The final phase has been launched, offering
some stunning bush properties at R849,000
to R1,499,000. There is also a down-to-earth
clubhouse with a farm-style swimming pool.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
In terms of bush development, legislation called
the Development Facilitation Act – a parallel
piece of legislation but different to the normal
Provincial Ordinances – was used to establish
Boschhoek. It was the only way to establish
a full title bush estate as this legislation
enabled them to deal with the Department of
Agriculture’s opposition to the subdivision of
agricultural land. This legislation has since been
removed from the law books, meaning that the
current supply of available bush stands will
be the last, while the demand is continually
conservative maximum game carrying capacity
– particularly useful in years of drought.
‘We brought wildlife back in, changing things
back to nature. By bringing back all the major
nature components and having people share
in it in a limited and responsible way, we have
seen how nature responds by bringing back
all the other little things. We brought in giraffe,
kudu and waterbuck, red hartebeest, impala
and everything that occurred here naturally
except for the dangerous animals like buffalo
and rhino.’
It is amazing to realise that once all the houses
on Boschhoek are built, only around 0.25% of
the estate will be under roof. The rest belongs
to nature.
Camera traps now show evidence of civets,
escalating. This results in a substantial increase MANAGING DIVERSITY in investment value and growth. There is a variety of landscapes on the estate, game, and there are small existing brown hyena
including savanna, mountains, bushveld, a and leopard populations on the farm.
aardvark, porcupine, genets and other small
Boschhoek Mountain Estate also offers a mountain stream and dams, and, with an fractional ownership investment – one of the altitude difference of about 300 metres, there The estate manager, Jandre Higgo, grew up on
stands was developed into a stunning 12-sleeper is a distinct change in vegetation from proteas a farm and is a qualified FGASA nature guide, so
bush lodge with 10 shares at R 350,00 per share, up on the mountain to grassland down on the he is well suited to managing an estate of this
only a couple of which are still available. Every savanna, and bushveld in between. Herbert nature. His can-do attitude combined with the
shareholder has a week every two months (10 tells us that the land was fairly untouched, estate’s ethos of ’n boer maak ’n plan (a farmer
weeks). With the use roster working on a 50- except for the 10% of savanna that was probably makes a plan) makes the day-to-day activities
week cycle, it moves forward every year, giving agricultural farmland at some point. One of their of game management, fence repairs, road
each owner a turn to occupy during peak holiday first priorities was to develop an environmental maintenance, checking water pipes and supplies,
periods. management plan for the estate specifying a and cutting fire breaks in winter a breeze.
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INDUSTRY JOURNAL