SOLD
Filled with the fragrance of herbs, and the call of black crowned tchagra and emerald spotted wood dove, this place breathes contentment and comfort. So much so that someone quipped, “It’s a womb with a view.” Set in light Acacia veld, the view itself is multifocal. The site faces onto the stream with the opposite hillside beyond. Riverine bush provides a mosaic of leaf colours changing with the seasons. There is the gentle sound of water and a twinkle from the deep shade where sunlight plays on the water riffles. Mountain reedbuck whistle from the ridge above.
The site faces north, located a few meters back from the main headwater stream of Hyslop’s Creek. It lies in open thornveld savanna with two prominent bush-clumps to the rear and a view upstream with a glimpse of sparkling water center stage. Directly east of the gently sloping building site the ground drops away to a small open wetland. Here, to the delight of the local bushpigs, is a miniature flood plain. The swampy ground supports a dense stand of dark green sedge, ‘inchoboza’ in siSwati, popular for mat-making.
The stream flowing openly towards the site is the dominant feature of its foreground. Flowing between a forest patch as a backdrop and the open bowl of the wetland it provides variety and movement integral to the site. The building footprint is gently sloping among small Acacias with a young Kiepersol (Cussonia spicata) placed centrally asking to become a future focus piece. The shielding bush clumps, each with their dominant Kiepersol, provide an amazing variety of fruiting trees; Wild Grape, Red Currant and Buffalo Thorn. The tchagra and the red necked francolin provide the signature tunes of the long grass bushveld.
The close-up variety is echoed up the surrounding hills to the high horizon. Close and forested in front, up the ribs of the Wonderscheur ridge; distant and more imposing in the south up the green and grey ramparts of the Saddleback range. The approach to this site is from the central valley road, well out of sight and entering the site from the rear.
Site Map
