THE HANGKLIP ECO CORRIDOR – THE UNTOLD STORY

Story told by Allan Heydorn

In the book Your Place in the Kogelberg it is stated that the land comprising the Hangklip Ecological Corridor between Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay is owned by WESSA. In fact, this corridor was established over a 12 year period between 1998 and 2010 through a wonderful collaborative effort between the Kogelberg Branch of the BotSoc, WWF-SA, Cape Nature, the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, conservation conscious individuals and the private sector. As will be shown below, the land is actually owned by WWF-SA, who facilitated the land purchases involved. Had this corridor not been established, Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay would have merged progressively through property development and urban creep – to the detriment of its biodiversity and incredible beauty. The story of the establishment of this ecological corridor, which required a great deal of work and which has both exciting and sad facets, has never been told in detail. We asked Allan Heydorn, who was closely involved in the project, to do so:

In 1998 Ursula Huyssen, an enthusiastic member of the BotSoc, discovered to her horror that a smallholding known as ‘Koppie Alleen’ near the cutting of the road between Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay, was in the market for purposes of property development.  This smallholding was registered as Erf 162 of the original Hangklip Farm 559 and has an area of 94 ha. In desperation she turned to Avril Nunn and together they approached me to enquire whether WWF-SA could help. At that stage I was no longer CEO of WWF-SA, but was still closely involved with the organisation. Had I known what this request would entail over the next 12 years and the magnitude of the funds which would have to be raised, I might not have had the guts to involve either myself or WWF.

 When I brought the matter to the attention of WWF-SA, they agreed that property development on ‘Koppie Alleen’ should be prevented – if at all possible. Long hours of negotiation with the owners of the smallholding, Mr and Mrs van Schalkwyk, followed. These discussions went hand in hand with an intensive effort to raise the necessary funds.  Eventually WWF-SA was very fortunate in that Mrs Rita Brodie of London and her family donated a generous and substantial sum which enabled the purchase the 94 ha property. Two conditions were attached to this donation. Firstly, the land purchased should be named in honour of Bernard Brodie, Rita’s late husband who was a great nature lover and a WWF benefactor – hence the name ‘Bernard Brodie Link Reserve’. Secondly, the property should be registered in the name of WWF to prevent alienation at a later stage. A memorial plaque to Bernard Brodie was erected on a beautiful rocky outcrop high on the property which, at the time, could be reached by means of a 4×4 vehicle on a rough jeep track. It was my privilege to take Rita Brodie there to see the plaque. Understandably a few tears were shed.

 WWF-SA does not have the capacity of administering large tracts of conservation land and Cape Nature was therefore approached with a request to take on this responsibility. Fortunately they agreed to do so and to manage it as part of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.

 The next chapter in this saga was an attempt by a Mr Esterhuizen to develop chalets on a strip of land immediately to the west of the Brodie Link Reserve under the pretext of being labourer’s cottages. The land concerned has an area of 22 ha and is registered as Erf 559/115. Protracted negotiations followed. Eventually WWF-SA bought this land as well and added it to the Bernard Brodie Link Reserve.

 Everyone thought that this was the end of this project. Then in 2005, 294 ha of land registered as Erf 559/160, comprising a major portion of the eastern flank of Hangklip Mountain, including the iconic Hangklip Peak, unexpectedly came on the market. This was as a result of the sad passing of its owner, Mr John Mudge, who was another great nature lover. His family were not in a position to keep the property and had to sell. Pam Golding Estate Agents informed me of intense interest in this land – again for purposes of property development. Had such development taken place, all efforts to prevent urban creep between Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay would have been negated. WWF-SA was therefore approached again and agreed to guarantee the necessary bridge funding, on condition that an equivalent amount was raised elsewhere.

After much head-scratching and scurrying around, I was very fortunate to meet Ben and Karen Marais at the home of Municipal Councillor, Louis van Heerden. Ben and Karen referred me to Ben’s brother, Simon, who headed Allan Gray Financial Enterprises in Australia. The Marais family are dedicated to conservation of unspoilt natural environments and I was told that Simon had a particular love for the mountains of the fynbos region of the Western Cape. They founded the Trellis Trust to enable support of charitable initiatives, including the purchase of conservation-worthy land. WWF-SA approached Simon about the matter and this led to the donation of a very meaningful sum of money as a contribution towards acquisition of this 294 ha property. However, there was still a shortfall between the market price placed on the property and the available funds. After much further discussion with the Mudge family, they agreed to lower the price on condition that the money was transferred immediately. My friend and predecessor as WWF-SA CEO, Frans Stroebel, was most helpful in these negotiations. WWF-SA was now in a position to purchase the

294 ha property and to add it to the Hangklip Ecological Corridor – again with the stipulation that it was registered in the name of WWF. This addition to the Hangklip Ecological Corridor and the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve was registered in 2006. Sincere thanks are due to Cape Nature for being prepared to manage this land as well.

 Following this purchase in 2006, I took Simon Marais up the mountain to see the extent to which the Trellis Trust had contributed to the establishment of the Hangklip Ecological Corridor. When he saw that 69 ha of land (Erf 161 of Hangklip Farm 559), was situated directly between the Bernard Brodie Link Reserve and the eastern flank of Hangklip Mountain, he asked that we launch new negotiations with a view to also adding this land to the ecological corridor. It was established that the property belonged to Mrs Gemma van Schaardenburgh, a lovely lady who ran a pottery and art studio on the smallholding. Understandably she was not keen to sell and to move out of her house, but she loved that land so much that she wanted it to be preserved for conservation in perpetuity. Eventually, after many hours of discussion with her and her family, she agreed to sell as long as WWF gave her a life-usufruct to continue living there. The Trellis Trust generously donated another substantial sum which, in 2010, enabled WWF-SA to purchase both the land and the house on it. Gemma continued to live there.

With that the Hangklip Ecological Corridor project reached its conclusion. It was one of the longest but most exciting land acquisition projects in the history of WWF-SA – in the heart of the Fynbos Plant Kingdom of the Western Cape.  While the actual prices paid for the individual properties concerned cannot be made public, it can be said that the total sum enabling the establishment of the Hangklip Ecological Corridor was very close to R11 million. If one adds existing protected land adjacent to that purchased by WWF-SA, the total functional ecological corridor, stretching from the top of Hangklip Mountain to the sea, now has an area of over 1000 ha. The existing protected areas include 330 ha of Municipal Conservation Land and the Seafarm Conservancy of 259 ha.

But there is a sad side to this story. The late John Mudge will always be associated with the eastern flank and the Peak of Hangklip Mountain and it was not easy for his family to part with that land. Gemma van Schaardenburgh did not have the pleasure of continuing to live on her property for long as she succumbed to cancer. Then, Simon Marais very unexpectedly passed away at the age of 51, also as a result of cancer, which he fought with immense courage.  WWF-SA remains in touch with his wife, Corena and his family and the intention is to erect a memorial plaque for him at the place where he asked us to try and complete the jigsaw puzzle through acquisition of Erf 161 of Hangklip Farm 559. That plaque will overlook both the Hangklip Mountain and False Bay – a truly magic place.

map of hangklip

Map indicating various stages of the WWF-SA Hangklip Corridor Project

Yellow:     Brodie Link Reserve (acquired 1998-2001) (94 + 22 ha = 116 ha)

Green:      Mudge Property (acquired 2005-2006) (294 ha)

Pink:        Portion 161/Hangklip Farm 559 (acquired 2010) (69 ha)

Orange:   Seafarm Conservancy (259 ha)

Purple:    Municipal Conservation Area (±330 ha)

The total current functional area of the Hangklip Corridor: ± 1068 ha