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Zandspruit newsletter december 2014
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Z A N D N E W S
ZANDVOORT!4th Quarter 2014 My, how time flies when you’re having fun! The hive of activity by all
of the teams at Zandspruit has certainly seen this year pass by in a
flash. Much was achieved and we can all look back at another successful
year in the history of Zandspruit Bush & Aero Estate!
In this edition we have a new feature about the K2C. You may have
seen the building next to the main entrance of Zandspruit Bush & Aero
Estate. This building is occupied by the tourism department of the
Maruleng Municipality and K2C (Kruger to Canyon Biosphere) The stand
was donated by the developers of Zandspruit to the Maruleng
Municipality for the general promotion of tourism and well-being of the
area in particular. Recently, the developers had a tour of the K2C and
were amazed at the amount of work, projects and planning that are
undertaken there. We then asked them to share their vision with our
readers and we bring you their first, introductory article in this
newsletter. There will be a further 4 or 5 articles in future editions.
There is still very good interest in Zandspruit and we have a number
of local and international potential clients scheduled to visit Zandspruit
over the next two months. We wish to extend an early blessing for the
Xmas and holiday period to all our readers and trust that you will have
a great New Year and a positive 2015.
Enjoy your newsletter!
Martin den Dunnen Gerrit Jan van der Grijn
● Zandvoort
● ZandspruitAirshow
● Sales &Marketing
● InternationalMarketing
● FarmManagement
● K2C Biosphere
● Construction
● Tax & LegalMatters
Z A N D N E W S
ZANDVOORT!4th Quarter 2014
● Zandvoort
● Sales &Marketing
● InternationalMarketing
● FarmManagement
● K2C Biosphere
● Construction
● Tax & LegalMatters
This quarter has been an active and exciting one! With theunexpected flooding of the Sandspruit, our Team had to be onhigh alert to minimise damage to roads and the banks of theriver. Our houses should never be in danger as they are all builtabove the 100 year flood line. Fortunately, the water never roseto 2012 levels and we were spared from any major damage. Withthe flooding, a crocodile appeared and this just proves that youshould always expect the unexpected in the Bush! Please beaware of wild animals when walking around the Bush!Fortunately, it appears as if the croc has left again.
The Sales teams have been very active and have produced recordsales for some of the months in this quarter. The next availablespot for construction of a house is in November and so it seemshighly probable that we will have around 27 houses on Zandspruitby year end! Our newest residents have moved in and we arehappy to share the Estate with some more permanent residents.By the end of this year, at least 3 more houses currently underconstruction will be occupied by full time residents.
The installation of the infrastructure in phase 2 has drawn to aclose and we are wrapping up the last bits and pieces. TheCertificates that allow us to transfer the stands will be issued bythe time you read this and transfers can take place shortlythereafter. Our Transferring Attorneys have been hard at workpreparing all the paperwork for these transfers. Exciting timesonce again for the Zandspruit team and clients alike. The firsthouse in phase 2 is nearing completion and the occupation ofthis house is likely to run concurrently with the transfer of theproperty – faith in the Zandspruit team indeed!
As always, please enjoy your newsletter and we hope to see yousoon on Zandspruit!
Martin den Dunnen Gerrit Jan van der Grijn
It is with great pride and pleasure that we announce our second
Zandspruit Airshow to be held on Saturday 13 June 2015!
After the success of our
first Airshow in September
2013, we are delighted to
host another Airshow.
Please diarise the date as
we are planning a
spectacular event once
again! Due to new safety regulations we have had to make
some changes to our layout, but that turned out to be an
improvement on the previous layout! We are looking at new
and exciting displays, with the old stalwarts making an
appearance too, of course! We are certain that we will put
Zandspruit Estates and Hoedspruit on the map once again.
Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for regular updates. In
2013 Zandspruit Airshow walked away with the runner-up prize
for the Best Airshow of the Year in the SA Aero Club Airshow
Awards. In 2015 we are definitely going for Gold!
ZANDSPRUIT AIRSHOW
S a l e s & M a r k e t i n g2014 is quickly coming to an end, but it doesn’t
feel like it for our Sales and Marketing team.
They are still hard at work, attending exhibits
and malls.
In the past few months we have exhibited
Zandspruit Estates at a couple of big shows. We
started off at the end of August with the
Gauteng Getaway, followed by the AAD expo,
which was a great success. We had many
visitors to our stand, both new and returning
clients.
After that our team went to the Retirement Expo
in Johannesburg and this year’s show was
combined with the Investment Expo and was
unfortunately slower than expected.
Allison and Fred have been busy in the malls:
Sandton, Highveld (Witbank) and Middelburg.
We have had a sale from these exhibits already
and more clients have booked a stay in our Bush
Camp to visit our Estate, look at stands and to
get a feeling of the Zandspruit Lifestyle. Allison
and Fred, with their charismatic personalities
and friendly smiles, are contacting lots of
potential owners for Zandspruit. And here on
Zandspruit, Martin is taking their clients around:
who better to tell you everything about
Zandspruit Estates!
Before year-end we will be going to Woodlands
Mall at the end of November and the Nedbank
Golf Challenge in early December. The Nedbank
Golf Challenge has been a huge success in the
past for us and we are hoping to close off the
year with a bang.
The sales agents in Hoedspruit were offered a
special challenge to celebrate the fact that we
are half way sold out of stands in the Estate.
We will be trying out a new approach to Sales
and Marketing next year to always keep ahead
of the pack in 2015. More of that next year!
S a l e s & M a r k e t i n gGLOBAL MARCH FOR
ELEPHANTS AND RHINOS
On Saturday 4 October 2014,
World Animal Day, people from across the world
marched together to raise awareness for
Elephants and Rhinos. In over 130 cities, on all
continents of the world, people came together
to take a stand against poaching and for the
survival of Elephants and Rhinos. Their numbers
are declining due to poaching. As Dr Michelle
Henley said in her speech, every day 96
Elephants get killed in Africa - thus in the hour
that we marched the 4km on
Zandspruit Estate, about 4
elephants would have been
killed.
Only a week and a half before the
global march, we realised that in
Hoedspruit, home to so many
conservation projects for
elephants and rhinos, no march
had been organised! Due to the
short notice period, we decided
to march in Zandspruit Estates,
as in that case there was no need
to close off roads and get permits. We are very
proud that over 260 people from Hoedspruit and
the surroundings areas joined us to make this
march a success!
There were two routes through Zandspruit
Estates - Route A was about 4 km long and over
paved roads on the Estate, so that children,
strollers and wheelchairs could also participate.
Route B was about 5km long and made an extra
loop through the wilderness area.
Registration started at 10.00 and soon we had
people cueing up to sign the petition to amend
the rules and laws and get more severe
punishment for poachers, all to protect our wild
life. There were impressive
speeches to make clear to all of us
why it is so important to make a
stand for our animals. Dr Peter
Rodgers, from Provet Wildlife
Services; Dr Michelle Henley, from
Save the Elephants; Jaquie Sive from
Rocking4Rhinos and Chris Martin, from Rhino
Revolution all gave inspirational
talks.
A group of environmental
monitors and rhino ambassadors
from Kruger 2 Canyon Biosphere
started the march with a lovely song and they
lead the rest of the participants through the
gates - the march had started!
Over 260 participants, from 6 months to 82
years old, from Hoedspruit, Phalaborwa, GVI
volunteers, overseas tourists, all came together
to take a stand against Rhino and Elephant
poaching. And we all Marched Against
Extinction.
On our facebook page are pictures from the
Zandspruit March and on the general Global
March For Elephants and Rhinos facebook page
you can see pictures from the marches in all
the cities around the world!
The Autumn Secondhome International
Exhibitions in Brussels, Belgium and
Utrecht, The Netherlands were a success.
We have already welcomed the first visitors
from the exhibitions on Zandspruit!
In just a few weeks’ time, from 12 to 15
December, we will be exhibiting at the
EXCELLENT Exhibition, Ahoy, Rotterdam.
EXCELLENT displays luxury living, interiors,
yachts, jewelry and watches, health and
beauty, kitchens and exclusive second
homes on over 20 000 m2 of exhibition
space. Around 80 000 visitors are expected
to visit this thrilling and exclusive event.
Zandspruit Bush & Aero Estate is taking
part in collaboration with Van Bellen Art and
Luiten Wines. Besides their usual collection,
Van Bellen will display a collection of
Wildlife art from Hoedspruit artist, Vanessa
Lomas. Luiten wines organizes a tasting of
a wide range of South African quality wines
which makes this an event not to be
missed. For free entrance tickets please
email to gjg@zandspruit.co.za
On 27 November the Overseas Property
Professionals (OPP) Awards ceremony was
held in London. This was the third time that
Zandspruit Estates has entered and this
year we competed in the categories “Best
Developer Africa” and “Best Luxury
Developer”. Last year we were awarded the
Gold Award for Best Developer Africa and
the Bronze Award for Best Luxury
Developer (Global). We are proud to
announce that this year we were once
again awarded the Gold Award for Best
Developer Africa and we are even more
proud that we were awarded the Gold
Award for Best Luxury Developer Global
this year, especially looking at the
competition of highly expensive and
luxurious developments all over the world.
Due to the current, extremely favorable,
exchange rate for foreign investors, we
still believe that Zandspruit Estates offers
unrivaled quality, space and tranquility at
a very reasonable price.
I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a r k e t i n g2014
2014
BEST LUXURY DEVELOPER (GLOBAL)
Zandspruit Estates (Pty) Ltd.
Zandspruit Estates (Pty) Ltd.
BEST DEVELOPER AFRICA
Rainfall
The rains this year have started much later
than last year, with only 43mm recorded in
October so far.
Last year’s rain started early in September, so
by this time the bush was looking very good.
Vegetation
Due to the rains on the 17th of October the
bushveld has started to flush a nice tinge of
green. We still need some follow up rain very
soon to keep the growth going. Mother Nature
usually does not disappoint!
Animals
Game count September 2014
● Blue Wildebeest 27● Bushbuck 3● Bushpig 6● Duiker 7● Crocodile 1● Giraffe 18● Impala 303● Kudu 27● Nyala 28● Reedbuck 5● Steenbuck 5● Warthog 19● Waterbuck 13● Zebra 28
Sandspruit river & dams
The hide at Hide dam is now completed so
please go and enjoy a quiet time watching
animal and bird life around the dam. Nthundu-
luka dam has still got a good amount of water
even though we have not had good rains yet.
Madada dam is holding its water very well and
is still a great attractor to a lot of bird life. The
Sandspruit River did not stop flowing through-
out the whole of winter. Most of the pools along
the river did not dry up completely. This meant
that our annual sightings of a variety of storks
and other fish eating birds were not as spec-
tacular as past years.
Special sightings
o 4 wild dogs on a kill
o Crocodile
o Cape clawless otter
Interesting facts
We have decided to make this report more
educational to our readers, so from now on I
will share some of my knowledge on different
aspects of the environment on Zandspruit
estate with you.
This time I decided that we could learn a bit
more about two of our more endangered mam-
mals that were sighted recently on Zandspruit.
African (Cape) Clawless Otter
(Aonyx capensis)
Identification
African clawless otters have very thick fur with
an almost silky underbelly. Their coats are a
dark brown color with white facial markings
that extend downward towards their throat
and chest areas. Their paws are partially
webbed with five fingers. You can often see a
five toed spoor with no claw marks along the
F a r m M a n a g e m e n t
F a r m M a n a g e m e n tSandspruit River.
They have large
skulls which are
broad and flat to hold
very big molars for
crushing its prey.
Male otters are slightly larger than females and
can weigh up to 13kg. Adults can grow to over
1.5m long. Its tail can make up a third of its
body length. These are used to propel them
through the water.
Points of interest
The African clawless otter’s habitats range from
open coastal plains, to semi-arid regions, to
densely forested areas but are always found in
areas surrounding permanent bodies of water.
They build burrows in banks near water,
allowing for easier access to food sources and
a quick escape from predators. They are mainly
nocturnal in populated areas and lie up during
the day in quiet, bushy areas. Their diet
primarily includes water-dwelling animals, such
as crabs, fish, frogs, and worms. They dive
after prey to catch it, and then swim to shore
again, where they eat. Extremely sensitive
whiskers are used as sensors in the water to
pick up the movements of potential prey.
Though mostly solitary animals, family groups
of up to five individuals can be seen. Territories
are marked using a pair of anal glands which
secrete a particular scent. Each otter is very
territorial over its particular range.
African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)
Identification
The African Wild Dog has a blotchy yellow,
black and white coat with large round ears and
a white tip to the tail. Adults typically weigh
between 20–30 kg. They are tall, lean animals
that stand about 75 cm at the shoulder, with a
head and body length of 75–140 cm.
Points of interest
We are very privileged to be able to see Wild
Dogs on our Estate. The African Wild Dog is
one of Africa’s most endangered mammals.
They hunt in packs by running down their prey
over great distances. These chases may occur
at great speeds of up to 66 km/h for up to 60
minutes. Nearly 80% of all Wild Dog hunts end
in a kill compared to lions that only have a
10% success rate. Sadly there are very few
areas large enough to protect Wild Dogs left in
the world. They are also susceptible to
domestic dog diseases such as rabies,
distemper and parvovirus. These diseases can
be spread very easily due to adults
regurgitating meat for the puppies when they
return back after a hunt.
S a l e s & M a r k e t i n gZANDSPRUIT HOSTS THE UNESCO
RATIFIED K2C (KRUGER2CANYONS)
BIOSPHERE
Some of our readers may have seen the
K2C Nodal Centre next to our main gate
and wonder what activities are conducted
from those offices.
Zandspruit is proud to support the Kruger
to Canyons Biosphere Region (K2C BR).
The K2C BR links conservation and the
environment to people, as the custodians
of their land through partnerships. An
international Biosphere designation is
given by UNESCO to special landscapes
where people are collaborating to ensure
their environmental integrity, as the
basis for their economic development. The K2C
was nominated Department of Environmental
Affairs (DEA) as one of its flagship programmes
in this regard. DEA achieved this designation in
2001, and the Biosphere was reviewed by
UNESCO with full colours in 2014.
Why a Biosphere in the Lowveld and
adjacent Escarpment?
The region has two of South Africa’s flagship
conservation areas (Kruger National Park and
Blyde River Canyon), exceptional biodiversity
and endemism, a diverse human population and
a diversity of land use practices (agriculture,
forestry, mining and human settlements).
In this context the MaB framework offers a
platform for dialogue and actions to ensure the
reconciliation of biodiversity conservation with
resilient and sustainable development for all
members of the broader community. The
Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region’s (K2C BR)
mandate is to provide platforms for
collaboration. This includes institutional and
intergovernmental collaborative actions and
enabling links to the private sector.
The K2C BR developed its vision as “partnering
to achieve a sustainable future for all life in the
K2C Biosphere”.
What is the K2C BR doing?
Several Programmes are managed from the K2C
Offices on ZANDSPRUIT as set out in the table
on the next page.
K 2 C B i o s p h e r e
S a l e s & M a r k e t i n gK 2 C B i o s p h e r eProgramme - KEY PARTNERS INVOLVED Recent Activities
K2C Environmental MonitorProgramme
SANParks BSP – 30 hostInstitutions
Created collaboration betweeninstitutions and 262 jobs
Main Aim of this programme is to provideadditional support to host institutions inthe K2C Partner Network to attain theirrespective mandates supportive ofbiodiversity conservation, contributing toimproved livelihoods and resilienteconomic development
(Private Sector and provincialreserves)
Wits sponsored Training in Tree andAnimal ID
Coordination of Global EnvironmentalFacility’s Small Grant Fund AWARD, UP, Unv.
Witwatersrand, SAWC, SabieSand Wildtuin & BuffelshoekTrust, MTPA
1. 5x Demonstration Projects;
The primary objective of the K2C GEFSGP under Strategic Projects (inclusive ofCommunity Engagement) are to, throughsystemic and participatory approaches,expand and enhance the benefits of theprotected areas network, improvedconservation and biodiversity land usepractices, enable economic opportunitiesderived from better managed naturalresources, as demonstrated at five keypilot sites. The partners held a workshopin this reporting period.
2. Protected Area BeneficiationFramework drafted
3. Wildlife Economy Training forCommunity Outreach Leadership Group.(Co-sponsored by Buffelshoek Trust)
4. Interim Reports approved by UNDP.
EE Forum
Klaserie Eco-Children,Timbavati Foundation, K2CEMs, Nourish, SANParks,Resources Africa, WESSA, K2CEMS, LEDET, MTPA
Link to Wildlands K2C CEBA
Purpose: to provide an informal butsemi-structured platform for thecoordination, alignment, co-learning inEnvironmental Education linking to theformal conservation and educationsectors by using the Man and theBiosphere principles.PA GROUP
Private Nature Reserves,SANParks, MTPA, LEDET
Coordination of Actions: Preparation forGEF 5
Purpose: To form a unite voice fromreserves in the Lowveld dealing withcommon issues pertaining to officialprotected area status.
NRMP Forum Meeting- Co-ordination,co-learning of NRMP Projects
DEA WfW Limpopo, DEA WfWMpumalanga, Working onFire; Working on Wetlands,BSP, RESILIM
FULL Report available on request
RESEARCH Forum was launched by TheWits Rural Hub in September
Wits, UP, SAWC, BuffelshoekTrust
Information sharing; Co-ordinatedplanning.
K2C /Wildlands CEBA (CommunityEcosystem Based Adaptation)
Wildlands Trust Created an additional 48 jobs.
Moletele CP Alien Plant Clearing Team in Blyde
Klaserie Eco ChildrenTREE Ambassadors, deployed inpartnership network attended TreePropagation Training.
Timbavati Foundation CEPF Funding to increase coordinationcapacity
Nourish Signing of MOU with WildlandsConservation Trust
White Lion Trust
Land Users IncentivesLepelle/Mametja Restore
SANParks, AWARD, MarulengMunicipality, DAFF
Started with Project Implementation – 48new jobs on 4x sites on the banks of theOlifants River
Land Users Incentives MnisiBush Clearing in support of RangelandManagement
SANPArks BSP, UP,Buffelshoek Trust,Conservation Africa
Started with Project Implementation – 60new jobs on five sites in the Mnisi area.
The construction team have been flat out this quarter and the houses are been churned
out at a rate of one per month. Our order books are full for this year and we already
have a number of bookings for next year. So much so that two clients have booked
‘construction slots’ with us so as not to miss out next year when they intend building
their dream homes! Fantastic news for us indeed! In this newsletter we are focusing on
our bridge crossing.
Initially we knew that building a medium level bridge would be far superior to a low level
crossing, but involved some risk if the river came into flood. Fortunately floods are a
very irregular occurrence in Hoedspruit! The medium level bridge was built at great cost
to the developer and was used for a while before the first flood hit in January 2012. Due
to the design of the bridge using culverts, the water dammed up behind the debris that
got caught up at the culverts. This resulted in some serious
damage to the road over the river as well as the services
that cross the river. It was, however, the biggest flood that
Hoedspruit had ever seen with 380mm of rain falling in a
little more than 18 hours as a result of a cyclone that formed
over Mozambique. Being of a positive nature and assuming
that the floods were a thing of the past for the next 100
years, the developers repaired the damage and the road
over the river was soon reopened. Then in January 2013
another, albeit smaller, flood hit the bridge and the road
was damaged again.
Rather than leave the medium level bridge to become the
problem and cost centre of the Zandspruit Home Owners in
future, the developers decided to remove the culverts and
replace it with a slightly raised causeway, or dyke as they
say in Holland at their own cost. With the expertise of our Dutch partner and further
advice from our Engineers, the work on the dyke
is well underway. We hope to have the new
crossing operational before the year end and
trust that it will stand up to what Mother Nature
may throw at it!
C o n s t r u c t i o n
T a x & L e g a l M a t t e r sIn this section of our newsletter we inform
you about all the ins and outs of buying
property in South Africa. Last quarter we
explained Capital Gains Tax and
Withholding Tax. This time we will look at
buying property by non-residents.
ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON NON-
RESIDENTS BUYING PROPERTY IN SOUTH
AFRICA?
The answer to this is a resounding NO.
Non-residents will of course be subject to
the same laws and regulations as South
Africans and it is compliance with these
stringent requirements that ensures the
efficiency of the South African land
registration system and security of tenure.
Should the non-resident not wish to
purchase the property in his or her own
name but rather in the name of an entity,
such entity must be locally registered and
meet the requirements inherent in
registration of the chosen entity, such as
the requirements of the Companies Act. For
example, a non-resident may decide to own
the property through share ownership in a
company or as a beneficiary
in a trust. In the event of a non-resident
acquiring property in the name of an entity,
funds brought into the country will
represent a loan to the local entity and will
require Exchange Control approval. For the
most part however, property is registered
in the name of the purchaser as an
individual. There may be specific reasons
for taking transfer in the name of an entity.
For further advice, contact a conveyancing
attorney.
Finally, a non-resident can purchase South
African property over the internet without
entering the country! However, should the
prospective purchaser intend residing in
the property for any length of time, he or
she will need to comply
with the requirements of the Immigration
Act and either have a valid permit to
temporarily remain in the country or be in
possession of a permanent residency
permit.
In our next newsletter we will get into how
foreign funds can be brought into the
country for a property acquisition, the
possibility of loans and bonds, how to open
a bank account at a South African banking
institution and how money can be taken
out of the country on sale of the property.
For information:
http://www.stbb.co.za/uploads/STBB590_
01_Buying_Property_01-24.pdf
Source: Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes
For Non Residents
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