walk, Medicinal plant walk, Sunset drinks. Swimming pool available.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to TGCSA - Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.
This review is relatively objective being my 17th road trip encompassing 18 properties over a 43 night period.
I stayed solo for 2 nights in March.
Easily found in an idyllic location from the main gravel road - farm road was in decent condition.
Friendly and efficient check in from Annika and the staff. I didn’t meet the owners.
Large, comfortable and clean room in an adjacent building, 30 seconds walk from the lovely old school farmhouse. No aircon in the room, but despite the 35+ heat it remained cool throughout due to high ceilings and the really old thick walls. The early pioneers knew exactly what they were doing!
Meals to a good standard were served in the atmospheric dining room of the main farmhouse.
The grounds around the farmhouse have been maintained to a very pleasant/high standard and were so relaxing reading a book in the shade of a lovely old tree.
Unlike other properties that advertise walking/hiking trails - these trails were clearly marked and easily followed. For those not quite so mobile I’d suggest checking that the route selected doesn’t include locked gates which have to be climbed over. I managed - just!
Decent WiFi.
The adjacent camp site looked well equipped and maintained.
Highly recommended
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Date of stay: March 2024
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Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ganora Lodge is in a wonderful location, so unique with so much to do; from walks, fossils, bushman paintings, medicinal walks, the sheer beauty of the surroundings, fantastic food, ambience, hosts are amazingly friendly, go out of their way to help and are so knowledgeable . The rooms are beautifully stylish with original art by the hostess and meticulously clean and comfortable. We will be back for sure ! Ganora is a winner, unbeatable.
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Date of stay: June 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Â Go for longer then you think as there is so much to do
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When visiting anywhere near Nieu-Bethesda don't hesitate to grab the opportunity to stay at Ganora! What a special place on a working Karoo farm. Hester and JP are wonderful hosts - warm, kind , helpful and both have incredible knowledge of the surrounding area. The rooms are beautifully decorated, comfortable and spotlessly clean. The electric blanket and thick down duvet kept us snugly warm with freezing temperatures outside. The farm has various well marked walks of various distances. The cooked lamb dinner we had as part of a 60th celebration was incredible.... not to even mention the yummy desert. Feeding the baby lambs on our morning of departure was an added bonus for us city slickers. Visiting for only a weekend we had far too little time to explore so much more the farm had to offer! Thank you for the all round incredible visit Ganora!
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Date of stay: June 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Hester Steynberg, Owner at Ganora Guestfarm
Responded 13 Sept 2024
It was such a pleasure to host you! Glad you got to feed the lambs too!! Next time I hope you can stay little longer!
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What a warm & hospitable welcome we got from Hester, JP & Ollie the dog! Ganora is simply gorgeous & the trees, the house, the mountains in the distance. And so much to do! Various hiking trails & walks for fossils, bushmen paintings, medicinal plants… The rooms are very comfortable and cozy, with wonderful electric blankets for the cold Karoo nights. Dinner in the converted barn, after JP’s fossil talk, with a roaring fire was very atmospheric as well as delicious. I can’t wait to go to Ganora in the summer so I can use the pool!
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Date of stay: June 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I loved the quiet, friendly setting. There are several walks accessible from the farm. The area is known for a very special geological history. The evening fossil talk provided many insights into a time period I had never heard of. The information was informative and presented in an entertaining way that kept everyone interested. The room was very clean, the linen exceptional. I particularly enjoyed the historical farmhouse (built in 1776) where meals were served. The staff was very helpful in answering questions and providing customized meals.
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Date of stay: May 2024Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Â Let the host know if you have dietary requests or other needs in advance. The host is happy to...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We recently visited Nieu Bethesda and decided to stay at Ganora Guest Farm, conveniently located just outside town (about 8 km).
Ganora is a working Karoo sheep farm but provides guests not only with a typical Karoo Farm experience where one can hike, mountain bike, bird watch stargaze and hand feed new born lambs but also some unique activities not often encountered.
One of these is a fossil museum where the host shares his extensive knowledge about the ancient past of the Karoo. There are also guided walks to various of these fossil sites.
Another surprise is the guided tour to a Bushman rock art site where the guide will point out some of the culture and beliefs of the Bushmen.
Regarding Accommodation - We stayed in the Self catering cottage that was well equipped and comfortable. There is a fireplace in the lounge that served as well in winter as well as a convenient braai on the veranda overlooking the farm and the Karoo scenery.
The farm was also the ideal base to visit Nieu Bethesda Town and the Owl House of Helen Martin.
We were four adults and decided to extend our stay to two days.
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Date of stay: August 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Various accommodation options ranging from full board to camping exist. We chose the self...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Hester Steynberg, Owner at Ganora Guestfarm
Responded 13 Sept 2024
Thank you Sam for taking time to write a review! Much appreciated. We love reading how our guests enjoyed the guided tours where we like to share our passion.
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We spent two nights at Ganora (12 & 13 November 2020) and wish we could have spent more. Hester is a welcoming and informative hostess, dispensing advice and knowledge about Nieu Bethesda and its environs freely. Her home becomes your home for the duration of the stay and we relished afternoon tea on the wide stoep. JP is so knowledgeable about the paleontology of the area and kept us enthralled for an hour as he displayed his astounding collection of artefacts. The room was comfortable and clean, the meals excellent and the surroundings so beautiful. The staff - Zama and Max - were friendly and ever-helpful. We'll definitely recommend Ganora to friends and family and hope to return ourselves in the future.
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Date of stay: November 2020
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Room Tip:Â Choose a room closest to the main house for ease of access to facilities like dining room and...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The guest house I stayed at was spacious with modern amenities. Dinner and breakfast was awesome; The owner, Hester was ever present and her staff were attentive to my needs. There is a fascinating fossil display, rock art tours and hiking trails.
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Date of stay: September 2024
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Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Hester Steynberg, Owner at Ganora Guestfarm
Responded 13 Sept 2024
Thank you Johan for visiting us at Ganora. Always good to hear when our guests enjoyed their stay. Glad you got to do the long hike of about 13km! Enjoy the rest of your holiday and we hope to welcome you back in the near future.
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Our hosts, the Steynberg family, were so friendly and helpful. The farm and farmhouses are beautiful. We stayed 2 nights and didn't want to leave. We will definitely come back as we didn't yet have the time to do the scenic hikes on the farm. The fossils talk by expert Mr Steynberg, and the rock art, were really interesting. Loved the farm sounds and sights around us. The cottage was comfortable, spacious and everything worked. The electric blankets and heater kept us cozy and warm. Breakfasts in the historic Karoo farmhouse and a close drive to Nieu Bethesda made this a perfect stay. I fell in love with this part of the Karoo. Highly recommended. I will go back any time.
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Date of stay: May 2023
Value
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Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ganora, a working farm in such a beautiful setting has interesting walks for every ability.
Hester and JP are great hosts with a wonderful warm welcome, not the least of which is the beautiful big fire in the converted barn, now a dining room.
We had a fascinating talk about life before dinosaurs, all carefully explained by JP, showing us round his incredible fossil collection.
The rooms are lovely and imaginatively designed, I wish we could have stayed longer.
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Date of stay: June 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Nieu-Bethesda area.
PRICE RANGE
RÂ 1,158 - RÂ 1,398 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
South AfricaEastern CapeNieu-Bethesda
NUMBER OF ROOMS
10
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect average nightly room rates, including taxes and fees that are fixed, known to our partners, and due at time of booking. Please see our partners for more details.
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