Farm for Sale in Qumbu, Eastern Cape for sale

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4
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This farm is situated along the picturesque Elandsrivier Valley
This farm is situated along the picturesque Elandsrivier Valley approximately 75km from the Western suburbs of P.E. and with only 35kms of this distance being along a well maintained gravel road.
Size
Made up of 2 titles, the farm is 321ha in extent.
Note: a +- 10ha portion which is cut off by the public gravel road has just been subdivided leaving +- 311ha.
Description
This farm is typical of most properties along this stretch of the Elandsrivier Valley being rather elongated and stretching right from the main gravel road up to the top of the mountain range (Stinkhout Berg) to the south where it shares a common boundary with the Stinkhout Berg Nature Reserve. The topography is 50% mountainous terrain and 45% fertile contoured dry land pastures on the lower lying flatter sections and then 5% tree lined valley floor along the central valley which has a seasonal stream. The fantastic grazing found particularly in the lower lying areas, coupled with the dramatic topography of the unspoilt wilderness area being the water rich mountains offers the best of both worlds offering a diversity of scenery, vegetation types and topography that should appeal to the cattle farmer and nature lover alike.
Veld types
In the past almost the entire stretch of lower lying ground along the Elandsrivier Valley has been put to the plow as can be seen when viewing aerial pictures showing the intensive patterns of contoured lands along this fertile stretch of countryside. 45% of this property has been developed in the same way with all available fertile land having been extensively contoured. While these lands have historically been planted to wheat, sorghum and oats, from a stock farming point of view, one could sow them to one of the more robust, perennial pasture grasses to further elevate the already good carrying capacity here of 5ha per 1 LSU.
The veld is a veritable cocktail of grasses: on the lower levels, species identified include; Hetrapogon, one of the Sporobolis species, what appears to be Hyperenia Hirta, and Aristida Congesta to name but a few. Climbing out of the valley higher up into the mountain sections these give way to an almost monoculture of Themeda (Rooigras), interspersed at a low density with Merxmuella. The mountain section offers good summer grazing to both small and large stock. The kloofs that bisect the mountainous area also display healthy populations of cycads and indigenous trees such as Tierhood, Milkwood/Cheesewood and False Olive etc.
Lower down again the disturbed areas have reverted to Cynodon whereas the wetter patches and areas around the house have healthy stands of Kikuyu which are well utilized by livestock.
The drainage line down the centre of the property has evidence of a fair covering of indigenous bush although there is also significant Black Wattle encroachment. The Working for Water team is currently clearing Black Wattle from this farm and they have successfully completed this same process on nearby farms leaving only some follow up work going forward.
Rainfall / water
The farm falls in a transition rainfall area, with an annual average of approximately 520mm. As the farm name ?The Fountain? implies this farm is fairly water rich being well supplied with water from two reliable fountains which according to the farm labourer have never dried up completely even in the severe droughts. Currently the farm has one small earth dam halfway up the valley which is fed by one of the perennial springs. Some of the surrounding farmers have built fair sized storage dams along drainage lines which are fed by similar permanent springs and rain catchment in order to then irrigate various sized lands under pivot and permanent irrigation.
The farm has a few excellent dam sites and there is actually a fairly large old dam with a broken wall which was more than likely the result of a poorly designed overflow which couldn?t cope with the force of a flash flood. It would be money well spent developing a series of earth dams which can then be used to gravity irrigate some permanent pastures at the bottom of the valley. These potential irrigated lands would further boost the quoted carrying capacity forming a viable stock farming unit.
There is a siphon line that supplies several 5000lt ?JoJo? plastic header tanks which in turn gravity feed clean fountain water to both houses. There are also a few stock watering troughs placed at various places but it is my feeling that there could maybe be a few more especially if one was to develop an internal camp system which is currently lacking. The fortunate bit though is that there is quality water in abundance and the water reticulation system can be mostly gravity fed.
Game species
The central drainage line is home to a resident population of Bushbuck. There are also resident Mountain Reedbuck, Cape Grysbok and Common Duiker. Small numbers of Kudu are also found in the general area and move between the surrounding farms.
Improvements
There are 2 well maintained houses which are in close proximity to one another being +- 20m apart.
The 1st of the houses has 2 bedrooms both with ensuite bathroom, a farm style kitchen with a built in fireplace/inside braai and a combined lounge/dining area. The interior has been very nicely done and it is obvious that a lot of time and effort has been spent renovating this character full stone cottage which is adorned with lots of yellowwood trimmings throughout e.g. doors and built in cupboards in the bedrooms and kitchen. The wooden floors throughout, except for the tiled kitchen and bathrooms, add the final touch to what is a very neat compact farm house complete with wrap around verandah.
The 2nd nearby house is perhaps slightly more modern being constructed of brick and plaster. It has tiled floors throughout, and likewise it is a very neat structure both inside and out. It is more like a dormitory having two identical large rooms each with a corner fitted with the bare necessities of a kitchen being a sink, shelving and a countertop. Each room leads off to a small bathroom complete with shower, basin and toilet. This house has a porch/verandah which overlooks a cement reservoir that has been tastefully converted into a swimming pool complete with wooden deck on the one side.
Both houses have Eskom power installed and there is a prepaid meter on the farm. There is also a small gas geyser fitted above the kitchen sink in the stone house.
In between the 2 houses is a well constructed boma for braaing/entertaining with family and friends.
The boundary fencing is excellent being mostly 2,4m high game fence and there is a combination of open mesh ?Bonnox? type fencing and regular 17 strand game fencing and both should meet the requirements for a Certificate of Adequate Enclosure (CAE) . I can also vouch for the fact that the fencing up in the mountainous parts of the farm is of the same excellent standard as below on the flats. As far as internal camps go there is not much to speak of other than a small camp around the dwellings. There is also a very small newly erected camp in front of the dwellings used to run some sheep and this camp has some minor irrigation in place.
The farm roads in the lower lying areas are well maintained and one can easily get around in a 4X2 bakkie whereas the jeep track that leads up the mountain slope and all the way to the back boundary needs some maintenance and definitely requires 4X4.
Conclusion
Amongst the local farmers this farm is considered as one of the best small farms in the Elandsrivier Valley as cattle do very well here even in the drier winter months as the grazing is rather resilient with the cattle always looking healthy and fat and never really making much of a dent in the available grazing. Coupled with the irrigation potential mentioned above, it can be run as a viable farming unit which is very easily managed. Elandsrivier is a popular area and any improvements would only increase the value of this farm. It is important to mention that the Elandsrivier Valley is a very safe area to live in with virtually zero crime or stock theft other than a handful of isolated instances of petty crime. The previous owner never used to lock the farm gates or even the houses for that matter. Add to this the fact that it borders onto the Stinkhout Berg Nature Reserve, is close to Baviaanskloof and yet within comfortable reach of Port Elizabeth - this property offers a well rounded package and at an affordable price.
Price R 2, 5 mil plus Vat.
75 km from PE
Borders Stinkhout Berg nature reserve
scenic
livestock farming
minimal crime
2 houses