Welgevonden Estate: Estate Manager’s newsletter: November 2025

Dear Homeowners and Residents

WHOA AGM 2025

Further to the notices that were sent out on 3 and 10 November 2025 respectively, we wish to remind all Welgevonden Estate homeowners about the WHOA Annual General Meeting 2025 taking place at 18:00 on Monday 24 November 2025 at the Doornbosch Hall, R44, Stellenbosch.

We encourage all homeowners to save the date and join us for this important community event.

If you are unable to attend the meeting and wish to appoint a proxy to act on your behalf, or if you will be attending on behalf of a legal entity, please download and complete the appropriate proxy form provided in the notice of the meeting, and submit it in accordance with the instructions provided on the form.

Garden-of-the-Year 2025 competition 

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who entered the Garden-of-the-Year 2025 competition. The standard of entries was truly inspiring. Your creativity, care, and attention to detail made the judging both a delight and a real challenge!

And the results are in!

Congratulations to the winners of the Welgevonden Estate Garden-of-the-Year 2025 competition, proudly sponsored by SANCUS Realty and SADIECOFFEE:

• Garden-of-the-Year 2025 (first prize): Marita Nigrini, 2 Gousblom Street

• Runner-up: Dalina de Villiers, 39 Mountain Silver Boulevard

• Third Prize: Marike van Zyl, 16 Silver Oak Street

At the prizegiving – Front: Marike van Zyl, Suzanne Moss from Trees SA (adjudicator), Marita Nigrini, Dalina de Villiers, Gawie Marx (Estate manager), Nicola Voges (SANCUS Realty). Back: Van Zyl Voges (SANCUS Realty), Johan Sadie (SADIECOFFEE), Paul Jordaan (Estate landscape manager)

Garden-of-the-Year 2025

Please see more photographs below.

We also extend our appreciation to all residents who contribute to the beauty of Welgevonden Estate through their gardens. Your efforts perfectly complement Excom’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the estate’s appeal and charm.

*Looking ahead to next year’s competition, we’re planning a series of complimentary horticulture and gardening workshops in autumn 2026. These sessions will include expert advice on preparing for the summer season and will offer residents an opportunity to share ideas and inspiration. We look forward to learning and growing together – quite literally!

Welgevonden Community Christmas Festival 2025

Join us for a festive day!

The Welgevonden Community Christmas Festival 2025 will take place on Saturday 13 December 2025, on the green area below the SADIECOFFEE kiosk. This much-loved event is organised by a group of dedicated residents who generously volunteer their time to bring the community’s festive spirit to life.

Market stalls will open from 10:00, with a fun-filled programme that includes Santa’s arrival, Christmas carols, and live music on stage later in the afternoon. Full details and starting times will be displayed on posters at the estate entrances closer to the date.

Mark your calendars for this joyous family event – a magical day of stalls, music, singing, lights, and holiday cheer!

Responsibility for minors on Welgevonden Estate

We’d like to remind residents that parents and legal guardians are responsible for their children while on Welgevonden Estate, as well as for their friends from within or outside the estate while visiting them. This, especially, applies when they are unaccompanied on common property such as the streets, parks, Welgevonden Park, and the Welgevonden dam.

Unaccompanied minors aged 16 and older may access the estate through the pedestrian gate and to the dam area via the biometric wave reader system, provided written consent has been given by their parents or legal guardians. By registering a child on the Welgevonden biometric system, parents or guardians accept that the WHOA (the Association) cannot be held responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or accident that may occur while their unaccompanied children use the system. It is also important that parents and guardians ensure their children do not allow other minors to enter the dam area, or use the pedestrian gate, without adult supervision.

Please continue to take your children’s safety seriously. While Welgevonden Estate offers a secure environment and a wonderful sense of freedom, no residential area is completely risk-free. Encourage your children to be aware of their surroundings and to act responsibly when moving about the estate on their own.

As we head into summer with its longer days and more outdoor activity, please be mindful of the many residents enjoying the estate’s communal spaces. Encourage your children to keep noise levels reasonable, particularly during organised events at the dam, and remind them not to open the dam’s pedestrian gate from the inside for unaccompanied minors.

Important dates: December 2025 / January 2026 holiday season

• Administrative office: The Welgevonden Estate office (R44 entrance) will close at 10:00 on 18 December 2025 and reopen on 12 January 2026. Matters that require urgent attention during this period can be referred to the estate’s security office, telephone number 021 889 5209.

• Biometric registration: The security office (R304 entrance) will be open on weekdays (excluding public holidays) from 09:00‑13:00 from 18 December 2025 to 9 January 2026 for those who wish to register on the biometric system.

• Builders’ holiday: The annual builders’ holiday starts on 15 December 2025 and ends on 9 January 2026. Therefore, the last day for any building activity and cleaning up of sites is Friday 12 December 2025. During the builders’ holiday period no construction or building activities will be allowed on Welgevonden Estate, and building contractors will not be allowed to enter the estate. All building sites must be properly closed off before the start of the builders’ holiday, according to requirements. No building materials and/or tools may be stored or left outside the building site enclosures. Furthermore, transportable toilets for contractors must be positioned within the enclosed site areas.

• Submitting building plans: The closing date for submitting building plans for revision at the Welgevonden Estate Office is 5 December 2025.

• SADIECOFFEE: The coffee kiosk on Welgevonden Estate will be closed on the following dates: 24 and 25 December 2025, and 1 January 2026.

Welgevonden dam: Opening hours

The Welgevonden dam is open daily from 05:30 to 19:30.

Snakes

We’ve noted reports of snake sightings on Welgevonden Estate. With summer here, this is quite normal, especially as the estate borders open farmlands where snakes are naturally active.

Please stay alert and mindful of the possibility of snakes in the area. If you spot one on your property or on the estate, contact the security office on 021 889 5209 or 076 440 0558 for assistance, instead of turning to social media for help. The security team will assist promptly.

Most snakes prefer to avoid people. If you happen to see one, keep your distance, give it space to move away, and take note of where it goes so that security can locate it easily.

Best regards

Gawie Marx

Estate Manager

11 November 2025 

Below: Photographs of the winning gardens in this year's Garden-of-the-Year competition.