Location
The farm is geographically situated in between Steytlerville and Klipplaat.
Size
Made up of 2 titles, the property is 851ha in extent.
Description
The current owner runs the farm as a mixed, small stock / game unit. He is fortunate enough to have an income outside of his farming practice, and as a result, the farm is conservatively stocked and managed.
The farm has a very pleasing diversity of habitat and topography. The extreme southern boundary is into the mountains. This is traversable via a very scenic 4 x 4 road and has some beautifully wooded gorges and slopes, home to an impressive density of kudu and klipspringer. As one moves North, the property flattens out with its riverine stands of acacia Karoo and this part has a short open section (stock fenced) to
encourage the flow of kudu and new genetics so this area is also home to an impressive density of kudu.
Veld types
The farm would be classified as a mix of Karoo scrub, grassland and valley bushveld. For the area there is an impressive density of grass and also a good variety of palatable grass species. These included both Stipagrostis species, cenchrus, Pannicum, digitaria smutsii and Eriantha and healthy stands of setaria. The Karoo woodland here was particularly impressive with a veritable forest of jacket plum, Boscias, guarri and Scotia, as well as thick stands of acacia Karoo along the main drainage lines/riverine belt which itself has impressive stands of Pannicum in the nitrogen rich micro climate this produces.
The mountain slopes are largely North facing and have, in the main a very healthy covering of spekboom. The sheltered drainage lines and sub kloofs have thick forests of indigenous trees. Parts of the farm got hammered at some stage by goats. As is often the case here though, the veld type has changed from rank spekboom to woodland savannah, so while it is irreparably altered, it is not necessarily worse thanks to the improved ratio of grazing versus browse which is now well balanced.
Rainfall / water
The farm falls in a transition predominately summer rainfall area with a mean annual average of 280 mm.
In terms of available water, this property has to rate amongst the best I have encountered in the Karoo. There are a total of 12 earth dams with two of these being of good size. There are a total of 5 functional boreholes and 2 or 3 unequipped boreholes with one tested at 12 000lts per hour which has a nearby reservoir so potential exists to develop irrigation plus there’s a 6ha block of arable land waiting for this. A small half a hectare camp alongside the house is already being irrigated.
The water reticulation around the farm is very impressive, with enough storage tanks and reservoirs to supply water to each camp.
Game species
Game species that are currently on the property include:
Kudu numerous
Kalahari Springbuck +/- 60
2 Springbuck rams from “Mega Springbuck” (top genetics).
Zebra - 8
Blesbuck - 6
Impala +/- 15
Mountain Reedbuck
Warthogs numerous
Duiker and steenbok numerous
Klipspringer
These populations are all well settled and breeding well.
Improvements
The farm has an old shed that was completely renovated into a very tasteful/rustic farm house. It has 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (main en-suite), an open plan kitchen and dining/lounge area, separate scullery, and then a large outdoor boma area that overlooks the large dam complete with viewing deck.
House has a solar system which also runs the fridge. There is also a solar geyser. Plus a 13kW fixed diesel generator and a smaller portable generator.
A new shed was recently completed plus there is a cold room.
In all the farm is divided into 6 internal livestock camps each with separate water points for stock.
The farm is mostly game fenced: 7125m game fenced (63%) and 4220m stock fenced.
There is a handling facility for small stock on the farm.
Conclusion
This farm is ideally suited as an affordable getaway designed around a family that enjoys the outdoors and experiencing nature first hand. The veld is very healthy with minimal parasite load making it a good option for small livestock farming. Alternatively, it also makes an excellent hunting destination with splendid terrain for walk and stalk. It can also work well as a lockup and go farm since the area is very safe and the farm is a good few kilometers away from town on a good gravel road that is used mainly by the surrounding farmers. The topography is varied enough to be very interesting, but remains accessible with only the peaks of the mountains in the extreme South being a bit more tough to access.
Very realistically priced affording great value for money well spent and should prove to be a good lifestyle and property investment.
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