Simbithi Eco-Estate Newsletter October 2023

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Disclaimer: This e-newsletter is produced especially for residents of Simbithi Eco-Estate to provide updates and useful information. It is produced by Fab Creative, on behalf of the Simbithi Eco-Estate. Although every effort is taken to ensure accuracy of content, Simbithi Eco-Estate HOA and/ or the Publisher, cannot be held liable for any inaccurate information, and may not agree with all opinions expressed in this publication.

FroM the General manaGer

Dear Residents,

Now that the rush of AGM-season is behind us, the “new year” begins in earnest. From the team and I, all the best to the new Board; and to our Chairman, Jeff Leaver, SEEHOA

Vice-Chairman, Clive Mc Creadie and EXCO

Vice-Chairman, Frank Bradford. We look forward to working with you.

we are preparing for our first 2023/24 Board and Executive Committee meetings. At these meetings, the Board will view committee recommendations and ratify each committee.

The Board met to allocate portfolios a few weeks ago, and we consequently called for homeowners to volunteer for the 2023/24 cycle of committees, which assist the Board and Management.

Thank you to those who sent CVs through and expressed willingness to serve on a committee. At the time of publishing,

As we communicated in our weekly communication, the environmental department has started restoring the wetland along the 12th fairway. This is in line with our mission to be the pre-eminent residential eco-estate in Southern Africa, as it will ensure a sustainable habitat is maintained for the Pickersgill Reed Frog. Simbithi is, of course, a critically endangered amphibian for which we are a site.

There is also increased activity around the Guineafowl Dam and Rainbird Pools, as we near the last stages of these projects. Thank you for your patience while these major undertakings have

unfolded. Desilting of the Cormorant Dam also began on Monday, and we look forward to the completion in six weeks’ time.

As we head into the fourth quarter, we will be launching a new series of #DidYouKnow videos on responsible pet ownership within Simbithi. The videos will include discussions on why, and how, to register your pet with SEEHOA, and why our rules mandate that all pets must be on a lead when out of property.

Look out for these and let us know what you think. And, as always, if you have suggestions for a #DYK series, please drop us a message on enquiries@simbithi.com and we will put it on our list for discussion.

Have a great month, and hope to see you around the Estate, soon.

Marc Mc Clure

FROM THE Club General Manager

Dear Members,

The deck has been awash with green and gold during the last month, and it has been incredible to watch. Rugby World Cup fever has gripped Simbithi, as is evidenced by the number of ‘Bok jerseys gathered in front of the big screen on game days. As I write this, we are eagerly awaiting confirmation of our boys’ place in the quarter-finals. I hope to see even more of our community in our Boktown as we cheer the Springboks on. We hold out hope that the Webb Ellis comes back to South Africa at the end of the month!

2023, following which we will review the applications and then make a recommendation to the Project Review Committee. We will then seek approval from the Executive Committee. We look forward to sharing more on this exciting project as it unfolds.

Some exciting news from the Club: the tender process for our Masterplan roll-out has commenced. Close-out date is 18 October

We’re getting busier as we approach the festive season, and our team is deep in preparation. Within the next few weeks, our refreshed Fig Tree Restaurant menus should be on your tables when you visit. We have a few new dishes lined up, which we know you are going to enjoy.

Speaking of new, a warm welcome to our recently appointed Events Manager, Thoko Phillips. Thoko recently joined us and is fitting in well with our team. It’s the perfect time to meet her, as you look to plan your year-end closings. We have a range of packages and

FroM the cLuB GeNerAL MANAGer

venues for you to choose from. Pop into the Members’ Service Centre or call 032 946 5409 to chat to Thoko. Also, a hearty congratulations to our resident golf pro, Dane Vosloo, who was recently promoted to Golf Manager. Dane, we wish you all the best in your new role. Continue doing what you do best!

Lastly, we have our Lovely Bubbly Festival on 4 November 2023. It’s going to be a fantastic event, with the best of bubbles from a few leading vendors. And, we have East Coast Radio broadcasting live from the deck for the day – what a treat!

All in all, a busy month for our Club and we hope to see you enjoying the best of what we have to offer.

While we’re on the subject of golf and congratulations, allow me to welcome our new golf committee members elected at the Golf Section Annual General Meeting: Haydn Hillestad, Johan van Rijn, and Greg Smith, who was re-elected. I’m sure our members will support the incoming committee during the next year. Still on golf, thank you for your patience during our golf course improvement. We should start to see the course take better shape now that the soil temperature is up and the growth periods begin.

Have a great month!

Craig Nell

Board of Directors

CONTACT DETAILS

Jeff Leaver: Chairman Director Marketing & Communications board8@simbithi.com

Clive Mc Creadie: Vice-Chairman HOA Director Security board4@simbithi.com

Andrew Mackenzie Director Finance & IT board3@simbithi.com

Louis Boshoff Director Design Review Committee board5@simbithi.com

Gavin Dunlop Director Technical & Maintenance board7@simbithi.com

Lisa Southey Director Human Resources board9@simbithi.com

Margi Lilienfeld Director Environmental board6@simbithi.com

Frank Bradford: Vice-Chairman SCC EXCO Director Simbithi Country Club board2@simbithi.com

John Gowans Director Legal & Appeals board1@simbithi.com

The Board of Directors are your elected representatives who volunteer their time and expertise without remuneration. Approaching a Director should be your last resort.

Welcome,

Scrubhare S !

Recently, our environmental department released two scrubhares at the Tamboti grassland. The male and female join the scrubhare released earlier this year and came to us through our partnership with FreeMe

Wildlife. The newbies have orange tags on their ears: males on the right and females on the left. During the release, we installed two wildlife cameras on site, as these animals tend

Warburgia salutaris

An evergreen, slender tree that grows from five to 10 metres tall. Salutaris is Latin meaning ‘healthful’. The common name, pepper-bark tree, relates to the pungent inner bark that tastes peppery as well as the attractive glossy green leaves that smell of pepper when crushed. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) lists this plant as endangered as the

trees are over-harvested in the wild for traditional medicine, which has caused an estimated 50% decline in the South African population.

The pepper-bark is an attractive tree for both small gardens and big estates and can be planted in full sun or semishade. It is a fairly slow-growing species with a non-aggressive root system.

Mama Abigail from the McWades Landscaping team planting Warburgia salutaris at the Main gate

This tree can be used as a natural soil improver as it has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen due to the symbiotic relationship it has with certain soil bacteria, which house themselves in its roots. Its foliage can be used as a green manure or mulch.

The leaves are browsed by antelope species and many insect pollinators are attracted to the flowers, while many fructivorous birds eat the fruits and help disperse the seeds.

Warburgia salutaris can be cultivated from seed as well as vegetatively from cuttings. The Simbithi nursery is propagating plants currently for the Estate using cutting.

The trees have been planted on Ladlau Drive from Heron CC towards Guineafowl CC.

Time for Bed

Our wildlife camera recently caught a large spotted genet preparing for what looks like a nap. What a sighting!

Simbithi is home to these nocturnal, stealthy hunters. Genets are arboreal, which means they live in trees. While they are typically classified as carnivorous, genets are omnivores and feed on what they find when hunting in trees. Adults prefer to exist alone, except when they are mating or nurturing their young.

Based on-site in Simbithi, Ballito.net Properties has been practicing in holiday and permanent rentals on the Estate for over 17 years, offering full management of your holiday or permanant let with our professional team. Let us give you an expert rental valuation on your home today.

You may view the video on our YouTube channel here.

Rehabilitating the Mngeni Swamp Forest

The Mngeni Swamp Forest, located in the southern-west area of our Estate (close to the Wagtail and Weaver Dams), was also damaged during the April 2021 floods. A significant amount of silt was deposited on the forest floors, and rehabilitation began in mid-July. Silt is being manually removed from the forest floor, so as not to damage environmentally-sensitive areas.

hier Kom die

‘Bokke!

EVENTS

Green and gold, everywhere you look: oh, what a sight. Simbithi turned out in the hundreds to watch our Springboks storm into the 2023 Rugby World Cup. As our anthem swelled, cheers roused and chests were bumped, food was enjoyed from our specially curated stations on the deck.

If you have not yet watched a game at our Simbithi Fan Park, you are missing out! All games are broadcast live on our big screen, and the “gees” is something to behold. We’ll see you, soon, and hopefully take our boys all the way.

Out f O r the GM’ S c up

Our annual GM’s Cup brought the Country Club to life, recently. Congratulations to our winners:

1st: Leon Ackerman, Philips Jansen, Pieter Van Der Westhuizen & Dragan Milojkovic with 95 points

2nd: Wayne Krambeck & Jaiden Krambeck with 92 points

3rd: Paul Evans & Terrance Naidoo with 91 points

4th: Gerda Hartley & Edwin Van Loggerenberg with 89 points

5th: Gerhard Breedt, Troy Venter, Eugene Zietsman & Deon with 88 points (c/i)

6th: Deon Muller, George Tossel, Henco Venter & Jean Deysel with 88 points (c/o)

7th: Keith Terry, Verne Terry, Patty Thompson & Brian

Thompson with 88 points (c/o)

8th: Bruce Bashford, Dieter Fittkau, Louise Roux JNR & Louie

Roux with 85 points

Staff News

We are excited to share news from our Country Club, in terms of staff movements: • Thokozile Phillips joins us as our new Events Manager. Welcome, Thoko! We hope you enjoy a fruitful career with Simbithi.

• Dane Vosloo, our former Pro Shop Manager, has been promoted to Golf Manager. Congratulations, Dane! • Ramona Kahn remains with us as our Front Desk Administrator and moves into the events space as an Events Co-Ordinator.

Fro M c M a S a r ecOgniti O n

The Country Club was recently awarded the CMASA Pillars of Sustainability Award for the second consecutive year. Special mention was made of our digital marketing and social media channels. Given that these are public-facing, this is a stellar example of our efforts toward integration, with our brand subsidiaries and the public.

We’re Building a dam!

There has been much interest and excitement surrounding the reconstruction of our Guineafowl Dam on Ladlau Drive. The dam was originally damaged during the floods of April 2021, and reconstruction commenced toward the latter half of last

year. The project includes work on the Rainbird Pond and desilting of the Cormorant Dam.

The project is progressing well and is nearing completion. Here is a quick snapshot:

ESTATE uPDATES

Guineafowl Dam:

• The dam’s spillway is complete and HDP lining has been installed.

• Geotextile cells have been installed on the bank, which will further stabilise it once the cells have been planted up.

• A 900mm pipe from Rainbird to Guineafowl will be installed by midOctober.

• The gabions will be landscaped as a screening measure.

Dolphin Coast SimbithiYOUR

PROPERTY SPECIALISTS

Rainbird Pond:

• The excavation of the dam is complete and has reached bank-level. The dam is approximately 40% the size of Guineafowl Dam.

Cormorant Dam:

• Presently underway and should be complete within the next six weeks.

• The area of Mannies Farm Trail, which is still closed, will be re-opened once this is complete.

selling, letting or renting. Whatever your needs may be, you can count on us to get you the results you want when you want them.

SecuriT y updaTeS

Golf Cart Safety

As discussed during our recent SEEHOA Annual General Meeting, underage golf cart driving remains a serious concern on our Estate. Our security officers routinely stop teenagers driving golf carts in the Estate and contact their parents to fetch the carts.

Parents, please assist us in this regard: only licensed drivers are permitted to drive golf carts on Estate roads.

Reminder: Unauthorised Access Residents, please remember that only those with the necessary clearance,

that is, a visitor’s access code, may enter Simbithi. Giving an individual unauthorised access onto the Estate is a breach of our security protocols. If you have guests visiting, please supply them with an access code from your Simbithi App, or the Control Room.

to the SAPS for investigation and, if applicable, prosecution.

Vandalism and Unruly Behaviour

A reminder that Simbithi Eco-Estate has a zero-tolerance approach to criminal behaviour. Vandalism is considered a crime in South Africa, and we remind parents that any act of vandalism or related incidents; SEEHOA is obligated to hand over

Parents, we are not asking for your children to stop being children. The Estate is a haven for safe, harmonious community living. We are asking you to heed this important message and remain aware that destructive actions have consequences. What may seem like harmless, innocent fun to your children could well be construed as vandalism, which could result in them being charged and acquiring a criminal record.

Thank you for your co-operation.

BUILDING STATS

Single Residential

Single Residential

Sectional Title units

Sectional Title units

TOTAL DEVELOPMENT: 1475 of 1625 = 91% developed