New owners of Klipspringer site

Spending more time on Mountainlands is now a reality for Johannesburg based couple, Garry and Shirley Boyd. They recently became the owners of the Klipspringer site, which is situated on Hyslop’s Creek with towering cliffs where aloes seem to drip from every crevice and crack. While they are currently working on creating their dream holiday home on Mountainlands they both envision living there part time or even full time.

Being keen conservationists, with a good knowledge of birds, and a growing interest in  grassland and fynbos fauna, the Boyd’s look forward to indulge in hiking and mountain biking and spending family time in the reserve. Garry elaborates: “In honesty, purchasing the stand was also an emotional and very intuitive decision which, given that this is quite a big ticket buy in South African terms, is a reflection of what is most valuable, important and meaningful to me as an individual. Whenever I have been there I have felt a special excitement. I agree with Claudia Koch who describes it as a piece of paradise.”   

The Boyd family (top): Mom and Dad, Shirley and Garry with Louise, Emma and son-in-law David sitting on a boulder in the Hyslop's Creek at Klipspringer site in Mountainlands.

Shirley feels Mountainlands is a place where she can retreat and relax next to a camp fire and look at the stars. She adds: “The aspect of the development that attracts me is the fact that it is private and that the architecture should blend in with the environment.  I look forward to spending time there with friends, children and grandchildren, hiking, swimming in the rock pools and enjoying the ‘little five’. Mountainlands feels remote and yet it is only 4 hours drive from Johannesburg.” 

They were also enticed by the warmer climate, especially in winter, and the reserve’s close proximity to Mozambique.  Asked about what they view to be the most outstanding features are of Mountainlands, the fact that one can drink water straight from the streams, the breathtaking vistas, dramatic landscape and botanical diversity tops it for them.

Garry, whose profession is in private equity, elaborates on their decision to invest in Mountainlands: ”I am not an expert in leisure property investing. On the basis of specialness and scarcity I do feel that the potential value appreciation could turn out to be excellent. I feel that what I have bought is not only a particular high quality kind of ownership of something in which I have a deep interest but, in so doing, of playing a role in the long term vision as articulated and passionately worked for by Nico and Delia.”

Garry and Shirley enjoying the sunset at Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana.

The Boyd’s are both excited about the conservation role of Mountainlands. Shirley sees the educational value when she added: “I hope opportunities can be devised for underprivileged children to spend time in the reserve similar perhaps to the wilderness leadership school that used to be in Lapalala, Waterberg.”

Visit www.mountainlands.co.za for more details on property in the reserve.

Turning wheels and heads

The beauty of Mountainlands was once again appreciated by cyclists who participated in the MTN Barberton Mountain bike Challenge. The second leg of the national mountain bike circuit kicked off on Saturday, 30 January 2010 in Barberton with 1506 entries. It consisted of a 130km ultra-marathon, 75km and 45km runs and a 10km fun run. Apart from the fun run, participants were racing it out on district and plantation roads and rough tracks through the Makhonjwa Mountains. The return journey passed through the south west of Mountainlands.

Entering the reserve, cyclists were met with a beautiful view over the Wonderscheur valley in Mountainlands.

As the event is held in summer, bikers can expect all kinds of weather. This year the light rain, mist and cool wind brought a relief from sweltering heat. However the trail was like custard on steroids in certain areas, testing the skills of the participants. This is the second year that the route traversed a small part of the reserve. The participants experienced an area that is only accessible and rideable for the one day event. Next year’s challenge will also be held during the last weekend of January.

Part of the fun was crossing the many streams in the reserve.

Taking a dip

The Boyd family enjoying a swim in the Figtree Creek, in the Wondercheur section of the reserve. "We had a fun and fascinating time with Nico hiking with us down the course of this stream" - Garry Boyd

New owners of Ivory site

Dietmar and Claudia Ley were welcomed as the new owners of the Ivory Lodge site in October this year. Dietmar comes from an IT background and hails from Cologne in Germany while Claudia recently left the world of private equity in Johannesburg.  This beautiful site is located in a horseshoe bend on the river with stunning views of the distant cliffs and the river in the foreground.     

The combination of size, space, climate, silence, wildlife, biological and geological diversity and gin clear streams are what attracted them to Mountainlands. The proximity to Mozambique, the Kruger National Park, Johannesburg and an airport are also a bonus for them. “Mountainlands also offers the opportunity to disappear for days and to discover new aspects of nature in the reserve – this could last our lifetime,” Dietmar added.   

As much as they have been attracted to what Mountainlands has to offer, so will the reserve benefit from their interests.  The Ley’s are nature lovers and Claudia is an avid rock climber. Both are amateur lepidopterists with a passion for butterflies and moths. Dietmar is interested in discovering new species of butterflies and moths on Mountainlands and to expand his work into other insect families. Together, the Ley’s are busy with a four-year butterfly and moth identification project. While they love spending time outdoors, they also have a keen taste for the finer things in life, like good food and fine wine and Dietmar is an avid cook.    

The lepidopterist at work in Mountainlands.

 

The Ley’s view their new property as adding the perfect balance to their portfolio of properties and investments both in South Africa and in France. ”Space and water will become the most valued commodities in the future. Our investment in Mountainlands is also an opportunity to contribute to nature conservation in ways which we still have not fully appreciated,” Claudia says.  

The aspects of the development that had them waxing lyrical were the sensible balance between nature and people, and the passion and focus of the developers.  

“Careful thought went into the design, particularly ensuring balance and privacy between residences. We also liked the sensitivity to preserving purity of the natural landscape in building guidelines and the commitment to limited development. Nico and Delia as developers were a big part of our decision. We soon established a sense of trust towards them and most importantly liked them very much from the beginning.  Nico will deliver us a solid development and Delia will be a fountain of knowledge for us on the origins and civilisations of Mountainlands. They are both also great company around the fire.” Claudia added.   

Claudia and Dietmar look forward to walks, time around the campfire, swimming, day-night expeditions, mountain biking and reading when on Mountainlands. Claudia is also planning to write a book and reckons the reserve will be a perfect environment for this.  

Visit www.mountainlands.co.za for more details on property in the reserve.  

Dietmar and Claudia love spending time in southern France when they are not in South Africa.

Getting down to earth

Steven (8) and Michaela (9) Schormann just love their outings to Mountainlands. Mom and dad, Mark and Helen Schormann, are owners in Waterbuck Ridge, one of the private lodge sites on Mountainlands.

Kruger donates more game

The Kruger National Park (KNP) donated more game to the reserve in July of this year. An important occasion was marked when the first shipment of game allocations from KNP arrived on the reserve. On the initiative of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), the reserve has secured a donation of 22 zebra which were delivered on the day of the celebration and five white rhino due next year.  

Co-founders and partners in the reserve, Mr. Nico Oosthuizen and Chief Tikhontele Dlamini of the Lomshiyo community. During the game release ceremony, Mr. Oosthuizen here presents Chief Dlamini with a rock from the reserve which contains some of the oldest life forms on earth.

 This is part of the MTPA’s continuous game introduction strategy for the reserve which has been ongoing for the last five years now. A handover ceremony was held where all founding partners of the reserve were present.  Chief TS Dlamini of the Lomshiyo Tribal Authority indicated his satisfaction with the game donation and said that nature has to be preserved for future generations. The KNP is in strong support of the reserve, and besides game will also render further technical assistance to the future development of the reserve. “We are honoured to have been challenged into giving this donation and we hope that this will bring a lot of stability and sustainability to the reserve,” said Mr Solly Themba of KNP. 

 

Seen here at the game delivery function from left: Reuben Ngwenya of MTPA, Chief TS Dlamini of Lomshiyo tribal authority, Nico Oosthuizen of Ernet Group, Janssen Davies Deputy Chairman of MTPA and Solly Themba of KNP.