PRICE : R 6 300 000 – Full title, serviced land; Including VAT and transfer costs
Old fig trees seem to breathe benevolence and grace. This one has fed monkeys and men, green pigeons and trumpeter hornbills, for decades, maybe centuries. It is the heart and focus of the site, surrounded by an exuberant thicket of Acacias, Crow berry, silver Dombeya and a dozen other fruiting trees. A basin of hills rise around you, offering security, ease and wonderful views glimpsed fleetingly beyond your woodland hideaway. Overhead bee-eaters call, and a puff-backed shrike whistles from higher up the slope. Ancient grind stones confirm that this has been man’s home from time immemorial.
The site lies on a south-west facing foot-slope, overlooking the headwaters of Hyslop’s Creek. It is a fairly flat, rectangular site dominated by a great Sycamore Fig in the centre and covered entirely with slim young trees typical of dry bushveld thicket. This is a natural dwelling site with ready evidence of its human history. Occupied certainly in the last 100 years it shows signs of both human and livestock presence. Building and grinding stones litter the ground and the unusual tree growth indicates soil fertility associated with old cattle kraals.The well shaded site allows for limited views through the surrounding trees over the Acacia savannah of the valley floor to the slopes of the Saddleback range on the high horizon. These may be enhanced by judicious pruning and landscaping. A wooded drainage line crosses the western edge of the site providing access for forest birds and bushbuck. Kudu patrol the bush clumps in search of browse.
The well shaded site allows for limited views through the surrounding trees over the Acacia savannah of the valley floor to the slopes of the Saddleback range on the high horizon. These may be enhanced by judicious pruning and landscaping. A wooded drainage line crosses the western edge of the site providing access for forest birds and bushbuck. Kudu patrol the bush clumps in search of browse.
Building here will require skill and care, primarily to avoid damaging the roots of the venerable old fig. To optimize retaining cover and shade, with selective access to distant views, modular construction, connected with walkways would suit this site. The same style could extend to a raised viewing deck centered around the great fig tree.
This is a sheltered site, warm in winter, with a dazzling variety of tree species, a prominent old Knobwood (Zanthoxylum capense) deserving mention. Access will be from the east, well screened through the thick bush above the site.
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