15 JULY 2020
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Stricter regulations enforced Writer De Waal Steyn
clarity on the new provisions.
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“The regulations now enforce the mandatory wearing of a face mask, which includes a cloth face mask, homemade item, or another appropriate item that covers the nose and mouth, in public and in public places. Any employer, manager or owner of a building used by the public to obtain goods or services, will be responsible if any person enters and remains onsite without wearing a mask. The penalty, should they not take all reasonable measures to ensure masks are worn, is a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment,” she said.
he government moved swiftly on Sunday night to gazette the renewed ban on alcohol sales and reinstatement of a night-time curfew minutes after these announcements were made by Pres Cyril Ramaphosa. Unlike previous regulations that took a few days before being gazetted, government ensured that immediate meant immediate, catching several residents off-guard, with one remarking that despite the stormy conditions she had made an early morning trip just to see if all liquor stores were indeed closed on Monday morning. They were. The new regulations also include a curfew between 21:00 and 04:00 and the legal requirement for citizens to wear face masks in public. Other changes see the taxi industry being allowed to operate at 100% capacity for short-distance travel. For long distances, the industry can operate at 70% capacity. The industry would also need to ensure compliance with the wearing of masks and sanitising passengers, as well as the opening of windows during travel. The president said these measures were necessary as the country remained under Level 3 of the risk-adjusted national lockdown. He said returning to higher levels would have a devastating impact on the economy. On Sunday the country recorded 12 048 new cases and an additional 108 deaths. At the weekend, the Western Cape had a total of 77 476 cases with the Overstrand standing at 1 071. Since the start of the local outbreak in March, some 4 080 people have died from COVID-19, with a quarter of all deaths reported in the last week. Sunday also saw 230 000 new cases of the virus recorded worldwide and South Africa moving into the 10th position in the list of countries with the most infections. On the positive side, South Africa’s case fatality rate of 1.5% is among the lowest in the world. This is compared to a global average case fatality rate of 4.4%. Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Monday gave more
“We have reintroduced the prohibition on the sale, transportation and dispensing of alcohol, because the risks associated with alcohol are far too high and we must limit the pressures on our health care system. When there was an absolute prohibition on the sale of alcohol, the overall number of visits to trauma units in South Africa dropped from 42 700 to approximately 15 000 visits. Following the lifting of the prohibition on the sale, transportation and dispensing of liquor in Alert Level 3, health facilities have seen a substantial rise in alcohol-related trauma injuries and death, resulting in added strain on the capacity of health facilities,” according to Dlamini Zuma. The minister also elaborated on some of the other regulations: Parks can now be used for exercising but beaches will remain closed. The prohibition of social gatherings such as visitation to families and friends stays in place, and no social gatherings other than funerals are permitted. Interprovincial travel will also again be subject to obtaining a permit. The use of accommodation (such as hotels, bed and breakfasts, lodges) for leisure activities is prohibited. “At this stage we can only permit the use of such establishments for persons travelling for business purposes or where these facilities are used for quarantine or where there are remaining tourists. The establishments must also maintain a record of patrons,” she said.
Mike Fabricius from the Grootbos Foundation captured this beautiful photograph of a Boomslang hatchling on a Protea obtusifolia. Despite being one of the most venomous snakes in our region, this snake is thankfully very passive and reluctant to bite. Boomslang should be a welcomed guest to any garden, but are best left alone. The Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy, driven by the Grootbos Foundation, consists of 45 landowners from Stanford to Gansbaai and inland towards Baardskeerdersbos. The focus of the conservancy is research, conservation land-use practice and linking protected areas with an ecological corridor network for movement of wildlife, pollinators and seed dispersers. PHOTO: Mike Fabricius
Let us know what you need and we will gladly try to accommodate you! Call William for more info
T: William Jackson (owner) 083 380 3943 A: 2 Mimosa Street, Hermanus (where DJ Transport used to be)
MIMOSA CENTRE
Newly-built workshop units to let at the Mimosa Centre in Hermanus Industria from a minimum size of 120m². Units come with their own bathroom facilities. Fully secured with electric fencing and 24-hour camera surveillance. The Centre is exceptionally tidy and newly-paved with ample parking.
CURRENT TENANTS AT MIMOSA CENTRE
J.A Steelworks T: 082 824 4854 E: jasteelwork@gmail.com
Panel Beaters & Spray Painters
J.S
Glass & Aluminium
Custom Den T: 028 312 3288 E: fanie@customden.co.za J.S Glass & Aluminium T: 083 745 3276 E: jsglass112@gmail.com R&D Panelbeaters T: 067 767 2290 E: rdpanelbeaters@gmail.com
Primwood T: 028 284 9000 E: info@primwood.co.za
Blazing Fire & Ice T: 066 370 9873 E: blazingďŹ re.za@gmail.com
Hermanus Skips T: 082 783 5904 E: praxos.hermanus@gmail.com
15 July 2020
www.thevillagenews.co.za
Stormwater system upgrade underway T
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Local appointed CEO for Fine & Country S
he contractor appointed by Overstrand Municipality for the upgrade of the stormwater system in Hermanus, Meyer Beton Siviele & Boukontrakteurs, has presented a summary of the proposed programme, with the proposed phases and duration of each phase. Clarification regarding road closures and access to pedestrians was also provided to the owners and landlords of those businesses that are directly affected by the upgrade during a meeting held in the CBD in June.
Dirkie Uys and High Street, along with some 12m of sewer pipe. This is being done to facilitate traffic flow while Main Road is to be closed to traffic, and subsequently allow for a new sewer line to be installed in High Street. Phase 1 (End August to February 2021) Industrial Area: Attenuation pond with stormwater line will be installed up Prellewitz Road, and down to collect stormwater in Mimosa Street. Clearing of topsoil will start in July.
This follows outgoing CEO Linda Erasmus' appointment as International Ambassador for the property group.
The project includes the upgrading of the stormwater infrastructure in Main Road, Marine Drive and High Street, as well as the revitalisation of High Street. Stormwater upgrades will also be implemented in Mimosa and Prellewitz Streets in the Industrial Area.
Phase 2 (End July/Beginning August to January 2021) Sewerage, continuing from the intersection at Dirkie Uys Street & High Street and stormwater the length of High Street, from Beach House Interiors up to Tutamen. The opening/locating of existing services started during June.
“Stephen and I worked together at Seeff Property Services when he was the Financial Director, responsible for financial management, forecasting and scenario simulation. In an ever-changing world and with the growth of the company, where strategic planning and dealing with an international board forms part of the CEO’s activities, Stephen will fill this position with ease,” said Erasmus.
tephen de Stadler, Managing Director of Fine & Country Hermanus, Arabella and Kleinmond, and regular contributor to the My Home page in the Village NEWS, has been appointed as the new CEO of Fine & Country South Africa.
The construction will be implemented in phases, which will limit the disruption to those businesses that will be most affected by construction. The contractors will work on one section at a time in order to accommodate the businesses as much as possible. This is how it will work:
Phase 3 (July to February 2021) Upgrading of High Street as per the CBD Regeneration document: • Area 1 - End November to January 2021 • Area 2 - January to February 2021 • Area 3 - End July to end November 2020
Phase 1 (June to November 2020) Construction will start at the Marine Drive parking area in front of the Hamewith apartment building, and extend through the property onto Main Road in front of Pappin and Pretorius Optometrists; then down Main Road to Dirkie Uys Street and then up Dirkie Uys Street to High Street.
Vehicular and pedestrian access will be available to businesses and residents. The business owners, landlords and residents of Hermanus will be kept updated for the duration of this project. For any additional enquiries, contact Public Liaison Officer Robyn Diederichs on 028 312 1092/3 or postnet@hermanus.co.za for more information.
Speaking on how he intends to grow the Fine & Country brand moving forward, Stephen said South Africa has a myriad of real estate agents, but the mantle of being a premium real estate concern is limited to only a few. “Fine & Country has a truly international base, and therefore an undoubted ability to provide superior local and international exposure. My vision is to establish the brand as the firstchoice premium brand in South Africa. This will be accomplished by fully incorporating the local operations into the global network and providing them with the tools required of a modern-day estate agency.”
Whilst working in Marine Drive, a sewer manhole will be constructed in the intersection of
Visit www.thevillagenews.co.za to see a bigger version of the below phasing graphic.
Jon Cooke, Global CEO of Fine & Country, said they are excited about Stephen’s appointment
Stephen de Stadler and the vision he has for Fine & Country South Africa. “The calibre of his business experience and Linda’s exemplary real estate sales record in South Africa are a winning combination for the brand, and I believe Stephen is the ideal person to steer it into the next phase of its growth. We are confident that the brand is in good hands.” In conclusion, Stephen said: “I am genuinely excited to be given this opportunity to ensure that world-class service is delivered to my country. As South Africans, we are stronger together, and as part of the Fine & Country family we are even stronger together.”
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15 July 2020
Mother, daughter and Oskar - a winning team LEFT: Perfect partners: Daughter Lizanne Olivier and Mom, Sanmarie Swanepoel together run pocket-sized Oskars, one of the busiest bakeries and coffee shops in town. PHOTO: Elaine Davie
Writer Elaine Davie
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one of us had the faintest clue about how to run a coffee shop or restaurant; we just muddled along and learnt on the job,” confesses Sanmarie Swanepoel (the mother) of Oskars Café and Bakery. “Actually, all we knew about food was that we loved it,” adds Lizanne Olivier (the daughter), with a laugh. And what about Oskar? Well, it turns out Oskar was more of an inspiration than an actual person, but like some of the other apparently random ideas of this creative family, it was definitely a winner. A mother of four, Sanmarie had always cherished the dream of owning her own guesthouse and coffee shop, so when she and her pharmacist husband decided to retire to Hermanus from Bronkhorstspruit, she saw her chance. The guesthouse came first, but as soon as it was well and truly established, she felt it was time to fulfil the second part of her dream.
When she heard of a vacant shop in the Quarters Hotel near Lemm’s Corner in Harbour Road, she decided to take the plunge, with the parttime assistance of her daughters, Lizanne and Ilana, who were both living in Cape Town. The venue was tiny; good enough, though, to test the waters and learn the necessary skills. But now, what to call it? They tossed various possibilities around, but none seemed right. Well, said Lizanne eventually, I’ve always thought if I had a baby boy, I would call him Oskar. And that, they all agreed, sounded just right – so Oskars it became. That it was the perfect choice was confirmed when they heard that local writer and teacher, Oskar Prozesky had developed the Hermanus Photographic Museum just round the corner, and even more so when they learnt that the owner of the small clothing boutique which had preceded them in the premises had had a cat which she brought to work each day. Its name, of course… Oskar. All this happened 11 years ago and in that
CIRCLE: Oskars and its delicious goodies can be found at Station Square opposite Woolworths in Hermanus. PHOTO: Supplied
time, Oskars has had four reincarnations – the second, on the opposite side of Harbour Road; then in the Village Square where the old Mugg and Bean had been – each shop a bit bigger than the one before – and finally, opposite Woolworths in Station Square, this time reversing the trend, to smaller is better. In the meantime, Lizanne had married and she and her husband had moved to Hermanus, while Ilana had remained in Cape Town, deciding to devote herself full-time to her career as an art designer. In 2014 Lizanne formerly joined Sanmarie as a partner and they have jointly run the business ever since. “Luckily,” laughs Sanmarie, “we get on very well, apart from the occasional mother-daughter spat, but truth to tell, we complement each other.” When they sold the business in the Village Square in 2017, which had become just too big to handle comfortably, they decided enough was enough; it was time to shake off this responsibility. Lizanne had two small children by then and Sanmarie and her husband wanted more time to travel. But as fate would have it, they suddenly heard that the small shop opposite Woolworths was available. Mother and daughter looked at each. “Okay, let’s go for it, but just for three years,” they agreed. They were taking a chance, of
course; the previous two restaurants there had failed. However, once again, they proved to have a winning formula. Their three-year deadline has passed and they have no desire to opt out. Lizanne is unequivocal: “I just love my job. Every morning when I wake up and get ready for work, I’m excited. There are always new challenges, new opportunities.” Sanmarie concurs. “I’ve been lucky to have travelled all over, especially in Europe and the Far East, as well as having done the Camino, twice, and one thing I’ve realised: often it’s not the museums or the churches or tourist traps that you really remember. It’s sitting in a small pavement café or restaurant together with locals, it’s the quality of the food you eat there, the conversations you may have, that’s what stays with you. “In those small, individualised eateries, the owners are involved in every aspect of the business, and apart from excellent service
delivery, they act as unofficial PROs for their countries’ tourism industry. That’s what Lizanne and I try to do at Oskars. We both like people and we want to create an environment where both locals and visitors can relax and have such a good food experience that they will want to come back. “We are a team of 10, some of whom have been with us from the very beginning and they all understand that this is our philosophy. We use only the freshest, most wholesome locally-grown ingredients and we listen to our customers’ needs.” The delicious, creative lunch-time salads they prepare each day are a good example of this approach, as are their mouth-watering cakes and pastries and the delicious soups available in the winter months. From the beginning, they did their own baking, both of breads and pastries, but as time went by, this aspect of the business grew by leaps and bounds, with many of the other top restaurants and coffee shops in the greater Hermanus area sourcing their breads from them. “As you can imagine, during lockdown this aspect of the business, which accounts for a major proportion of our sales, absolutely crashed,” says Lizanne, “and it’s only now slowly starting to build up again. Of course, like everybody else, the period when we had to suspend all our activities was very difficult, but since first deliveries and then takeaways were permitted, we’ve re-imagined our offering, and our range of ready-cooked, take-away meals is proving to be increasingly popular, all still freshly prepared with the same beautiful ingredients.” So no need for any of Oskars’ regulars to fear that Sanmarie and Lizanne are going to do a duck anytime soon. They’re planning to survive the pandemic, and have all kinds of new ideas bubbling under, until the right moment presents itself. When High Street eventually becomes a cobbled walkway they plan to be right there in the forefront, reaping the rewards.
15 July 2020
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Co.Unity: Come home to your office Writer Hedda Mittner
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O
ur time on earth is finite and we are spending so much of this precious time at the office, or getting to and from the office. All our choices, including where we live and where our children go to school, are determined by where we work,” says Craig Austin, whose brainchild, Co.Unity, opens in Hermanus this week. With all the changes we’ve been forced to make in our professional lives due to the lockdown, Craig’s philosophy of ‘Live where you want, not where you work’ is making a whole lot of sense. Many small businesses have had to give up their offices and employees are adjusting to working from home – something that freelancers and the self-employed have already been doing. Working in isolation, though, does have its challenges – and this is where Co.Unity’s concept of shared working space comes in.
ABOVE: The Co.Unity Café is open to both clients and the public for onthe-go coffee and a bite to eat.
LEFT: Co.Unity offers shared work spaces and private offices without the risk, as you only pay for the time you use the space.
The 300m² premises on the corner of Royal and Dirkie Uys Street (previously occupied by Standard Bank) are light, spacious and welcoming. You enter through the Co.Unity Café, where delicious on-the-go coffee is available to clients and the public all day, along with gourmet sandwiches and treats supplied by Rebecca Matthysen of The Eatery. Behind the counter you’ll also find a familiar face – barista Alfred Chinamasa from The Wine Glass.
“We love the ocean and we wanted a different life. We really enjoy living in Hermanus – it is a vibrant, clean and attractive town with good infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and the varsity, and a well-run municipality. But the
The Village NEWS - My Pet Love animals? So do we! Feel free to post pictures of your fur babies, ask questions and post any health and safety tips for our domestic pals... funny memes are also accepted!
The Village NEWS - Living Nature We live in a beautiful part of the Overberg and there is so much to see! Post photos of the beauty around you, talk about clean-ups or environmental causes, or share nature-related stories.
From the coffee shop you enter the shared work space, where you can choose between an open hot desk, a cubicle or a private office. Temperature-controlled at a pleasant 21 degrees, with always-on electricity (they have a back-up generator that immediately kicks in during load-shedding) and unlimited super-fast WiFi, Co.Unity offers a vibrant, safe and convenient hub for the Hermanus business community. “There are so many people working from home now who don’t know about one another and who are all struggling with poor internet connectivity and load-shedding. Our vision is to pull people out of their homes and connect them by creating a hub where ideas are shared and businesses can thrive and grow, bringing revenue into our local community,” says Craig, who hails from Johannesburg and moved to the Overstrand with his wife Sasha two years ago.
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Brothers-inarms: Entrepreneurs Brett and Craig Austin. PHOTOS: Taylum Meyer local economy would be more sustainable if it weren’t so tourist-centric. We should be attracting a lot more of the digital nomads who can live and work anywhere – and what better place is there than Hermanus?” Craig’s partner in the Co.Unity venture is his brother Brett, who is based in Johannesburg, where he runs their software company. He equates Co.Unity with having “an A-grade office without the set-up hassles and without the risk, as you only pay for the time you use the space”. Shared office space is offered through various membership options, ranging from a Day Pass
at R270 (no deposit) for a hot desk in the open area, to a 5-day pass at R1 200 which is valid for 30 days (no deposit), to a private office at R4 500 (deposit required) for a minimum 3-month lease (all packages include VAT and café vouchers). Add-ons include use of the boardroom at R350 per hour, under-cover parking at R750 per month, a virtual receptionist at R250 per month, and quotes on request for evening events. For more information, go to their website, co-unity.co.za or visit their Facebook page. Until their telephone system is installed at the end of the month, Craig can be contacted on 082 576 6328 or craig@co-unity.co.za
The Village NEWS - What's Cooking The Overstrand has so many amazing restaurants, wine farms and markets available to locals and visitors. Share events, food photos, positive reviews of a restaurant you ate at or ask members for advice on places to visit.
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15 July 2020
FROM THE EDITOR
Let us show grace under pressure The next edition of The Village NEWS will be available on 22 July 2020. The NEWS can be found at over 300 distribution points in the Overberg.
De Waal Steyn PUBLISHING EDITOR E: dewaal@thevillagenews.co.za T: 083 700 3319
No matter who you are, the last few months has put all of us under an undue amount of pressure. Wondering where your next meal will come from, whether your business will survive, how you will make the payment on your house, your car or for your children’s education, places us in a state of continuous anxiety which is not only unnatural but also unhealthy. Weeks before the lockdown started, we smiled at the few random individuals walking around with a mask.
Hedda Mittner
E: hedda@thevillagenews.co.za T: 083 645 3928
ONLINE EDITOR E: raphael@thevillagenews.co.za T: 074 125 5854
Elaine Davie SUB-EDITOR & JOURNALIST E: elaine@thevillagenews.co.za T: 084 343 7500
Taylum Meyer PHOTOGRAPHER & PRODUCTION MANAGER E: taylum@thevillagenews.co.za T: 084 564 0779
Charé van der Walt MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE E: chare@thevillagenews.co.za T: 082 430 1974
Nickey Jackson MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE
And how has it not changed? Nowadays a simple visit to the shop is filled with anxiety and fear. We scowl at those not wearing a mask and very seldom do we now smile behind our own masks. No, we are focused on getting on with the task at hand. Concentrating on not touching any
find that even the most innocuous remark can elicit a tirade of negative comments.
unsafe surfaces and ensuring social distancing from those around us. Everyone else has become suspicious: Who have you been in contact with? Do you have a fever? Was that a cough or were you just clearing your throat? These have become our default settings when meeting other people outside the safety of our own home. The result of this is that we have become anxious, fearful, angry, sad, and frustrated. Simply look at your social media feed and you will
The experts tell us that the first step in breaking this cycle is for us to recognise and admit our feelings. Making what we feel known to those around us. This, together with mindfulness will allow us to work out how we can handle the situation with grace, kindness, and compassion.
This is the Good NEWS - Ed
Galactic Archaeology and Coincidental Conundrums
CONTENT EDITOR
Raphael da Silva
Do you still remember the memes of people with plastic bags over their heads or an improvised mask made from cooldrink bottles? Boy, did we have a good laugh!
By Murray Stewart murray.stewart49@gmail.com
L
evel 3 of the lockdown strategy is being gently implemented, and with facial disguises and social distancing, we can now at least chat mask-to-mask, albeit rather muffled and eerily distant. But that shouldn’t stop you telling everybody some often unknown facts. Cosmic Anthropology Flying saucers have been joked about for over 70 years. Snide comments about them lurk in the same sewers as Elvis sightings, the fake moonlanding and Tretchikoff paintings – accompanied by sniggers and sneers. Well, if anyone’s been listening, things have recently turned 180 degrees. But let’s first go back a bit – not 70 years but around 70 000. Before cynical jabs about aliens were even contemplated, cave dwellers and early civilisations across the globe depicted them quite clearly in their paintings and sculptures. They weren’t being cynical. They drew what they saw, and they drew the same in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Coincidence? Ancient holy scripts from most deities around the world have based their
beliefs and foundations on one common concept – visitations and interactions with the gods or messengers of God. Most people accept therefore that ‘sky-gods’ from above were a reality. For thousands of years though, interest in unidentified flying objects wasn’t really of major concern to most – until 1947. After the Roswell crash and the botched handling of its cover-up, the Pentagon acted swiftly. Tailors fitting out the contingent of new and very real Men in Black had their work cut out for them. Covert security teams and black-ops sleuths smothered any incoming ET-related material. This all under the guise of homeland security, of course. (Cold War/ Ruskies?) With hundreds of reports of sightings/encounters/abductions streaming in, the government knew that if this information was leaked or released too quickly, there would be anarchy. People would realise that these things were real, and we really had no control over them. Not what the population needed to know. So they created a three-pronged strategy. Firstly, within the Department of Defence, a task team was formed to contain and handle all
UFO cases. Its main object was to disprove/ridicule/deflect/cover up these events.
acknowledge and accept its existence – and another intelligent life-form.
Secondly, they encouraged the lampooning of the very idea of alien beings, and published farcical stories in newspapers, so believers were cast into the loony bin of fantasy and make-believe. Apart from cartoons though, sci-fi movies flourished unfettered among creative forward-thinkers, and some gadgets/ concepts/devices from those oldschool intergalactic fiction-flicks, are workable realities today. And thirdly, if you knew too much and had a loose lip, you’d be visited by a couple of real Men in Black. Their terse message was to zip it, or nobody would ever hear from you again. Now, after decades of cover-ups, on 29 April 2020, the Pentagon admitted that they’d analysed and released three videos taken by US Navy pilots, “of intelligently-controlled airborne objects not apparently made by humans”. In other words, space-crafts with something intelligent inside from somewhere else in heaven, here to visit us (again) – like in ancient times. Although they call it an “Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon”, they finally
So now we have the answer to at least one of life’s burning questions. One all the ancient texts have described, and one we’ve been conditioned to forget. The answer has always been no, we’re not alone. Aliens are real. So get used to it humbly and remember: from now on, snide remarks about flying saucers will only come from the unenlightened or stubborn (Latin: ignoratum obstinatius). Premonitions Herb Greenhouse, in his book Premonitions, observes an interesting coincidence worth sharing. Lincoln was elected in 1860; Kennedy in 1960. Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy, and the Kennedy secretary was a Lincoln. Both men were shot in the head on a Friday, next to their wives. Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and ran into a warehouse, while Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and skedaddled into a theatre. Booth was born in 1839 and Oswald in 1939. Each was killed before being tried. Both Lincoln and Kennedy foresaw their own deaths. Snaaks, nè?
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LAST WEEK'S TOTAL CASES:
TOTAL CASES AS OF 13 JULY 2020: WORLD: 13 134 673 SOUTH AFRICA: 276 242 (10th in the world) WESTERN CAPE: 78 548 - 2367 deaths (28.43% of total cases in South Africa) OVERBERG: 2 062 (817 active cases)
OVERSTRAND: 1 071 (389 active cases) Overstrand breakdown of cases not available at time of print
(6 JULY) WORLD: 11 638 986 SOUTH AFRICA: 196 750 (16th) WESTERN CAPE: 69 982 OVERBERG: 1 363 OVERSTRAND: 739
OVERSTRAND
LOCKDOWN LEVEL:
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www.thevillagenews.co.za
15 July 2020
LET'S TALK Healthy and robust debate are crucial for democracy. The Village NEWS firmly believes in freedom of the press as well as the right of individuals to freely express themselves, as long as they don’t infringe upon the rights of others. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors therefore do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Village NEWS. Letters may be shortened and/or edited for clarity and style. Enjoy our paper. Send your letters to dewaal@thevillagenews.co.za.
67 Minutes for Mandela The councillor of Ward 3, Kari Brice, invites all residents to join in a celebration of Mandela’s life by spending 67 minutes at the Hermanus Cemetery on Mandela Day, Friday 17 July at 11:00.
Whale Coast Conservation (WCC) presents a Zoom Webinar on Wednesday 15 July at 18:00, explaining its concerns about the Hermanus Bypass through Fernkloof Nature Reserve.
Much has been done to upgrade and beautify this once forlorn and degraded space by local resident, Melanie Moore, with much assistance from the Overstrand Municipality. Come and give a hand by cleaning up the cemetery, pulling out weeds, planting succulent vygies and painting the crosses that have been installed on the unmarked graves. Plants will be provided, but please
bring whatever you may have of the following: a small spade, garden gloves, clippers, black bag, white paint and paint brush. The wearing of face masks is compulsory and
social distancing and legal grouping procedures will be adhered to. No donations requested. Contact Cllr Kari Brice for further information 083 650 4206.
Municipality urges patience The Hermanus rates hall of the Overstrand Municipality is currently open, but short-staffed due to several officials who have tested positive for Covid-19 and others who have to self-isolate and cannot be at work. The municipality therefore asks the public to be patient as service will be a bit slower than usual. The Hermanus traffic offices, which have had to close temporarily a number of times due to infections and the need for decontamination, has reopened again (at the time of going to print). For driver’s licences, motor vehicle licences and vehicle testing, the Hermanus Traffic Department is open from 08:30 – 13:00 and again from 13:45 – 16:00 (not 16:30 as
Join WCC for webinar on bypass
previously stated). The vehicle testing station is also open on Saturdays from 08:00 – 12:00 and the licensing and registration office is open on Saturdays from 08:00 – 13:00. Although the traffic offices are only working at 50% capacity, the municipality remains committed to service delivery. All personal protective equipment, strict hygiene safety protocols and other precautions are in place. Please note that only 50 people per day will be allowed to renew motor vehicle licence discs for vehicles and/or the registration of vehicles, and only 50 people per day will be allowed to renew driver’s licences and/or professional driving permits (PrDP). A maximum of 20 vehicles per day will be tested for roadwor-
thiness. Unfortunately the Kleinmond and Gansbaai licensing and registration offices remain closed until further notice. The municipality encourages residents to make use of electronic funds transfer (EFT) to make payment whenever possible. Hermanus residents can contact 028 313 8031 to ascertain the correct amount due before making an EFT payment. Always use your car licence number as reference number. Residents are reminded that Overstrand libraries remain closed at this time. The public should continue to drop their books and other library materials (sealed in bags with their membership detail) in the bins/ boxes placed at the entrances to the respective libraries.
“We object to the bypass on principle. The principle of protected areas is under attack at a time when we need unspoilt wild places more than ever,” says Anina Lee of WCC. “Fernkloof is a tiny nature reserve, but it’s a highly biodiverse part of our Cape Floral Kingdom – and a special part of our town. This road threatens to separate the people of Hermanus from their beloved reserve and make it even smaller.
“It is essential that we, the public, should make our voices heard – again. The WCC webinar aims to keep the public abreast of the main issues and to make it easy for everyone to get involved. We have a limited time – until the end of August – to make our final comments and to save our reserve. Please join us on Wednesday 15 July at 18:00 by registering at https:// us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/ WN_HowKitSRSqCklF_wwLUEoA If you have any pressing questions you would like the panel to address during their discussion of the Bypass proposal, please email them to anina. wcc@gmail.com.
Green fingers create Madiba magic The vision of the Franklin Ohana Food Garden, located behind the Overstrand Care Centre in Church Street, Hawston is to establish a vibrant community garden to strengthen food security, create work opportunities, advance skills training and build community engagement. The enthusiastic and committed garden team, comprising young and old from the community, has already embarked on the establishment of this 1 000m² food garden by clearing and tilling the land, creating a compost heap and planting beds of vegetables. Project Manager Melun Jeptha, together with Carolyn Martin of Creation
Wines and Ann Wright of Hermanus Rotary now invite everyone to contribute their 67 minutes of magic to help them achieve their goal of a sustainable community food garden that will allow each household to grow its own vegetables and to swap produce. Join them on 17 and 18 July! Here’s what you can bring: Vegetable seedlings (cabbage, onions, spinach, peas, green beans, cauliflower, garlic, broccoli, celery and tomato) or herbs (coriander, sage, mint, basil, dill, thyme). Other items that are needed include water tanks, three garden gates and compost. If you'd like to lend a helping hand, please contact Ann on 083 307 0726 or annwright@telkomsa.net
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MY WELLNESS
Airborne transmission of Covid-19
W
ith ongoing research around the world on the novel Coronavirus that causes Covid-19, new evidence keeps coming to light about how the virus is transmitted, how it affects those who are infected, how best to treat the disease, and what long-term damage is suffered by those who do recover. Perhaps the most important of these is the aspect of transmission – and understanding exactly how people are becoming infected with Covid-19 – as this would inform decisions made in the everyday lives of people that could help prevent infections. Although little was known about this particular virus when it first started spreading around the globe at the beginning of the year, word from the World Health Organisation (WHO) was that Covid-19 is a respiratory disease that is primarily spread by small droplets through person-to-person contact. These respiratory droplets were
heavy enough to fall to the floor pretty quickly, the WHO said, which meant that transmission could only occur if an infected person sneezed or coughed close to you, or if you touched a contaminated surface and transferred the virus by touching your face. This is what all the hand-washing, mask-wearing and social distancing recommendations were based on. So far, so good – and those three things remain the most important safety precautions that should be practised by everyone. However, scientists were baffled by the many examples of outbreaks that were occurring in specific settings, such as hospitals, churches, offices, conference centres, casinos, restaurants and bars. What was it about these venues that turned them into so-called ‘super-spreaders’ of the disease, even among people who had not been in direct contact but were in fact halfway across the room from an
infectious person? Recently, 239 scientists from 32 countries presented a growing body of evidence to the WHO that Covid-19 can be spread through airborne transmission. This means that the virus is not only present in droplets but also in aerosols, which are much smaller and can float in the air over several metres. This has led the WHO to issue a new scientific brief on coronavirus transmission last week. "There have been reported outbreaks of Covid-19 reported in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking, or singing," the WHO states in its new guidelines. "In these outbreaks, aerosol transmission, particularly in these indoor locations where there are crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces where infected persons spend long periods of time with others, cannot be ruled out."
University of the Witwatersrand Professor Shabir Madhi told eNCA last week that airborne transmission of Covid-19 is a reality and has been underestimated. He said previously the focus was around the notion that patients are infected when coming into contact with contaminated surfaces, but that has since changed. “Unfortunately, more recently, based on a number of experiences, what we term as super-spreader events suggest there is a fair amount of airborne transmission taking place. “There are two parts to it, but the part we are referring to now is extremely small micro-droplets that are suspended in the air for a reasonable period of time. People who are in that vicinity, especially when the area is poorly ventilated, might inhale those contaminated micro-droplets and that could cause an infection,” Madhi said. He warned that it is now more import-
ant than ever for everyone to wear masks, especially in an indoor space with poor airflow, as micro-droplets pose a risk of exposure beyond 1 to 2 metres by an infected person. The recommended measures to mitigate airborne transmission include avoiding crowded spaces and providing sufficient and effective ventilation (open windows to let in outdoor air, minimise recirculating air) particularly in public buildings, public transport, workplace environments, schools, hospitals, and care homes for the elderly. Although it is winter now and the weather might not always allow for it, we should all keep in mind that being outside carries less risk than being in an indoor space with other people. - Hedda Mittner SOURCES: timeslive.co.za, businessinsider.co.za, neurosciencenews.com
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MY HOME
Holiday rentals – where to from here? By Stuart Cohen CabinCare Property Management & Project Specialists
H
oliday rental hosts around the country are eagerly awaiting clarity on the state of confusion that exists in this market.
The government’s amended Lockdown level 3 restrictions stated that all hotels and establishments – except accommodation establishments not formally accredited and licensed, such as private homes for paid leisure accommodation – were allowed to open if they are providing accommodation for people travelling for the purpose of business permitted under Level 3, for international tourists who remain in South Africa, or if appointed as quarantine facilities. Therefore, no accommodation establishments are allowed to open for leisure purposes. The point of contention seems to be the reference to “home sharing” which, whilst it was the initial focus of Airbnb when it first started, is certainly no longer the case. Airbnb has become a lot more diverse than that; yet it appears as if our government still does not have a clear understanding of what the likes of Airbnb are all about. According to Wikipedia, Airbnb offers “arrangement for lodging, primari-
ly homestays, or tourism experiences”. The question is: Are these regulations a subtle means to focus on the formal, graded and licensed establishments at the expense of all holiday rental hosts? In times like these, when having a family on their own in one place might be safer than trying to practise social distancing in a hotel, it seems as if the ministry and those opposed to the Airbnb industry are using this to their advantage and trying to justify why it shouldn’t continue to exist. The official response from the Airbnb SA team is that the regulations sound confusing and that they have reached out to the ministry to provide some clarification. “If we take the grim view of what we are seeing then it’s possible that the government is asking the majority of Airbnb hosts not to host and we think that’s unfair. How can a hotel open and not a self-catering accommodation option, for example? From a health perspective that’s difficult to explain.” On Thursday 9 July Airbnb’s SA representatives had a meeting with the representative from the Department of Tourism and the only feedback we have received at the time of writing is that there is “no change” to the regulations as currently stated. The only positive aspect is that Airbnb were not asked to shut down
the booking platform, as happened in the UK over Easter and in Hawaii, amongst others. So listings remain bookable but only for business and not leisure travellers. One cannot but wonder how much of this is also driven by the ongoing issues that graded establishments and hotels have with the entire Airbnb, booking.com and the rest of the online booking portals. Social media is awash with comments for, and against, the existence of “ungraded or homebased” rental facilities. Yet spend some time researching and you will quickly see how many graded and formally accredited establishments have also listed their accommodations on many of the online platforms which the naysayers are supposedly against. The reality is that the days of being able to afford the higher costs of staying in hotels or graded establishments are over for many local travellers, and will be for some time to come. International travellers always have the exchange rate benefit, so cost is not a driving factor for them. For now, however, the focus can only be on attracting SA-based travellers. Besides the ‘local’ experience of staying in self-catering accommodation, which is what the Airbnb-type platforms offer, it is absurd to expect holiday rental hosts
to just shut up shop and stop operating. One does not have to be a medical practitioner to know that it is a lot safer for a family group to be staying in one house on their own that staying in multiple rooms in a hotel where the risk of contamination is unquestionably higher. Somehow this logic is lost on so many people. Whilst many do agree that regulation of the informal holiday-rental industry should happen, the government made a half-baked attempt to do so at the end of 2018 and to date there has been more dust and hype about this than anything else. If regulations are going to succeed to satisfy all parties, they will certainly need to be properly debated and articulated, as has been done in many countries around the world, and with sensible and appropriate input from Airbnb’s own experience of working with governments on a global scale. In the meantime, the hard-hit accommodation sector in the Overberg continues to try and survive daily. Proof of the carnage is clearly visible in the huge increase in the number of Airbnb properties that are now available for long-term rentals and the increase in the number of houses for sale. This is certainly a trying time for all in this sector and one can only hope that common sense will prevail, sooner rather than later.
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15 July 2020
‘Kids won’t remember their best day of television’ Writer Hedda Mittner
A
s parents we often lament the fact that our children do not play outside the way we used to while growing up,” says Kobus Stofberg of Dusty Feet. “But the reality is that it’s not safe for children to be left playing outside on their own, and parents who are working long hours don’t always have the time to invest in family activities. The result is that kids are unfortunately missing out on experiencing the great outdoors.” This is the gap that Dusty Feet strives to fill by offering an outdoor educational programme like no other. “Children have a need to explore and discover, and they have a hunger for knowledge and new experiences,” says Kobus. “Targeted at children and families, our small, intimate excursions give youngsters the opportunity to discover and explore nature while learning new skills and developing an appreciation of their environment. Dusty Feet’s adventure activities teach them about our local fauna and flora while promoting a healthy lifestyle.”
Outdoor pursuits include hiking, mountain biking, snorkelling, standup paddling and coasteering – a relatively new term that refers to an adventurous exploration of the coastline, including some jumps, gulley-crossing swimming and rock-climbing. MTB training is also offered to youngsters from 10 years and up, learning the basics and gaining confidence on a custom-built training track before heading onto the trails of Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Especially now during the pandemic, when all school sports have been suspended and children are spending more time glued to screens, it seems like the opportune time to encourage them to engage in what Kobus calls ‘lifelong sport’, which can become part of a healthier lifestyle for the rest of their lives. After all, looking back, “Kids won’t remember their best day of television,” says Kobus. Virtual MTB Challenge Series Dusty Feet is now launching its first Virtual MTB Series from 24 July – 2 August. Anyone can participate in this series of challenges/events by simply emailing your Strava file after
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completion of a particular route. Participation will be free of charge, although proof of a valid trail permit (annual/holiday or day) will be required. “Riders can take part in any one of the challenges during the series, or all of them. Those who take part regularly will also receive a series ranking, which will make things all the more interesting. You can participate in your own time, on a solo ride or in a small group with friends and, in accordance with Covid-19 regulations, there will be no gathering of people in one place,” explains Kobus. Dusty Feet will set out a particular route for each challenge, which will be made a Strava Segment, and your time will be recorded. The specific route identified for an event will be announced on the Dusty Feet Facebook and Instagram pages (@ DustyFeetSA). “We will try and use a mix of established routes in the area in order to keep it interesting, and the distance and degree of difficulty will vary. The elite riders will be able to do the
shorter routes with ease, but at pace, while the longer distances and more technical routes will challenge the novice riders. Part of the aim is also for those novices to improve their performance by trying something other than the Blue Route,” says Kobus. “Each challenge in the series will be a circular route, which means the start and finish will be clearly visible to the participants, and will be available for 10 days (two weekends and a week). Riders can complete the route/event as many times as they wish – just enter your best one with us by sharing that ride via email.” All you need to do is to do is to register online at www.dustyfeet. co.za, make sure you have a valid trail permit, complete a route, record it with Strava and email your file, along with your permit number, to mtb@ dustyfeet.co.za. If you share your ride on social media, you’ll be asked to use a few tags and mentions for any
pictures or video in order to thank the sponsors. There will also be a draw for the best social media post. “With no school sports happening at the moment, and most riders not having been unable to take part in any events, this is a fun activity for the whole community, including our top riders,” says Kobus. You’ll find all the details about the different age groups for males and females, from juniors to masters, as well as the different categories for competitors, from Weekend Warriors to Casual Racers to Ek Jaag, at www.dustyfeet. co.za. For serious riders, the ranking and points system for this Virtual MTB Series is also explained on the website. Kobus is appealing to local businesses who would like to become involved and provide sponsorship and prizes, to please contact him on 071 862 1440 or info@dustyfeet.co.za.
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Your all-in-one shopping destination Whale Coast Mall is a convenience shopping centre in the heart of Hermanus. With over 80 tenants, it is a diverse shopping hub comprising all your favourite stores. Ample parking space, at no charge, adds to its attraction. What makes the mall special, apart from its award-winning design, is the people who frequent and do business here. Whale Coast Mall has become a small community of people who share their daily struggles and celebrate their triumphs. In a time fraught with uncertainty, Whale Coast Mall has implemented a number of measures to ensure that our valued customers (often our best allies and friends) can do their shopping in a safe and convenient environment. With this in mind, we would like to assure our customers that we take their well-being to heart at all times. If they have any suggestions, queries or compliments, we would like to invite them to send them to gconradie @broll.com or call us on 021 476 0994. We have an open-door policy, so we would love to hear from you!
Main Rd, R43, Sandbaai, Hermanus “At the entrances, security guards greet you warmly and check that your mouth and nose are covered before allowing you to enter. Once inside, you are asked to clean your hands with the provided sanitizer. Marked stickers on the oor lead you into the bigger shops and are strategically placed to ensure social distancing. The cleaning sta are constantly cleaning elevator buttons, escalator handrails and toilets, making you feel safe while doing your shopping." – Local Customer
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15 July 2020
MY ENVIRONMENT
Aspirin – nature’s wonder drug One low-dose aspirin a day can cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It prevents blood clots by stopping platelets from clumping together. It is reported to also reduce the incidence of colon cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer. It may protect against other cancers too. All diabetics are recommended to take a low-dose aspirin daily to reduce the effects of the condition on the blood vessels. The drug also reduces mental decline in people with some types of dementia.
By Dr Anina Lee
A
spirin has variously been described as “the most remarkable drug the world has ever seen”, “one of the astonishing inventions in history”, and “one of the most endurably successful commercial products of all time”.
Does it have side effects? Yes. About 6% of people suffer stomach upsets, nausea and vomiting. In some, it irritates the stomach lining causing bleeding, which can lead to ulcers.
It is one of nature’s great gifts to mankind.
later that the substance was made illegal.
How was Aspirin discovered? It all began with a willow tree. The ancients on several continents had discovered that the willow's bark reduced pain and fevers when chewed or infused in a drink. Hippocrates, he of the oath, recorded its effect, and the bark continued to be used without greatly exciting the apothecaries until the vicar of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, rediscovered it in texts in 1763.
Luckily for Bayer, Hoffman and Eichengrün had pressed on with their work. It was Eichengrün who first tried the drug on himself and then arranged secret clinical trials in Berlin to demonstrate its efficacy. Eichengrun also coined the name of the new drug. Since salicylic acid could also be obtained from the meadowsweet plant, Spiraea, the name was put at the heart of the new brand name. ‘A’ was added at the beginning for ‘acetylation’, and ‘in’ was tacked on to the end for easier pronunciation.
His parishioners were much troubled with ague (fevers), so he prepared a concoction, fed it to his trusting flock, and was able to present the happy results to the Royal Society. No one, however, knew why willow bark worked. It was only in 1853 that the French chemist Charles Gerhardt identified and synthesised salicylic acid – the active ingredient of willow bark. In 1897 Arthur Eichengrün, a chemist employed by the Bayer company in Germany, gave his younger colleague Felix Hoffman the task of finding a version of salicylic acid that did not have the unpleasant side effects of nausea and gastric pain.
The two chemists patented their drug, sent it out for trials, and this time persuaded Dreser to take it to market. In 1899, Bayer announced the arrival of Aspirin by sending letters and literature to 30 000 doctors in Europe in the drug industry's first mass mail-out. (Incidentally, from 1934 Eichengrün was not recognised by Bayer for his role in the Aspirin story because of his Jewish origin. Instead his laboratory was trashed and he was sent to Auschwitz.)
What Hoffman did was synthesise acetyl-salicylic acid. His boss, Heinrich Dreser, was not impressed. "Not good for the stomach," he said, and put his faith instead in another drug the company was developing. This was diacetyl-morphine. After the workers upon whom it had been tested declared it made them feel "heroic", he registered it under the trademark Heroin – and you would need a fix of the stuff to believe what came next.
Aspirin was also partly responsible for the rise of Rasputin. Tsar Nicholas II's son Alexis was taking it, and Rasputin, appalled at a Western branded medicine being used at the court of St Petersburg, ordered this stopped. He wanted more mystical remedies applied. The effect was instant. The boy was a haemophiliac, and aspirin's then-unknown blood-thinning properties were doing him no good at all. Rasputin's reputation soared as the tsarevich's bleeding improved.
Heroin was marketed by Bayer as a cough soother, especially for babies, and it was only between 1904 and 1907 that serious doubts about it were raised. By then, many morphine devotees were hooked, the less well-off among them funding their habit by selling scrap metal – hence "junkies". It was not until two decades
What does Aspirin do? Why is it called a wonder drug? The first universally available painkiller is still more widely used than any other over-the-counter analgesic. Nearly 50 000 tons of acetylsalicylic acid, its active ingredient, are produced every year – more than 100 billion tablets.
How does aspirin work? Aspirin works by stopping prostaglandins being made. Prostaglandins are hormones. But unlike most hormones, which are produced by glands and transported in the bloodstream to act on distant areas of the body, the prostaglandins are produced at the site where they are needed for dealing with injury and illness. They cause inflammation, pain and fever as part of the healing process. For example, when a blood vessel is injured, a prostaglandin called thromboxane stimulates the formation of a blood clot to try to heal the damage; it also causes the muscle in the blood vessel wall to contract (causing the blood vessel to narrow) to try to prevent blood loss. All good. Another prostaglandin called prostacyclin has the opposite effect to thromboxane, reducing blood clotting and removing any clots that are no longer needed; it also causes the muscle in the blood vessel wall to relax, so that the vessel dilates. This is a good thing when the body needs to respond to an unwanted clot in a blood vessel. However, this natural response by the body can sometimes lead to excess production of prostaglandins, causing unwanted inflammation. This means that anti-inflammatory drugs like Aspirin, which can block prostaglandin production, can be used to treat conditions such as fever, swelling, pain and arthritis. Since Aspirin blocks the production of thromboxane it can be used to prevent unwanted blood clotting in patients with heart disease. Micro-thrombosis and Covid-19 Covid-19 appears to cause tiny blood clots that can block small blood vessels in the lungs. These ‘micro’ blood clots prevent blood from taking up oxygen from the lungs. This may be a key reason why patients with Covid-19 often
have very low oxygen levels, despite ventilation. Blood clots appear to be associated with a higher risk of dying from Covid-19. Patients with pre-existing conditions that affect blood vessels such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity are known to be more vulnerable to Covid-19. Clinical trials are presently investigating whether anti-clotting medications could be life savers for seriously ill Covid-19 patients. Note that there is no evidence that Aspirin can prevent Covid-19 infection. Aspirin, the world’s most widely-used drug, still going strong after hundreds of years.
WCC Zoom Talk The 4th presentation in WCC’s series of Zoom chats on inspirational nature topics takes place on:
Thursday 16 July at 18:00 Alex van den Heever introduces us to the ancient art of wildlife tracking and explains how the Tracker Academy is creating employment and ecotourism opportunities in rural South Africa. The link to register for the whole zoom series is: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9615926524999/WN_2Aiy4OMwRPS1I9iioP__WQ
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Itchy ears and weepy eyes By Dr Hilldidge Beer
D
oes your dog scratch incessantly at his ear? Does his ear smell bad, or is there a discharge? Itchy ears are a common complaint in dogs, particularly among breeds like Spaniels with their long ears and Labradors that like to swim. If your dog has itchy ears you must get him to the vet as he could be suffering an infection, or have a foreign body lodged in his ear canal. If your dog suffers chronic ear infections, your vet will first determine whether or not he has an underlying allergy which may be the cause. Without identifying and treating the allergy, the ear infections will continue. Never, ever self-medicate It is essential that you never, ever try to treat your dog’s ear at home. Pouring something into your dog's ear could damage his ear drum and permanently damage his hearing, no matter how gentle the home remedy claims to be. Should your vet prescribe medication, he or she
will show you how to use it so that the eardrum is protected. And never, ever use earbuds on a dog. Swollen or 'cabbage' ears Sometimes a dog or cat's ear flap will swell up. Your vet will investigate underlying causes, like ear mites or infection. Surgery is usually prescribed to rid the ear of the blood. If it isn't drained, the ear becomes deformed or 'cabbage-like'. This affects blood flow in the ear and can put the animal at higher risk of infections. Eyes’ right Given how sensitive and important our own eyes are, pet owners often become very stressed if their pets show any signs of eye discomfort yet there are only two serious eye emergencies pet owners need to worry about. They are: if the eye is hanging out of its socket, or if there is a foreign object in the eye. Any other problems must be seen by your vet as soon as possible but they are not considered emergencies. Common eye ailments include: • Corneal ulcer: surface injury to
•
the eye as a result of trauma. It is usually easily treated, unless the pet owner has waited too long to bring the pet for treatment. There is no risk of sight loss. Dry eyes: this is a common problem among dogs that don't produce enough tears. Symptoms include thick, yellow-green discharge. Chronic symptoms can leave scars on the eye, and the dog may go blind unless this condition is treated.
Never, ever self-medicate. You could permanently damage your pet's eyes. The only time you apply ointment or drops to your pets is those that have been prescribed by your vet for that particular ailment. Cats' eyes If a cat has a sore eye or there is discharge, it is usually as a result of a viral infection like snuffles though it is always important to have it checked by your vet so that the correct treat-
ment can be prescribed. As with humans, your pets’ eyes and ears deserve professional attention. Sore eyes and itchy ears can be painful and irritating to your pet and the sooner you have them looked at, the better. Veterinarian Dr Hilldidge Beer is CEO of the EberVet Petcare Group and EberVet Vetshops, www.ebervet.com.
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HEMEL & AARDE VALLEY
R 45 000 000
EPITOME OF EXCLUSIVE AND PEACEFUL LIVING 27.4 Hectare private estate; located in the Hemel & Aarde Valley, where Heaven meets Earth. Boasts an exquisite five en-suite bedroom home and an award-winning wedding venue and conference centre. Retha Snyman van Heerden 082 456 7400 WEB: 1475045
SANDBAAI
R 9 450 000
HEAR, SEE AND SMELL THE SEA A seafront stands offered in the Western part of Sandbaai, an easy walk to Onrus Beach. Ideal location to build your dream home. Jenny Küsel 083 262 7578 WEB: 1381698
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SANDBAAI
R 18 650 000
GRACEFUL HOME WITH QUAINT GRANNY FLAT
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Graceful and with exceptional finishes, this luxurious home offers five bedrooms and bathrooms, a spacious open-plan living room with a pizza oven, a huge braai and indoor bar with a French oak counter. Jenny Küsel 083 262 7578 WEB: 1426150
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