WILD & WONDERFUL FAMILY
COVER PHOTO
FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER
Dear Residents,
Moving onto Shakas Rock Main Road, where speed calming measures will be installed imminently.
Where has the year gone? It’s certainly flown by, hasn’t it? I was reminded of this when I saw hundreds – 401 to be exact – of children and their parents on the roads of Simbithi for our annual Trick or Treat event, which is always a highlight. Thank you to all families who participated. It was wonderful to see you all enjoying the festivities in such a responsible, well-mannered way. As we head into the last, and arguably busiest, quarter of the year, I’d like to remind you of our partnership with the Urban Vervet Monkey Research project. The team is conducting valuable research into monkey behaviour on our Estate. You may have seen them out and about; they are easily identified by their blue hats. As they work with us, let us be respectful, as per our values and our mutual respect policy. As an Eco Estate, our partnership with such worthy research and initiatives such as these assists in ensuring that our environmental practices are always based on best practice and current research findings. Additionally, as our Estate becomes more populated during the next few months, a reminder that we do not permit feeding monkeys in Simbithi. If you would like to find out more about our procedures for managing monkeys, please get in touch with our environmental department: environmental@simbithi.com.
The signage is up, and although this week’s inclement weather delayed the beginning of construction, we look forward to this being completed within the month.
FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER
Please continue to drive carefully. While on the topic of roads and driving, please respect the speeding limit within Simbithi. This is in place to protect our children, and wildlife. Later in the newsletter, you will find a reminder on penalties for speeding, which I encourage you to read. As the school term nears its end, the population within Simbithi will increase, as is typical for this time of year. Our community’s culture is one of respect and integrity, in line with our values. We pride ourselves on being neighbourly and respectful, and welcoming to guests. If you are preparing to travel during the festive season, we wish you a great trip and happy holidays. To our residents coming home for the holidays, welcome back.
Have a great November!
Marc Mc Clure
FROM THE Club General Manager
At the time of writing this, we are close to completing the first phase of the Club’s Master Plan, our multi-faceted sports precinct.
management of the precinct. They will focus on maintenance and ensuring the optimal operation of the pay-to-play model.
As we open the facilities for a gorgeous summer of sport, please remember to download the Clubmaster app, as this will be used to reserve and pay for facilities; these will be open from mid-December, after our grand opening. The precinct will operate on a pay-to-play model, which will assist us in maintaining the precinct. While we ease into the operation of our precinct, a few snags may pop up, and we ask you to bear with us.
Santa has certainly ramped up his transport this year, and his entrance will be grand. Our Christmas letterbox will be on 1 December 2024 for our little ones to fill out their wish lists and make sure it’s off to the North Pole before Santa arrives. We have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner planned, and it is truly special;
I encourage you to book your table. Then, we have the perfect end to 2024: rock Through the Ages with us, as we travel through the 70s, 80s and 90s for our annual New Year’s Eve party on the deck. Finish the year in style, with food stations and a live DJ.
A warm welcome to our new sport supervisors, who will be assisting Acting Sports Manager Dane Vosloo with the
Bookings for both events are open: email events@simbithi.com or call 032 946 5409 to reserve your spot.
FROM THE CLUB GENERAL MANAGER
Just to note, the embankments around the Park are still fragile and will require some settling to ensure safety. We will also continue to grow the play offering in this space as we head into the new financial year.
Craig Nell
Freeme Wildlife NEWSLETTER
SEEHOA is a partner of FreeMe Wildlife, as we have shared in previously. We are delighted to share the organisation’s latest e-Newsletter. Click here to read it.
Wild& WONDERFUL
Here are a few of our favourite shots from the Simbithi Wildlife Group. Thank to you to our community for adding to our library!
1. Dion Steer snapped this genet on Bushwillow Close. Quite a special sighting during the day!
2. A true leaf katydid, quite poetically spotted by Katie Lang. How quaint!
3. A nagapie, or Mohol bushbaby, peeking at Brett Roux from the 5th hole.
4. This adorable duiker kept snug and warm, gazing dolefully at Donna Jones.
5. An intimate moment between two euchromina, wasp mimic moths, in the Mngeni Forest, captured by Paul Johnson.
6. A rather dapper painted reed frog, spotted by Marlene Venter.
Donna Jones
Marlene Venter
ECO-ESTATE LIVING Pioneering
At a pioneering eco-estate like Simbithi, the environment is at the top of our list, every day. That said, on certain days, we do take extra care to commemorate important milestones. As part our strategy, we are also passionate about educating our community and surrounds about the environment, and the steps we take to protect and enhance the 430ha of natural beauty that is Simbithi.
Recently, two important dates popped up on our calendar: first, Sustainability Day on Wednesday, 23 October 2024 and the International Day of Climate Action on Thursday, 24 October 2024.
ENVIRONMENT
In line with our vision, to guarantee the sustainability of Simbithi Eco-Estate, our team is intentional about sustainable practices. Here is a snapshot of some of the ways we do this:
• Preserving wetland areas by removing selfseeded woody plants
• Creating and maintaining recreational areas, like our trails, dams, birding sites and picnic areas
Habitat preservation
This is done by referring to our vegetation map, and encouraging biological diversity in terms of fauna and flora:
• Preserving our grassland by removing woody plants and rehabilitating threatened grassland habitats
• Encouraging ecological succession of our coastal forests
• Planting trees in forested areas
• Alien plant removal, follow-up and rehabilitation with locally indigenous species
• Using chemicals, only as a last resort
Vegetation maintenance
• Harvesting cuttings and seeds from in-situ plants
• Seed heads edible for wildlife are not removed
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.
ENVIRONMENT
Preventing soil erosion
• Avoiding ground surface run-off by harvesting rainwater for re-use
• Planting up bare areas
Waste management
• Recycling responsibly by integrating with local recycling companies
• Chipping pruned branches to generate compost
We are also passionate about combating climate change. Recently, we have undertaken three projects in this regard:
1. Contributing to providing food and refuge for endemic species. We collaborated with Tree Trails, at Sugar Rush Park, by contributing trees from our nursery. This was after they had removed alien plants from their obstacle course, including Pereskia aculata (Barbados gooseberry), Schinus terebinthifolia (Brazilian pepper tree) and Canna indica (Indian shot).
ENVIRONMENT
They reached out for assistance with rehabilitation. We contributed:
5 Acokanthera oppositifolia - Bushman's poison 3 Asparagus falcatus -Large Forest Asparagus A variety of ferns (Microsorum scolopendria -Dune fern, Forest Swamp fern)
Justicia flava -Yellow justicia
Mackaya bella -Forest bell bush
Plectranthus fruticosus -Forest spurflower
Plectranthus ecklonii - Large Spurflower
reclinata - African wild date
We have since visited Tree Trails and advised further on alien plants, and will continue to collaborate with them in terms of education and support.
2. Saving energy and changing energy source
If you have visited the HOA administration building, recently, you may have noticed our newly installed solar panels on the roof of our staff parking lot, and the Welcome Centre.
We plan to keep this as our main energy source.
& TALK THERAPY
ENVIRONMENT
We’ve also changed the lighting on Cussonia Way to reduce the glare and intensity of lighting, thereby decreasing light pollution.
3. Recycling
An ongoing practice at Simbithi!
Here are our latest statistics: 6500 kg of recyclable materials removed between the 9th and 22nd of October. We are dedicated Simbithi remains a safe, biodiverse space for all who call it home. During this significant week for the environment, we encourage you to partner with us and do the same.
Family Fun AT THE HERON
FAMILY FUN
We heralded the arrival of spring with a bumper family day at the Heron Community Centre. A host of activities were planned to keep our community busy, including a water slide, adventure golf competition and face painting.
Live music and an exciting opportunity for littlies to make their own pizza were an extra special touch. Thank you, everyone, who joined us!
GOLF CART INSURANCE RENEWAL
As is stated in the Simbithi EcoEstate Homeowner’s Handbook, it is compulsory for every golf cart on the Estate to be registered and adequately insured for public liability. In accordance with our revised rule, proof of adequate golf cart insurance must be supplied to SEEHOA to register and obtain the requisite stickers for your cart.
This must be renewed annually, and such time has come.
Please e-mail your proof of insurance to welcomecentre@ simbithi.com . The Welcome Centre will then advise when your three stickers per cart are available for collection. The stickers must be displayed on the front, left and right-hand sides of your cart. An amount of R140 will be payable at the Welcome Centre via cash, debit card or levy account for the forthcoming period.
Kindly note the above process also applies to visitors intending to bring golf carts onto the Estate. Please advise your guests accordingly.
Similarly, if you have sold your golf cart since the last renewal, please advise us via e-mail so we may re-allocate your sticker. For more information, or for clarity on the above, kindly contact the Welcome Centre on 032-946 8360 or e-mail
welcomecentre@simbithi.com .
SECURITY
Please Drive Safely
You may have noticed speed display boards at strategic points on our Estate, which are intended to create awareness of our speed limit, which is 40km/h.
When you exceed the speed limit, the speeding board will record the speed, image of the vehicle and registration number.
Pet related transgressions
For the first offence, security will engage with you and caution you about exceeding the speed limit. The second and third offences will carry a penalty of R500, each, and the fourth and fifth offences will attract a penalty of R2500, each.
Residents, please adhere to the speed limit, and advise your guests of this, too. We are a family Estate, and our speed limit is in place to protect our children. Further, driving cautiously protects our wildlife, who also call Simbithi home.
During September, our security team attended to eight reports of dogs being out of property. For several of these reports, dogs were running unleashed, which made it difficult for security to locate them. We also note a concerning increase in instances where dogs are left unattended overnight.
Pet owners, part of your right to keep a pet at Simbithi is the responsibility to abide by the associated rules.
This includes ensuring your pet is safely contained within your property, unless he or she is on a leash, under the control of a responsible person. If you transgress the pet rules, here are the penalty tiers: after the first offence, security will engage and caution you on the pet rule. The second offence will attract a penalty of R500, and the fourth a penalty of R2500. The fifth offence, the most severe, may result in you having to rehome the pet. Please work with us to ensure Simbithi remains a harmonious living space.
Lost & Found
Items that are misplaced around the Estate, particularly in our common areas, are collected and temporarily stored by our security department. Our team then follows a process to attempt to return lost and found items.
If items are not claimed within a month, they are then donated to one of our CSI initiatives.
If you have lost an item, please contact dysan@simbithi.com with a full description of the item.
Board of Directors
Jeff Leaver: Chairman
Clive Mc Creadie: Vice-Chairman HOA
Andrew Mackenzie
Louis Boshoff
Gavin Dunlop
Pamela White
Margi Lilienfeld
Frank Bradford: Vice-Chairman SCC EXCO
Director Human Resources board8@simbithi.com
Director Security board4@simbithi.com
Director Finance & IT board3@simbithi.com
Director Design Review Committee board5@simbithi.com
Director Technical & Maintenance board7@simbithi.com
Director Marketing & Communications board9@simbithi.com
Director Environmental board6@simbithi.com
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.
Access Control
946 8380
946 8364 gm@simbithi.com Heron Pizzeria
Single Residential
Single Residential
Sectional Title Units
Sectional Title Units TOTAL DEVELOPMENT: 1487 of 1610 = 93% developed