Property Information:
Location: 35 km to Fort Beaufort, 33 km to Adelaide and 58 km from Grahamstown.
Size: 1235,7044 Hectares in total comprising of 2 portions. 12 Hectares of Lands along the banks of the Koonap river. 7 Camps, all with permanent water with 2 bore holes.
Homesteads: There is currently no occupied homestead on Lauderdale (Burghers Drift) , but where the shearing shed sits, is a solid foundation on which one could build their home.
Outbuildings:
There are 4 staff houses in various condition and a three- sided tractor and implement shed near the lands in which to keep machinery out of the elements.
A total of three small stock kraals are situated at various places around the property eliminating the need to move livestock long distances when needing to be
worked.
Services:
Two 3 Phase Eskom Points at two points along the Koonap river allowing for irrigation of the lands from the weirs in the river.
Telkom has no landline to the farm and cell coverage is limited to the high ground.
33 km of fair dirt road to Adelaide.
Vegetation and Estimated Carrying Capacity:
The farm lies on a north facing aspect on the South side of the Koonap valley.
The vegetation for all of the property is described at Double drift Karroid Thicket. These thickets consist of islands of Spek boom, Portulacaria afra, Shepards trees, Boscia albitrunca, Euforbias and various palatable grasses such at Digitaria eriantha, finger grass, and Panicum maximum, Guinea grass.
The ground slopes from a height of 656 m above sea level to the river at 402m above sea level. This higher elevation attracts more moisture than the surrounding areas, allowing it to carry 2 LSU more than the neighbouring properties.
The carrying capacity for this area is officially 12 Ha per LSU, but due to the good condition of the veld it is estimated that the carrying capacity would be closer to 10 LSU per Ha.
There are 12.25 Ha of lands divided into six kidding and lambing camps. This ensures the kids are protected from vermin and the ewes have fresh feed in the driest part of the season. The lands will be planted with annual pasture grasses in autumn and will be available in late winter early spring.
Veld condition is excellent for all but 112 Ha around the old dwelling where there is a bit of sheet and gully erosion.
Currently there are about 110 LSU on the property and the official stocking rate with the lands included is 134 LSU.
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