View from the Anysberg wilderness property, which is for sale at R1.5 million.

Anne Porter, chairperson of Anne Porter Knight Frank has been mandated to sell 1 300ha of wilderness area in the Anysberg conservation area.

This is a 62 000ha tract of land in the Klein Karoo, the nearest towns of any size being Laingsburg and Touwsrivier. She says the nature reserve offers visitors some of the most striking scenery in the Karoo as well as the chance to view some fascinating animals and plants, and to take part in a variety of recreational activities.

“The scenery includes mountains, gorges, rivers that are sometimes almost dry, and open veld. The vegetation is transitional, which means it falls between mountain fynbos and typical Little Karoo veld.

“The wildlife that can be viewed here include Cape mountain zebra (one of the few places where this type of zebra can be seen), gemsbok, red hartebeest, black backed jackal and caracal. Leopards have been seen still living in the hills but are said to be shy of people.”

The area for sale is as unspoilt as the rest of the wilderness district and, Porter says, can never be developed or commercially farmed because it is a declared wilderness area. However, she says, the owner may be able to establish a safari venue with tents or cottages, offering hikes, riding, mountain bike trails and game viewing but not from vehicles. Opportunities of this kind have been offered in another part of the Anysberg.

“Of particular interest to some are the numerous early settler and San archaeological sites dotted throughout the reserve. Particularly impressive are the San rock paintings which are among the best in Southern Africa and which reveal many aspects of the San social hunting and religious life. As the area in earlier times was inhabited by large herds of elephants, these feature prominently in many of the cave paintings.

“The list price for the entire 1 300ha wilderness is R1.5 million. This sounds ludicrously inexpensive for so large a tract of land but is probably realistic in view of the fact that, as this is a dedicated wilderness area, the land on offer has very limited potential for income generation. Ideally, therefore, it should be bought by a group or a person with a strong interest in conservation and a strong commitment to preserving South Africa’s ecological heritage in this area. It is worth noticing that the Little Karoo and adjacent areas have several successful reserves of this type, including Langeberg West, Mont Eco, Marloth, Buffelspoort, Touwsrivier, Boosmansbos and the grassier reserves.”

Call Anne Porter on 021 671 7120 or 082 554 7944.