Welgevonden Estate: Estate Manager’s newsletter: August 2026
- Aug 14
- 4 min read
Dear Welgevonden Estate Homeowners and Residents
Welgevonden Park
It is a pleasure to announce that the recreational facilities at Welgevonden Park will open on 1 September 2026.
Residents can look forward to having access to the following:
Two tennis courts
Two padel courts
A swimming pool, with a separate pool for younger children
Two bicycle tracks - one for younger, and one for older children
A dog park where dogs can run and play freely
A boardroom, available for hire
Details of the individual facility opening hours, tennis and padel court membership and booking procedures, as well as the rules governing the use of these facilities, will be circulated shortly.
We will also be sending homeowners a follow-up opinion survey to obtain their input on the preferred operating hours for the tennis and padel courts.
Save the date
We are planning the official opening of Welgevonden Park for Friday 2 October 2026, from 17:30 to 21:00.
Join us for an evening of food, drinks and an opportunity to mark the opening of this new lifestyle facility. Food trucks and beverages will be available.
More details will follow closer to the time.
Arbor Day celebrations: 3 September 2026
In celebration of Arbor Month, residents are invited to join us at Welgevonden Park at 15:00 on 3 September 2026 for a tree-planting ceremony to mark Arbor Day.
Arbor Day is a reminder of the important role trees play in our environment and communities. For Welgevonden Estate residents, it has particular significance. Our estate is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Western Cape’s Boland region, and its trees, gardens and open spaces form an important part of the environment we enjoy every day.
By planting trees, we help maintain and enhance Welgevonden Estate’s natural environment for the benefit of current and future residents.
Indigenous wildlife
Welgevonden Estate is home to a remarkable variety of indigenous wildlife – from warm-blooded and cold-blooded creatures to those that fly, crawl, burrow and move across the land. They live in the ground, on the ground and above it, often sharing the estate with us without us even noticing.
As residents, we have a responsibility to share the estate with its wildlife, giving animals the space they need to live and move freely. We also have a responsibility to care for wildlife if we find an animal injured or in distress.
Residents who need guidance or assistance with injured wildlife on Welgevonden Estate can contact Chris Jacobs on WhatsApp at +27 76 338 1013. Chris is a trained wildlife first-aid responder registered with the Kogelberg Biosphere Biodiversity Wildlife Clinic.
When contacting Chris, please send a WhatsApp voice note including:
A photograph of the animal
The animal’s PIN location
Your name and contact details
Chris will provide guidance and, if necessary, come out to attend to the injured animal. There is no charge for this service. Those whom he assisted are, however, welcome to make a donation to the Kogelberg Biosphere Biodiversity Wildlife Clinic.
Chris provided a few general guidelines to help residents protect wildlife on the estate, whether animals are injured or simply sharing our environment:
Keep injured birds warm. Place a hot-water bottle near an injured bird to help maintain its body temperature. Simply covering the bird with a warm blanket is not sufficient, as birds cannot regulate their body temperature effectively when injured.
Do not feed injured birds. Food or water can enter their airways and cause further harm.
Look out for chameleons. Check hedges and gardens for chameleons before spraying pesticides or trimming vegetation. Where possible, eradicate German wasps from your garden, as they can kill chameleons when they sting them.
Do not poison moles. Moles play an important role in the ecosystem and should be allowed to remain part of our natural environment.
Do not use glue traps. These are adhesive-coated pieces of cardboard, plastic or wood used to catch mice, rats and insects. Their use is illegal and can cause unnecessary suffering to animals.
Keep dogs on leashes. When walking your dogs, keep them on a leash to prevent them from chasing, injuring or killing wildlife they may encounter.
Roundabout: R44 entrance to Welgevonden Estate
Based on information received from Mr Deon Louw of the Stellenbosch Municipality’s Infrastructure Services Department, we would like to clarify that the roundabout in Hendrikse Street at Welgevonden Estate’s R44 entrance is classified as a mini circle, and not a traffic circle. The two types of intersection are governed by different rules.
Mini circle
Road sign: The inverted triangle indicates that drivers must yield the right of way. First at the yield line, first to proceed.
Right of way: Drivers approaching the mini circle must slow down or stop if necessary and give way to any vehicle that has already crossed another yield line.
Direction: Vehicles must travel around the central island in a clockwise direction.
Traffic circle
The rules for a traffic circle differ:
Right of way: Drivers entering the circle must give way to traffic already in the circle approaching from their right. It is therefore not a first-come, first-served system, as is the case with the mini circle.
Lane discipline: At larger, multi-lane traffic circles, drivers must select the appropriate lane before entering, based on their intended exit.
Signalling: Drivers should indicate left after passing the exit immediately before the one they intend to take, signalling their intention to leave the circle.
Safety first
Although the rules governing the mini circle in Hendrikse Street are clear, residents should remain alert when using it. Other road users may not be familiar with the rules applying to mini circles and may incorrectly apply the rules for traffic circles. This could result in confusion or accidents. Please approach the mini circle with caution and be prepared for other drivers to behave unexpectedly.
Best regards
Gawie Marx
Estate Manager
13 August 2026