From the Estate Manager

From the Estate Manager

photo credit: Evert von Zwietring

With spring in the air and the new season which is finally upon us after a long, and seemingly relentless winter, we look forward to what we believe will be a summer with no shortage of good old highveld sunshine, late afternoon thunderstorms and fresh opportunities. As nature in our wild and beautiful estate awakens to the warmer weather, so we can also wipe off the winter’s dust and start anew.

As we are seeing a welcome easing of the restrictions associated with the national lockdown, the estate has also become a hive of activities with construction progressing at a feverish pace (no pun intended). We currently have a total of 209 active building sites at The Hills which account for the high volumes of traffic, especially during peak times at the Garsfontein-gate. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our residents and visitors for your continued patience with the noise, construction vehicles and occasional queues while building in our estate is ongoing. It really is much appreciated.

Just to give you an update on the progress with regards to the relocation of the bushpigs in the game reserve, I can let you know that these buggers are much smarter than any of us anticipated. A capturing cage was placed in the reserve and regularly moved to different locations so that we could have the best chance of being able to capture the pigs. They are clearly drawn to the bait that we use (a big thank you goes to Carlita’s for ensuring an uninterrupted supply of leftovers) because instead of entering the cage to get to it, they simply overturned the cage repeatedly so that the bait fell out as easy pickings. We then moved the cage into a thicket where they were only able to get to the food by entering straight through the trapdoor and that immediately did the trick. So far, we have already caught and removed a large male and expect to have more success in the coming days.

You also may have noticed that we are continuing with the next phase in the construction of pedestrian walkways. The section of walkway down Witstinkhout Street has been completed and we have now moved over to the bottom section of Royal Albatross where the walkway is being built between the entrance to the game reserve, along Wildcat Street and right up to the clubhouse. The walkway will ensure that our residents, and especially our children moving between the school and their homes, can safely make use of a pathway which is well away from the traffic. We apologise for any inconvenience while the work is underway, especially to the residents whose properties are located where the concrete is being laid, but we are sure that the benefit that it will give us far outweighs the temporary disruption.

On a more serious note, we have to touch on the subject of the recent altercation at the HOA office of which everyone knows by now. The letter that was addressed to the estate by the board of directors clearly spelled out the urgent steps that we had to take following the unfortunate incident but there is no doubt in my mind that it has caused an immense amount of damage to our community at a time when we can least afford any division. This deeply saddens me. The applicable processes were set in motion and they must run their course so I do not want to comment on the details of the matter any further. What I would like to say, however, is that it has forced us to reflect on our humanity and the way in which we treat each other. You have my honest commitment as Estate Manager that everyone visiting the HOA office will be welcomed and treated with the dignity and respect that we all deserve equally. Our doors remain open for you to approach us for assistance in any way and we undertake to address your needs in a friendly and professional manner, going the extra mile if needed. Where we do make mistakes, and I know that we have done so in the past, we will acknowledge them and work harder at improving our efforts. I hope that you will accept this commitment in the spirit in which it is intended.

I can then also confirm that we have significantly improved the quality of our coffee so please feel free to pop in for a catch up at any time.

That is just about it from my side for now. I wish you all well and remember to look after yourselves and one another.

Until Next time,

Murray Retief

THE HILLS ESTATE | 2020 | ISSUE 5 | 9