Farm Tour

The Matroosberg Reserve is situated on a working fruit, vegetable and protea farm - This tour will take the visitors to the various farming activities.

• Distance: 10km
• Walking: very little
• Vehicle:
• up to 7 visitors - 4x4 VW Syncro
• 8 to 75 visitors - 4x4 Bedford Ex-Military Truck

Brief history of farming in this area:

The original farm stretched from here to the farm Tweedside, close to Matjiesfontein - more than 100Km! In later years this area was farmed from a farmstead about 20 km from here and this here was used as a livestock outpost for a few months a year. Now we have 130Ha of Pears and Apples, 35Ha of onions, 30Ha of proteas and very little livestock (only for private use) The limiting factor is water, as you can only farm in the dry summer with the water that is stored during the winter.

Places to visit (the order may differ, depending on the current activities)

Livestock - sheep and horses

Onion fields - planting in October, harvesting from January to March. Yield: up to 80 tons per Ha. We plant 670 000 plants per Ha.

Onion Packshed - capacity 3500 pockets (35 tons) per day with a crew of 22

Apple Orchard - Royal Gala, planted 1954, spacing 20 foot x 20 foot, 269 trees per Ha. Reworked to Royal Gala in 1996. Yield = max 30 ton per Ha, 700 apples per tree.

Culling - there are about 3500 blossoms/apples per tree, must reduce to 700.

Apple Orchard - planted 1986, 4.5x2 meter, 1111 trees per Ha, 46Ha = 51106 trees, Yield: up to 80 tons per ha, 3600 tons for the orchard = 224800 boxes

Storage dams - dam 2: 527 000 cubic meters, dam 3: 292 000 cubic meters, dam 4: 397 700 cubic meters.

Total all dams: 1 937 200 cubic meters to irrigate 130Ha fruit and 35Ha vegetables. Also used for trout (flyfishing) sport and recreation (water skiing)

Labour housing - Three bedrooms, kitchen, living room, full bathroom, outside storage room, electricity (subsidised by 60%), hot water

Labour force - 20 families (for both farms), all men and most women work. Some families have been with us for more than 20 years. One family have a third generation working here. A primary school is on a neighbouring farm and transport is provided to the school. We supply land where the workers can grow their own potatoes to market at a profit, as well as grazing for their sheep.

Management - Smith family

Father André responsible for the production and management of the fruit and vegetables.

Mother Cora, does the tourism bookings and catering.

Son Cordré is responsible for the proteas, financial management and Tourism operations as well as 30Ha of fruit.

Daughter-in-law Rihettha is responsible for admin and personell welfare.

Daughter Didi does the tourism marketing and assists with vegetable marketing and tourism operations.

Manager Johan Snyman does the fruit production and his wife, Isabelle does the production records and quality control

Bokwagtershuis - This is a renovated stone cottage that was used as an outpost many years ago. One of our ex-laborers (now a pensioner) lived there as a child with her grandfather while he was herding the goats. It is now rented out to tourists.

Water works - Our main water supply is the runoff from the mountain and with the water works we channel it from the river into the storage dams.

Ski Hut - The Ski Club base hut is rented to tourists is summer. In bad weather we entertain our guests there, instead of at the Dennebol campsite.

Protea orchard - 30Ha, 80Km, 133 000 plants. Not very successful because of frost. Proteas in mountain area - natural habitat, spread over 600Ha

Die Dennebol campsite and picnic area - We also receive groups there.

Protea Packshed - proteas coming from 5 farms (3 orchards, 2 mountains) are packed here for export to Holland and Germany. There are very little protea sales in South Africa. Rejects are dried and exported in dry bouquets. Capacity of up to 9 000 flowers per day.

Pear Orchards - the old and the new, 6x6m compared to 4x1,5m. 269 and 1666 trees per Ha. 30 and 70 tons per Ha.