Location
The farm is situated in the middle of the game belt (near Amakhala), south of the N2 and north-west of Alexandria and it is exactly 90km from central PE (Greenacres) right to the farm house itself.
Size
Made up of 2 titles, the property is approximately 468ha in extent. In total the farm incorporates no less than 1.4 km of Bushman’s river frontage (seasonal).
Description
I am certainly not unique as a huge fan of this sweet veld region. The density of premier big 5 game reserves that dominate this region is testament to the habitat diversity and aesthetic appeal of this area. Although it is currently run and equipped as a small livestock and cattle ranch, with its blend of riverine
and drainage line valley bushveld, and flood as well as elevated sweet grass plains, it would make an outstanding game breeding or eco tourism destination. The 1.4 km of meandering seasonal Bushman’s river, and diverse vegetation types plus picturesque topography affords one some excellent building sites.
Veld types
The riverine region, drainage lines and slopes are well wooded with pristine Cape valley bushveld forming a canopy of impressive proportions. Dominant tree species include wild and false Olive, Milkwoods, Tree Euphorbia, Jacket Plum, Guarri , Schotia’s, Cabbage Tree, Karee and Rhus. These give way to Acacia Karoo on the “forest” margins and an impressive density of Spekboom on the northern slopes. As one climbs onto the plateau, the tree canopy thins out and one gets an impressive covering of pannicum grasses beneath the trees. The floodplain areas open up completely into some spectacular savannah grassland. Most of this region is previously disturbed soils that have either been planted, or reverted to various indigenous pasture grasses like digitaria Smutsii, eragrostis Curvula, Sporobolis and patches of Hetrapogon. The undisturbed areas show largely Themedia Triandra. While the latter is best utilized in summer, the variety in this cocktail of grasses will afford good palatability late into winter. All the grazing seen at the elevated plateaus was in deep red sandy soils while the floodplains are composed of deep fertile alluvial soils. Overall the veld is in good condition and would well justify it’s officially rated 1LSU – 6ha stocking ratio.
Most of the valley floor is permanent pastures, which at the time of our visit had responded beautifully to the recent rains. Infrastructure is in place to irrigate two pastures with a combined size of +-3ha. Water is sourced from various weirs in the Bushman’s River and from one permanent fountain.
Rainfall / water
The farm falls in a largely summer rainfall area with an annual average of 550mm. Water can be drawn from the river itself from the weirs but at the time of our visit (middle of winter) the weirs were all empty; however, they have historically held a considerable amount of water giving the impression of a continuous body of water. The farms main water supply is the permanent fountain and water is pumped via solar power up to a steel reservoir and then gravity fed (class 6 - 32mm pipe) to the rest of the farm. There are 4 x 5000lt “Jojo” storage tanks plus one cement reservoir and a large underground cement reservoir for storing rain catchments. The farm also has a few small earth dams.
Improvements
The main house is of a fair size with 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom plus 2 guest toilets and a second bathroom with a shower located alongside the main house and conveniently close to the nearby flatlet. The main house has a built in braai in the sun room plus a large open plan lounge and dining room and a large farm style kitchen.
There is a 3 berth carport with two adjacent storerooms.
The farm also has an old implement shed plus stock handling facilities.
There are also two staff houses.
Perimeter and internal fencing is good, with a combination of game fencing and stock fencing.
Likewise the primary road infrastructure network was excellent, affording access across most of the property. There is one access road crossing over part of the property and this road is basically then used by neighbouring and nearby farmers so the farm remains very private.
There is eskom power plus gas geysers are used to heat water.
Game
Naturally occurring game includes: kudu, bushbuck, bushpig, warthog, grey duiker and possibly even blue duiker along the riverbank.
Conclusion
As a small livestock/cattle ranch this farm is superb, and would comfortably carry +- 80 LSU. Personally however, I feel it would be best suited as a game breeding unit. The available grazing, healthy browse and conducive climate would allow for the introduction of a very comprehensive range of species. A well managed game breeding program, in my opinion would prove the most lucrative and sustainable source of income. The premier, big 5 resorts have successfully done the generic marketing in terms of putting this region on the map. A tastefully designed and competitively priced eco-tourism destination would also be well placed to take advantage of the areas popularity. The fact that it has 2 titles makes it perfect allowing the opportunity of developing the individual titles with no rezoning or costly planning approval being needed. With the correct vision this property would prove a very lucrative and rewarding acquisition. I cannot overemphasize that this farm is well suited to most land usage options as it has a lot to offer in terms of: a good water source; excellent agricultural potential or high carrying capacity and the scenic beauty of the interesting topography.
At a shade under R 15000/ha, this property is very well priced for the region.
Price R 6.95 million plus Vat at the applicable rate.
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