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ContentsThirty Five Days in Lockdown 7Monster Combo Online Surfing Contest 17World Surf Ski League SA Surf Ski 21Championships 2020 Comes To St Francis 21Spring Walk and Run Festival 25Our Teachers 27All seven billion of us can call the Cape coast home 31Souls Of St Francis By Sandy Coffey and Caroline Morris. 37Bush Clearing In St Francis 39
The West Wind Issue 03Imagine experiencing the lockdown from inside a lodge in a game farm, alone. Imag-ine being the only human inside the lodge, surrounded by animals. That’s what hap-pened to Mike Nunan, and he tells a fantastic story, including one very close encoun-ter with a lioness protecting her cubs, and the desire for tobacco soon afterwards. Mike spent 35 days by himself, and as the animals become more accustomed to him, and more at ease with the lack of humans and vehicles, so they gathered around the lodge. This allowed Mike some amazing wildlife encounters and is another cool story coming out from the original Hard Lockdown.
We chat to Nadine Knezovich, the St Francis College Grade 6 teacher. She tells us a little about her family and their inspirational journey that led to St Francis, and the wonderful school where she works.
Nick Munday explains some of the possible implications of having an overgrown plot in St Francis Bay. He explains succinctly why it is a good idea to have your prop-erties cleared if they are over-run and dense.
The Monster Combo is another online surfing event taking place at the moment, and the local Kouga surfers are ruling. Dale Staples, Faye Zoetmulder from St Fran-cis; Steve Sawyer, and Cyle Myers from JBay and Zoe Steyn and Royden Bryson from East London have all dropped big scores in the opening rounds of the competition. It runs until December, so there is plenty of time for our local surfers to enter.
FOSTER has submitted a remarkable story on the history of our coastline. Matt Gennrich has unique insight on the history of this small piece of South Africa in the bigger context, and history always makes for fascinating stories.
The seasons are changing, the days are getting longer, and before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us. After the dreadful South African lockdown, all we can do is be thankful, embrace the season, and welcome the visitors.
Just a note if you wish to click onto the website / Facebook page of any of the ad-verts. If you move youe mouse over the page the link area will light up in pale bluel. Simply click and a new page will open with the relevant web or Facebook page. Most links are located near the middle spine but a few are at the bottom of the page.
Colin and Craig
Thirty Five Days in LockdownThere are many tales of those stranded in unusual settings when the lockdown was sprung on us in March 2020. This is one of those tales. Local Cape St Francis resident, Mike ‘Wilddog’ Nunan tells of his experience of being stranded alone in the wilderness of Africa with his only companions the resident African wildlife.
“And so it came to pass that man was held to ransom by some devilish organism that had mysteriously developed and spread itself around the peoples of the earth. In no time at all thousands were struck down by the deadly evil of which very little was known. How to avoid it? How to cure it? How to slow down the spread of it? How to stop the masses dying? Chaos, mayhem, panic and fear set in.
Unknown to me, fate had planned that I should experience an unusual, unique and special time during this madness. Way back in 2008 I headed up the management team that opened Mjejane River Lodge on the banks of the Crocodile River overlooking southern
Kruger National Park. As corporate life would have it, I moved on in the following years working in the hospitality industry, primarily in game lodges.
Cont from Pg 7
The first few days and nights of being alone at the lodge with not a soul to talk to or interact with was somewhat disconcerting. There were no human sounds; no delicious smells from the kitchen; and no fire in the Boma. There were no bodies in the pool or on the loungers taking in the hot sun. There were no guests sitting chatting, eating, drinking and showing off photos of the wildlife they had seen on their daily safaris.
But as the reality of lockdown sunk in, I realized that I may not have human company. Still, I had been blessed with one of the most beautiful experiences anyone could wish for. I was alone with the animals of Africa.
And so for 35 days I spoke to the animals!The lodge is positioned with the most incredible view of the river, and the scenery alone was something beautiful to behold. Sunrises and sunsets were majestic. With time on my side, I was able to ensure I was in the right place at the right time to view and enjoy the many happenings of a day in the African bush. Alone.
As the days ticked by, I became attuned to every birdsong around the lodge and those journeying along the river. The birds became my daily conversationalists, and without
humans to scare them off, they increased in number and bravery. I learnt their routines and residential areas and together became part of their landscape.
Cont from Pg 9
There were Marshall Eagles, African Fish Eagles, Kingfishers, Herons and Storks, Geese, Francolin and many other species. There was great excitement when a flock of guineafowl, thirteen of them to be exact, came walking in single file onto the lawn at sunset. They were chirping that unmistakable “cheap-cheap” call and then proceeded to fly up into the old Leadwood tree as their roosting place for the night. To my great delight, they returned at sunset the next day and every day after that.
Warthogs and bushbuck were daily visitors on the lawns. Over time they were to be joined by kudu and nyala, both day and night, as well as a roaming leopard, eventually confirmed to be a young female. She left pugmarks all over the roads around the lodge, and many a night, the sharp warning bark of a bushbuck told me that she was close by, on the prowl. I never did get to see her. I even got out of bed and went out with my big torch to look for her.
The antelope very quickly accepted me, and over time I could approach up close before they trotted off. When I reported by phone to my only human contact that a nyala bull was browsing in the garden, I was told that this was the first nyala seen on our side of the river since the reserve was developed twelve years earlier.
Cont from Pg 10And of course, lest we forget, the mischievous, sometimes annoying troop of vervet monkeys. They made their presence felt on most days as they looked for every opportunity to book themselves into the lodge from a choice of rooms. And of course, the kitchen was a favourite just in case some food had been left for them to pillage. I quickly learnt to keep all doors and windows closed.
About a week or so into the period, a large family of banded mongoose came scurrying over the lodge lawns, foraging for food. They were communicating with each other in those unique “chirrup” sounds they make, returning a few days later from a different direction.
As it was during our autumn, the large, scary female golden orb spiders wove their webs all over the grounds. I had to be watchful when walking around to avoid entwining myself in the thread of a web. They weave amazing webs which can spread over 4-5 meters across, beautiful when the sun shines through their golden threads at sunset.
One evening after sunset when the garden lights had already come on, I was standing out at the pool watching the many bats flying around hunting the insects attracted by the lights. During this time, I noticed movement go past one of the low path lights. I quickly focused and to my great surprise, I saw two small-spotted genets go scampering past the next light. On occasion, when walking out in the gardens at night fetching something from the offices, I would see them hurrying away along the pathways.
The lodge grounds had become an animal playground, and I had the privilege of sharing it with them. The central stage, however, was not the lodge lawn and gardens but the river and area fronting on to lodge.
Cont from Pg 11
Elephants in small and big herds, plus solitary bulls, were daily visitors, sometimes coming up close against the fence to browse. Impala herds, waterbuck, hippo, white rhino, giraffe, buffalo, wild dogs taking down an impala, spotted hyena. Just before I left, a magnificent large male leopard made his appearance on the white sandbank on the northern side.
This wonderful natural stage is directly in front of the lodge. Each day during the last hours of sunlight, I would sit and observe the panorama, enjoying a cold beer while taking in the magnificent sunsets. I would always try to have my camera and binoculars with me during these times to be ready to snatch up any photo opportunity.
Often I would hear the roaring of lions somewhere close by, but I never actually saw them from the lodge, until one day I had gone out to take up my seat at the very front of the lodge lawns, overlooking the river. A 1.8 m high electric fence that surrounds the lodge was just two meters from my seat. I put my camera, beer and binoculars down on the table and walked about 10 paces to turn off the two pool pumps. As I walked back, I suddenly heard this very loud, almost growling type roar from the grassy area on the other side of the fence, just meters away from me.
Cont from Pg 12
My head swung in that direction as the second howling roar came. To my utter astonishment, I was staring straight into the eyes of a fairly large lioness, with her teeth bared and her tail slapping from side to side. She had made a two-to-three meter warning charge at me, and of course, I quickly got her message loud and clear. Besides the initial scare of the sudden loud noise, there was no time to feel much fear, so I purposely, but without running, slowly walked backwards up towards the lodge. Once out of her sight, I sat down on the grass and took a big swig of my beer.
At that moment, I rather regretted having given up smoking due to unavailability of tobacco during the COVID lockdown! Wow! My heart was in my mouth. My pulse was up there in the danger zone for a minute or more. Phoning the owner to tell him of my encounter he said to me that a lioness with cubs had been spotted in the vicinity in recent weeks. Returning to my seat to recover my camera, the lady and her cubs had left. As all mothers would do when sensing danger, she quickly advised me in no uncertain terms to back off. An incident to cherish that will live with me forever!
The photo opportunities presented each day, from early morning to after sunset gave me many great shots, and I will always treasure these as special.
Those first 35 days of the lockdown seem unreal in many ways. I felt that somehow I had been specifically chosen, like some modern Robinson Crusoe. I had been left behind on a deserted island, to spend time alone, with the creatures of nature as my only daily companions.
Mjejane River Lodge is situated in a fenced-off area within the greater 4000 ectares Mjejane Game Reserve, with a low electric fence separating it from the rest of the reserve and the park across the river. For more information, visit their website at www.mjejaneriverlodge.co.za .For more photos visit Mike’s Facebook page at https://web.facebook.com/mike.nunan.52/photos_all
Monster Combo Online Surfing ContestSurf contests have started rolling out around the world, with a few specialty World Surf League events taking place in Australia and in Portugal. There was also a minor event in the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch. Still, it mainly slipped under the radar with USA travel restrictions so tight.
After the success of the Rip Curl E-Pro, that was won by St Francis surfer Dale Staples, the next online surf tournament has kicked off.
The Monster Combo is an online video surf contest, in which the criteria is a video of a wave with a combination of moves, hence the ‘combo’ in the title.
Sponsored by Monster Energy, hosted by Zigzag Magazine and presented by Polly-wog, the event is already racking up the entries. Once again the local Kouga surfers are showing their worth.
JBay goofy-footer Cyle Myers has already dropped an impressive entry from a recent swell at Supers and pulls off a radical combination of powerful moves on his back-hand for an impressive entry. Cyle is always out whenever Supers is firing and has a solid backhand attack.
Cyle Myers from JBay on his backhand at Supertubes in JBay for his entry into the Monster Combo. © Phil Craig
Rip Curl E-Pro winner as well as Red Bull Best Tube winner Dale Staples is also in the mix again, with a couple of good entries that will see him back in contention. For a year of no surf contests pretty much, Dale has been doing ok. He is continuing the progress of being a professional surfer even though he can’t surf contests or travel overseas to compete.
Women’s E-Pro runner-up Zoe Steyn is also in the mix with some big backhand com-binations from the East London area. Zoe is a serious contender in the upper leagues of women’s surfing in South Africa and has a beautiful style that is easy on the eyes.
Former world longboard champion Steve Sawyer has entered some classic waves from Supertubes, combining big backhand hacks with tight backhand tube riding. Stevey has the waves of JBay wired, and as a former world champ as well as a former JBay Supertrial wildcard event winner, knows his way around the podium.
Seal Point goofy Faye Zoetmulder has also entered with some great rides from JBay and will be in contention for a result in the Monster Combo. Her surfing is fast and powerful, and she’s not shy when it gets a bit bigger as well.
Rides can be viewed at https://zigzag.co.za/monstercombo/, and you can get updates as to when to vote for your favourite rides. The main prize is R20,000 in cash and a surf trip overseas with Zigzag Magazine.
Website - https://zigzag.co.za/monstercombo
World Surf Ski League SA Surf Ski Championships 2020 Comes To St FrancisChina Silver Asset Management (CSAM) in association with PW Harvey financial management company and Carey Olsen offshore law firm is proud to be the title sponsors of the SA Surf Ski Championships to be held in St Francis Bay on 10 October 2020. The event will be hosted by the St Francis Paddling Club.
WSSL Director of operations, Russell Sadler, was happy to announce the event. “China Silver and WSSL are delighted to be able to give a little something back to the sport, despite it being such a tough year,” said Sadler.
“We would have loved to have seen the 6 WSSL races run in the USA, Dublin, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Perth and Sydney this season but unfortunately it wasn’t to be in 2020. We will be back in 2021”.
St Francis Bay has established itself as the premier water sports and outdoor activity destination in South Africa. It offers the likes of birding, open water swimming, hiking, mountain biking, fishing and trail running. It also provides a myriad of downwind and flat surf ski courses along with some of the most well-known surf breaks in the world and has been dubbed #theperfectplacetotrain. This, combined with the laid-back lifestyle, great eateries, craft breweries and distilleries in the area, makes SFB the ideal location for this event.
Andy Birkett
The China Silver World Surf Ski League SA Surf Ski Champs 2020 is going to be an extraordinary event. Coming out of COVID lockdown the countries and indeed some of the world’s best surf ski paddlers will be in town and raring to duke it out on the course for the national title. The course is set to be between 15 and 22km long depending on weather and surf conditions. The main focus of the organising committee will be paddler enjoyment. With that in mind, course director Daryl Staples has mapped out several courses relating to the conditions to be expected at this time of year. The variation in course promise to entice paddlers from around the nation to the event. On top of this, the sponsors have promised to make the event a memorable one.
What we do know is that The China Silver World Surf Ski League will have a complimentary Downwind Shuttle available to entrants from the 8th to 13 October. At this stage, entries are coming along nicely with a strong ORKA squad out of Cape Town including WSSL 2019 #2 Kenny Rice and the Mac Squad contingent from Dur-ban. Mac Squad head coach has already expressed interest in a number of the titles. Never to be discounted are the boys and girls from East London. We can expect a good showing from WSSL number 2019 #8 Joshua Fenn backed by the ever-green Bevan Manson and Andy Birkett amongst a host of other stars out of Buffalo City. St Francis’ Local speed machine Phil Smith is in great shape and will be there to keep the world players honest. He is likely to be able to gain some sort of advantage with his local knowledge of the courses. The ladies field at this stage is wide open with a number of the top class ladies yet to confirm their attendance.
Hank McGregor
Spring Walk and Run FestivalThe St Francis College Is Going To Hold A Spring Walk and Run Festival
Spring is in the air, and the St Francis College together with The River Estate is going to celebrate with a Spring Wal and Run Festival in and around the school grounds. It’ll take place on Saturday 24 October, and apart from a fun run and walk and other activities, is a fantastic way for locals and others to support the school.
There will be routes to cater for everyone, including a 2,5km a 5km and a 10km run on offer. Some of the routes are more technical than others, with a few rocky sections and single tracks. Still, there are spectacular views along the way, with springbok, bushbuck, duiker and blue cranes cruising around the area.
The real fun, however, starts back at the school when the races are over. There will be food stalls, coffee stands and a fun zone for the kids, as well as an adopt-a-teddy stand. There will be a lucky draw and a treasure hunt for the younger kids.
Ultimately the day is going to serves to demonstrate why St Francis College is so unique and so cool as a country school, and with the learners are thriving and excel-ling in these difficult times. The day will also serve to raise some funds toward the renovations to the St Francis College Nursery School.
It’s a fun day, nothing more, and a day for kids and parents and other to gather to-gether and appreciate what we have with the College, and the excellent teachers and all the awesome learners.
It will be a day of masks and of social distancing, and there is a limited number of participants, so please preregister with Caroline Anderson on [email protected] or 083 228 9017
Bring your running shoes, your fitness, and your A-Game, because some of the kids are pretty fast these days.
Our TeachersSt Francis College Grade 6 Teacher Nadine KnezovichWhere are you originally from?
Both my husband (Warren Knezovich) and I originally come from the Eastern Cape. Warren is a very proud Grey boy, and I matriculated at Pearson High School. After university, I ended up in Cape Town, where I lived for many years and where I met (my amazing husband, Warren. Three years ago, our travels brought us back to our roots, the Eastern Cape.
What path led to you guys ending up here, and how long have you been here?
Cape Town as a city is getting very busy and travelling from one point to the next you are always in traffic. The trains and taxis are often unpredictable or broken, which means staff are often delayed. Warren would often be stuck in rush hour traffic and only arrive home at 6:00pm, which is late for a young family. He thought we as a family could do things better, still work as hard but be home at 6:00pm, which is late for a young family.
Teacher Nadine Knezovich cont
He thought we as a family could do things better, still work as hard but be home for the family and live a lifestyle like no other. So three years ago, almost to the day, we arrived in paradise. Don’t get me wrong we both still work as hard, but we are living the life of fishing, of beach walks, of rock pool adventures, of sun and sand.What has been your experience with the local community?
We, as a family, love being involved in the community and giving and trying to add value. In a village such as St Francis Bay, this is possible. It definitely has a village mentality that everyone has your back, and everyone wants to help each other in whatever way they can. From the moment we arrived, we have felt so welcome and so accepted. We are so grateful for that. We have been so incredibly blessed by the friends we have made here. Friends, that literally in three years hold such a big space in our hearts that they feel like family. Maybe it’s the Eastern Cape folk that are true people, perhaps we just got lucky, but we have a village of friends and for my son and daughter a village of aunties and uncles who love them.
How has your time been at St Francis College?
From the moment I arrived at the College, I could pinch myself how lucky I am. I absolutely love the kids (they are such nice children) and the teachers are so passionate about the children and the school. They know how incredibly unique and special the College is. I have loved teaching with the staff. The teachers aren’t just staff but rather your teammates supporting each other and making things that seem impossible possible.
What is the best thing about the College?
Where do I even start? Does this magazine have enough space?I often tell new parents that they came here to St Francis for a change of lifestyle for something special and unique, so why would you want “normal” for your child’s schooling? The College is not normal, it is unique, it is a bubble where children can be children for longer than city children.
The school’s uniqueness includes small classes. At break time kids interact with not only the kids in their classes but kids of all ages and where teachers know every single child in the school by name.
The College offers eco-sport, which is a fun way of embracing the beautiful farm the school is positioned on. Some weeks the kids will be busy in the school’s vegetable garden either weeding or harvesting the vegetables. Other weeks the kids are moun-tain biking or fishing in the school dam.
We are so strong at swimming and compete extremely well against the other schools. Our cricket is another sport we are very competitive in thanks to Ralton Fortuin, who is very much involved in Kouga cricket.
I love the close proximity of the school to the St Francis village where kids can race home, put on their wetsuits and be in the surf in a matter of minutes. I love that our kids are in their safe, happy, bubble at the College close to home and close to the beach where they have time in the afternoon to enjoy the outdoor paradise we live in.
I am a proud College teacher and a proud College parent. I simply love the school and its uniqueness.
What are your thoughts on 2021 and new, post-COVID future that awaits us?
Everyone can’t wait for the new year 2021. I’m really hoping that school will go back to the way it was in 2019 (I’m not mentioning 2020) or as close to it as possible and I’m sure it will. I can’t wait to see the kids back on the field, participating in sports again.
All seven billion of us can call the Cape coast home By Richard Cowling
Scientific evidence suggests that modern humans Homo sapiens evolved on the Cape south coast, somewhere between Saldanha Bay and East London. This founder group was part of a population that comprised an estimated mere 20 000-10 000 individuals scattered across the whole of Africa. Indeed, had there been conservationists then, they have would classified humans as an endangered species.
Sometime during a prolonged ice-age period when conditions over most of Africa were considerably colder and drier than present, a tiny population of these hunter-gatherers - estimated from ancient DNA to amount to no more than around 600 breeding individuals - survived somewhere on the continent, and went on to be the ancestors of all of humanity. That “somewhere” appears to be on the coastline of the then exposed Agulhas Bank. The “sometime” was between 200 000 and 140 000 years ago.
The Agulhas Bank or Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, the continental shelf (rust-brown) that was exposed to a greater or lesser degree during the long ice age period when modern humans evolved on the Cape south coast. Also shown are the major archaeological sites that have yielded evidence of modern human behaviour between 200 000 and 50 000 years ago. PP = Pinnacle Point near Mossel Bay. Graphic courtesy of Eric Fisher (Arizona State University).
Our human lineage was confronted with the problems of surviving under difficult and harsh conditions. Fortunately, the ice-age environment of the Cape South Coast was differentiated by the persistently warm Agulhas Current from the rest of Africa. The coastal environment, which included the then exposed Agulhas Bank or Palaeo-Agul-has Plain, which was a consequence of lower sea levels during glacial times, provided an array of resources that were capable of sustaining humans.
This included an abundance of shellfish, fish, and marine mammals; a mosaic of fynbos, grassland and thicket vegetation which offered year-round access to edible bulbs, fruits and wood for fuel and weapons. In addition, abundant potable water together with a fertile, grassy coastal plain that supported a migratory system of large mammals including wildebeest, zebra and several extinct giant grazers provided an additional source of protein.
Foraging and harvesting these resources, would have required considerable intelli-gences not previously fully manifested in the human lineage. Harvesting of shellfish along the wave-battered Cape coast requires knowledge and an understanding of the tidal rhythms, sea conditions and the zonation and location of different species. Gath-ering bulbs and berries requires knowing which species provide the best nutrition, and when and where they are most abundant (the Cape has the richest bulb flora worldwide, so efficient foraging must have required considerable plant-identification skills to distinguish edible from poisonous, tasty from astringent, and nutritious from insipid). Hunting of plains game required co-operative skills and reasonable weap-onry to bring down fleet-footed and large animals.
A fossilised trackway of a human footprint made on a sand dune more than 100 000 years ago. The footprint, the oldest known one of a modern human, is preserved in cemented sand dune at Brenton-on-Sea, near Knysna. Photo: Charles Helm.
Caves in coastal settings, such as the famous Klasies River cave (left) provided shelter adjacent to a rich marine intertidal resource. A relatively young (ca 4000-year-old) midden comprising mainly alikreukel (Turbo samarticus) shells near Blombos Cave. Photos by Richard Cowling
In short, the human brain must have undergone a massive rewiring to master the technical and social skills required for survival on the windswept plains of the ice-age south Cape coast.
The hugely diverse bulb flora of the Cape coast provided foragers with a year-round sup-ply of carbohydrate. On the left is bobbejantjie (Babiana sp), so named because it’s un-derground corms are a favoured food of the chacma baboon (photo: Jan de Vynck). On the right is a woman of Khoe-San ancestry harvesting bulbs in the Still Bay area using a traditional digging stick (photo: Elzanne Singels).
Archaeological evidence provides insightful glimpses into this cognitive and cultural evolution. In addition to producing evidence of shellfish harvesting, research at Blombos Cave near Still Bay yielded engraved ochre dating back some 70 000 years, evidence of the symbolic creativity inherent in art.
This research debunked the myth that the human cultural revolution occurred in Europe, sometime after modern humans migrated out of Africa. Curtis Marean’s research group, which has been excavating Pinnacle Point for more than a decade, pushed this date for cultural innovation back to 165 000 years ago. They also unearthed seashells that had been used as ornaments for decorating cave sites, dating to 110 000 years ago. And most intriguingly, they showed that as early as 160 000 years ago, humans were able to beneficiate silcrete sediment, using a complex process of heat treatment, in order to produce the finely crafted stone tools required for more effective and efficient hunting, fishing, cutting and cleaning.
All these innovations required complex cognitive skills, such as novel associations between unrelated phenomena that yield new products of artefacts and most importantly language and co-operative behaviour and sharing of resources amongst themselves. In short, the hallmarks of human culture that set us apart from all other hominins.
The exciting implications of this research is that modern humans Homo sapiens evolved on our coastline from a tiny founder population that migrated into the rest of Africa and then, into Eurasia between 40 and 45 000 years ago then to the Americas. The notion that all of humankind has its origins on our coastline is a compelling and powerful metaphor for a nation so painfully divided along racial lines.
Furthermore, the fact that this rewiring of our brains was likely underpinned by the need to comprehend and exploit the diverse marine and land biotas of the Cape palaeoscape is a testament of the fundamental role of biodiversity in ensuring our persistence as a species. These are powerful narratives for social and environmental sustainability in a world facing unprecedented crises.
Cont from Pg 34
The Greater St Francis area is blessed with a wealth of archaeological features showcasing the evolution of hominins (Homo erectus and H sapiens) over the past million years. Shown here are the palisade of fish traps at Thyspunt (top), a Middle Stone Age workshop for making stone tools in the Cape St Francis Nature Reserve (bottom, left), and a Middle Stone Age shelter under a fossilised kershout-milkwood forest (note the remnant tree stumps) with numerous stone tools on the surface of an ancient, reddish soil (photos: Robin Moulang (top) and Richard Cowling (bottom).
Souls Of St Francis By Sandy Coffey and Caroline Morris.Nelson has been in St Francis for a long time, and many of you will know him as the safety person outside the Rambling Rose.
I have been living here for 13 years, but I come from Kings Williamstown. I now live in a house from the Government.
My job is to protect the car park at Rambling Rose. I urge away people wanting employment and people asking other people for money. I keep it safe. I always talk nicely to people, and I think I am doing a good job. At least I can put food on the table for my family. I always pray to God to help.Nelson. St Francis Bay.
Souls of St Francis Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/soulsofstfrancis/1 1
Bush Clearing In St FrancisWe chatted to Nick Munday, the St Francis Property Owners Committee Memberwith the portfolio for bush-clearing.
What is the general status of properties in St Francis Bay?
The general status of undeveloped plots in St Francis Bay is “badly-overgrown”, to saythe least. A lot of plots - around 500 of them - represent a fire risk. Fairly obviously,the areas with many undeveloped plots are the worst.
How many people/properties have heeded the advice and cleared their plots?
Unfortunately, not many. Probably around 30 (or 6%) in the last 12 months. Clearingplots of overgrown vegetation is a bit of a “grudge purchase”, and most ownerssimply ignore any requests to take action. It’s a problem that simply won’t go away,however...
What are the legalities of an overgrown plot and, say, a fire or something?
My understanding is that legal liability (where a bush-fire starts on or traverses yourproperty) depends on a range of factors. Potentially, a property owner could be heldliable where negligence could be proved. And negligence could include failure tohave kept your property compliant with regulations and by-laws, especially whereyou have received a formal notification to this effect (such as a Municipal notice).
Bush Clearing In St Francis cont.... What is the cost of a plot being cleared?
It varies, depending on the size of the plot, the amount of vegetation that needs to be cleared. It also depends on the mode of clearing (manual or semi-automated) chosen. In general terms, the rate is somewhere between R12.00 and R26.00 per square metre. What are the cost implications if the Municipality have to clear?
It’s important to note that the Municipality is legally entitled to clear a plot once notice has been given to the owner, and the owner hasn’t responded. The Municipality applies a published tariff that depends on the level of vegetation, running from R9.00 (light foliage) to R26 (heavy) per square metre. The cost will be claimed back from the owner by the Municipality. There are 38 plots scheduled for clearing by the Municipality over the next few months
St Francis Property Owners Association
2020/2021 Annual Membership
Association memberships are due for renewal on 1 October 2020. If you haven’t done so yet, please consider supporting us by becoming a member or renewing
your membership.
The annual subscription for a property owner/resident is R500 or R330 for a pen-sioner. The SFPO membership runs concurrently with its financial year – from 1 October to 30 September annually.
Payment OptionsVisit the website and submit your payment online –https://stfrancispropertyown-ers.co.za/membership/
or make an EFT payment direct to the bank account :
Francis Bay Residents AssociationStandard Bank, HumansdorpCode: 050015Account No: 082499276
Please use your Erf number and surname as reference. If you wish to make a more significant donation to the fund, please do so, it will be very well received.
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