Location
The farm is situated on the lower ring road between Somerset East and Pearston, approx 45km from Somerset.
Size
Made up of two titles, the property is +- 1800 ha in extent.
Description
I am a huge fan of this area as a game destination, primarily because it must rate as one of the safest areas in the province. Speak to the farmers that have always lived there, and they have never had any issues with poaching, stock theft or theft of any kind. The road here is only used by the local farmers, and given the farms location in the centre of a few other farms and with no through roads it remains very safe and private. Add to that a very healthy environment, with almost no internal parasite loads and no tick borne diseases plus some of the most dramatic and beautifully scenic
topography, and this region just keeps on ticking boxes.
This is one of the more scenic properties in this region. Climbing over 300m in elevation from the thick riverine vegetation at the bottom to a grassy plateau above the tree line, it encompasses a variety of features seldom seen in a single property. The property has an amphitheater feel to it with the low lying basin that is surrounded by a series of ridges and rolling hills that lead up to the upper reaches. From the top, one is treated to a view encompassing a full 360 degrees of natures best, uninterrupted by a single road, cell phone tower, power line or any other evidence of mans influence. Take all of the above and add to it some excellent game habitat capable of supporting a very wide spectrum of species, and it makes for a very attractive lifestyle and/or game ranching opportunity.
Veld types
As discussed the veld types vary considerably across the length of the property. A drainage line meanders through the lower section of the property and the riverine thicket is predominately acacia Karoo, offering excellent year round browse and shelter. This is evident in the fact that the farm still has a resident population of bushbuck along with all the kudu. As is typical of these riverine thickets, Pannicum grows prolifically and the current farmer does farm with livestock so this grazing is extensively used. The thicket margins also had a significant quantity of Cenchrus Cillarus, though this too had been chomped short, the grass coverage was evident and would respond well to a period of rest and seeding as part of the stock rotation management. The official sustainable carrying capacity for the area is 1LSU per 14ha.
The rest of the lower lying areas are similar with heavily wooded drainage lines converging on the lowest points. Ground cover in these lower regions is predominately Karoo succulents, with the density and variety of plant species encountered evident of a healthy Biome. As one climbs in altitude, the ground cover starts to change, with more and more grass species becoming evident. There were bands of setaria, significant stands of digitaria Smutsii and Eriantha, cynodon on the areas where stock had been concentrated, but the predominant grass species here appeared to be aristida. In the main, the veld was healthy. Browse at lower altitudes is likewise good, with the dotted Jacket plums, Boscias, Scotias, Guarri and Rhus so typical of this “Karoo woodland” plus healthy stands of Karee along the drainage lines. As one climbs in altitude the various slopes are generally well covered in Spekboom, Jacket plums, Boscias, Scotias, Guarri and Wild Olive. Towards the southern boundary it is evident that Spekboom in particular was hammered at some stage, probably around the turn of the 20th century; however, there is still Spekboom in significant quantity and particularly to the north on the smaller of the two titles.
Game
There are a lot of naturally occurring kudu on the property and a healthy population of bushbuck. Likewise Mountain Reedbuck, Duiker and Steenbok are resident on the property. The neighbours stock the full spectrum of game species including gemsbok, eland, blue and black wildebeest, hartebeest, waterbuck, nyala, springbuck and zebra, and there is absolutely no reason why one could not do the same here.
Rainfall / water
The farm falls in the summer rainfall belt and expects an annual rainfall of 280mm / annum. Interestingly, the elevated grasslands to the eastern extremity receives +- 310mm / annum.
There are 2 earth dams on the property, and only 1 of them still had water during my winter visit since some water is pumped into this dam using a nearby borehole.
Improvements
The main homestead flows nicely and has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, open plan lounge and dining room, entertainment room with built in braai plus bar, office/study, large farmhouse kitchen and a large 2nd kitchen/utility room.
The flat or “hunters cottage” adjoins the back of the main house and it sleeps 10. This flat has 3 bedrooms, a full bathroom plus a separate toilet as well as a kitchen and scullery area.
Alongside the flat and main house is an outdoor braai facility which is covered and overlooks the neat swimming pool.
A very novel structure is the small bush camp with its rudimentary but functional amenities.
There is a large shed and workshop facility, with extra storerooms and then a shearing shed.
There is a meat production room with a large cold room complete with blast cooler as well as adjacent storerooms.
In addition there are 3 laborers cottages.
The water infrastructure is well developed. There are 9 boreholes: four of which are equipped with windmills and then four with solar plus 1 mono pump. The boreholes vary in depth from +- 20m to 45m and the water quality is great. Water storage is by way of a combination of concrete reservoirs and “Jojo” tanks and the abundance of water is well utilised for irrigating a few small lands around the homestead which totals approximately 2ha.
The farm is fully enclosed by a 22km perimeter fence with 60% being 2.4m game fence and then the balance is stock fencing. There is also a series of internal camps (11 large camps) all with their own water points.
The road infrastructure is comprehensive enough and well maintained. It is however, by virtue of the topography and geology, definitively 4x4 country as one climbs out from the relatively flat basin and into the surrounding hills.
Power is supplied by a 10kW inverter connected to a 48 volt system plus there are two lister engines for a backup supply.
Conclusion
At the risk of over laboring the point, I cannot overemphasis the advantages this region has in terms of safety. For example: absentee landlords in this area have left valuables such as solar panels on pumps without anything ever going missing. I would challenge the rest of the country to make the same claim. Add to this the earlier comment about being able to see 360 degrees of totally unspoiled wilderness and you would narrow the above claimants even further. Throw in some of the better game country in the region and some truly breathtaking topography and scenery, and you have a very attractive lifestyle and game farming opportunity indeed.
Price R 9. 95 million plus Vat at the applicable rate.
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