The landscaped gardens at Southbroom Golf Club are exquisite.
EVER traveled to a pretty place and left wishing you lived there?
Well, Southbroom is one of those magical hamlets – described as the ‘South Coast’s best kept secret’.
One could retreat to this piece of paradise and live happily ever after, as it a fully functionally little upmarket village, bustling with friendly locals, doctors, restaurants, a pharmacy, gym, gift shops, beauty salons, supermarket, Sheila Green Library (run by a group of voluntary librarians), rambling nature trials, vet, dentist, petrol station, attorney, liquor store, architect, tennis and bowls clubs and not forgetting the famous 18-hole Southbroom Golf Club.
The Herald’s Sports Editor David Rush recently captured a beautiful afternoon at Granny’s Pool.
The Imbizana Mission Church, located off the Bushy Vales Road, was described by Libby Crochane in her book, Southbroom – Remembering Yesteryear, as a charming, simple, century-old historical treasure. She goes on to write that there is also a private cemetery established by Southbroom’s first pioneer, Alfred Eyles.
The mission church is not only a museum but a fully functional congregation run by Dave Humphreys.
Southbroom’s quaint village has everything to offer.
It’s a perfect day to be sight-seeing – the sun is out and there is a gentle breeze. Passionate about her town and what it has to offer, Wendy Holness, a Wakefields estate agent, takes the Herald reporter on a drive around the town and, surprisingly there is so much to see and do in this quaint suburb – only some seven kilometres from Ramsgate.
Wendy Holness admires the view from the pretty little bridge.
The picturesque seaside village boasts exquisite landscaped gardens and plentiful indigenous foliage. If you love walks, are an avid birder and enjoy long days at the beach then this is your paradise.
The landscaped gardens at Southbroom Golf Club are exquisite.
Southbroom rightfully boasts about having some of the best beaches along the coast – pristine, with not a scrap of litter seen for miles. Granny’s Pool, built in 1934 by Frank Eyles, is the ideal spot for a family beach outing as its safe and the perfect place to relax. The change rooms which are little wooden cabins named ‘Grannies’ and ‘Grandpas’ are convenient and hygienic.
The wheelchair walkway at Granny’s pool.
Thanks to the sterling efforts of the Southbroom Conservancy Granny’s Pool has its very own ‘beach wheelchair’, which gives disabled people the chance to enjoy the ocean.
The tidal pool, built in 1964, at the mouth of the Imbizana lagoon at the main beach, is another sun-gazing hangout with the view of Ramsgate in the distance. Umkobi beach is another popular spot with well-kept and clean beach facilities.
It was fun in the sun at Granny’s Pool for brothers, Leo and Ben Aucamp, on holiday from Gauteng.
It’s the text-book example of what happens when a proactive Ratepayers’ Association, Community Police Forum, Conservancy and local police work closely together to achieve a common goal – a safe, secure, environmentally conscious, neat and sublime town.
Wildlife is a common sight in Southbroom.
The conservancy has been proactive in removing alien invader plants, improving water quality, wildlife protection and trails. A full time game guard has now been deployed by the conservancy to find snares that are placed to trap wildlife. The guard has found thousands of them, especially around building sites. This initiative has made a difference, and nature lovers have seen a remarkable increase of wildlife.
A world class view of Granny’s Pool.
If you are a ‘greenie’ you will love the conservancy’s litter bag project at the beaches, which is used daily by beachgoers to keep their coastline spotlessly clean.
Southbroom Conservancy’s litter bag project is a clever concept that encourages beachgoers to keep the beaches clean.
The community spirit is so fantastic that, after the recent storms, a dozen or so locals even walked the beach and picked up bags of plastic.
The town is littered with beautiful homes.
The Southbroom Urban Improvement Precinct, a Section 21 company, was formed by Southbroom Property Owners’ Association, with its main objective to procure supplementary rates which are over and above normal rates raised by the municipality.
These supplementary funds are used for the provision of services, resources and improvements to benefit Southbroom exclusively.
Having a catch-up are Vicky Potgieter (left) and Iliska Pretorius at Southbroom’s newest restaurant, YaYa’s.
Residents should be rightfully proud of what they have achieved as their town has grown in leaps and bounds over recent years.
With exquisite homes ranging from R2-million to R30-million, they have undoubtedly got their formula right.
The landscaped gardens at Southbroom Golf Club are exquisite.
Mrs Holness said that, while Southbroom has always been the ideal place to retire and a popular holiday destination, career-driven couples with children have now started to make the suburb their home, largely due to Margate Airport offering daily flights. “The main attraction for young couples is the nearby South City school, which caters for children from preschool to matric,” she said.
“Southbroom is the pearl of the South Coast,” she added.
