Ken Borland

The opening of The President’s Links, a golf estate of world-class quality, based on the principles of eco-friendly sustainability and durability, is very good news for the community of Walvis Bay as a whole.

Comprised of over 745 luxurious residential units in about 148 hectares, the estate offers comfort, safety and high-class leisure and commercial amenities. Chief among these is Namibia’s first signature golf course, designed by the legendary Peter Matkovich and leading South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen, who has finished the year ranked inside the top-10 of the world golf rankings.

Matkovich and Oosthuizen chose the specific location of the course, on the edge of the Dorob National Park and on the fringes of Walvis Bay town. The distinctive dunes surrounding the course will be an added attraction and The President’s Links are hopeful of attracting thousands of golfing tourists. Aiming to be on the top-100 list of global courses, they are also optimistic that they can attract the Sunshine Tour back to Namibia and possibly even stage a DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) event in the future.

Anyone investing in The President’s Links will automatically contribute to The Living Desert Fund. Twenty percent of every house sold will go into this sustainability fund, which will enable community development initiatives as well as maintaining the golf course and clubhouse.

The President’s Links will undoubtedly boost the local economy, creating jobs and adding to the sense that Walvis Bay is a centre of growth, especially since the construction of the new container terminal at the port which has a capacity of at least 750 000 standard 20-foot equivalent units per annum.

The estate is a big investment in Namibia as a whole and the Walvis Bay community will benefit through the presence of multinational technology retailers such as iStore, a new state-of-the-art hospital, a hotel and casino operated by an international group, and other retailers of global brands such as Starbucks.

In an extremely arid country like Namibia, water conservation is always a priority and The President’s Links will be using electrocoagulation technology to convert water that was formerly effluent exiting the Walvis Bay municipality into an odourless source of irrigation water for use out on the golf course. The municipality has granted the estate three million litres a day of water that is currently not fit for human consumption and cannot be purified to potable drinking water. All water not used on the estate will then be sent back to the surrounding community for their use.

The President’s Links is complying fully with the Edge (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Certification system of the International Finance Corporation. Edge certification gives owners the assurance that their homes are built to be resource efficient. By focusing on energy and water saving initiatives, as well as ensuring the maximum use of raw materials in their most natural state, the estate has made a minimum of 20% savings across the board.

For the non-golfers, there will be plenty of other amenities for the amusement of residents, including pet-friendly recreational parks, a sports education centre, restaurants and coffee shops, gym, bowling alley, swimming pool, tennis courts, running and cycling tracks.

The President’s Links offer the ultimate in style and luxury and the ideal opportunity to live, work and retire in Walvis Bay. Investing in this eco-friendly, sustainable and yet modern and sophisticated estate includes free golf membership.

Set in the beauty of nature in its raw form, the President’s Links mixed development offers spacious living and incredible amenities.

The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a prestige golf tournament co-hosted by Southern Africa’s Sunshine Tour and the European Tour, held every summer at the famous Leopard Creek estate outside Malelane. The best part of covering this event is that I get to stay at River Cottage, one of the finest bed and breakfast guesthouses I have had the pleasure of frequenting.

The “River” it is named after is the famous Crocodile River on the southern border of the Kruger National Park and River Cottage is right on the riverside, with an elevated view on to South Africa’s most famous game reserve.

Apart from the spacious units, which are fully equipped for those wanting to self-cater, River Cottage also has beautiful gardens which attract a wealth of birdlife that is slightly different to that found along the river. It’s not often you find a place that combines a sense of wilderness in the pristine bushveld with such comfort.

I have a wonderful start to every day at River Cottage, getting up early to do a circuit of the gardens and the riverfront before sitting down for the sumptuous breakfast and then heading off to work at the golf.

The delicious prospect of what denizens of Kruger Park are down at the river is exciting enough, but first one wanders through the trees of the garden and past some grassy areas that the seedeaters love, collecting a host of Lowveld species. The owners of River Cottage are clearly lovers of the botanical as well, with name tags on the flora and they have planted typical bushveld trees, including even a Baobab and a Mopane, well south of their natural range.

They are not the only inhabitants of further north to be found at River Cottage. While walking along the bank overlooking the river, I became aware of a distinctive purring call coming from high in the trees on the garden side.

It’s a call that always gives me a cheesy grin because it belongs to the African Mourning Dove, one of my favourite Columbids. It is a more typical bird of the restcamps way further north in Kruger Park, such as Satara, Letaba, Mopani and Shingwedzi, with the southern edge of its range usually being north of the bottom camps like Skukuza and Lower Sabie.

African Mourning Dove do love riverine woodland and they are also very fond of Ana Trees, so perhaps it was not too surprising to see one all the way down at the Crocodile River, but it is certainly the furthest south I have ever come across this species.

The River Cottage gardens also attract Brownheaded Parrots to the taller trees and a fruiting fig tree close to the main house hid a few in the canopy, as always they were tough to see but their screeching calls gave them away.

The lapa and sun-deck next to the swimming pool are ideal spots to keep a close watch on the Crocodile River and Great White and Little Egret, Blacksmith Plover, African Jacana, Blackwinged Stilt, Grey, Squacco and Greenbacked Heron, Egyptian and Spurwinged Goose, African Pied Wagtail, Reed and Whitebreasted Cormorant, Spottedbacked and Thickbilled Weaver, Lesser Striped Swallow, Woodland, Pied and Malachite Kingfisher, African Spoonbill, Sacred Ibis, Water Dikkop, African Darter, African Fish Eagle and Natal Francolin are all usually present and easily spotted along the banks.

 

Even less common birds like the Horus Swift, Lesser Masked Weaver and Redfaced Cisticola, which pops up in the reedbeds and other riverside vegetation with its bright silky-white chest and loud, piercing call, are often seen.

Nile Crocodiles are almost always present along this stretch of river that bears their name, while Waterbuck, African Elephant and Impala are usually hanging around.

A troop of Banded Mongoose sometimes ventures down from the surrounding woodland and there is even one family living on the property, while it is always interesting watching the Nile Monitors go about their predatory business either in or around the water.

As the riverine trees thin out heading away from the water, the grass gets longer and rank and a different suite of birds can be seen.

Dusky Flycatcher, Orangebreasted Bush Shrike, Paradise Flycatcher, Arrowmarked Babbler, Whitebellied and Collared Sunbird, Spectacled Weaver and Plumcoloured Starling still prefer some trees around, many of them hosting a resident Southern Tree Agama, but the more scrubby areas attract birds like Whitewinged Widow, Blue Waxbill, Bronze Mannikin, Redbilled Quelea, Yellowfronted Canary and Burchell’s Coucal.

There is probably no finer spot to enjoy the creatures of the Kruger National Park from outside the reserve.

Where is River Cottage?

Sightings List

Kurrichane Thrush

Speckled Mousebird

Dusky Flycatcher

Great White Egret

Blacksmith Plover

Striped Skink

African Jacana

Blackwinged Stilt

Grey Heron

Egyptian Goose

African Pied Wagtail

Reed Cormorant

Spottedbacked Weaver

Horus Swift

Nile Crocodile

Lesser Striped Swallow

Waterbuck

Thickbilled Weaver

Orangebreasted Bush Shrike

Woodland Kingfisher

Yellowbilled Kite

Redeyed Dove

Whitewinged Widow

Forktailed Drongo

Squacco Heron

Greenbacked Heron

African Palm Swift

Glossy Starling

Brownheaded Parrot

Banded Mongoose

Blackeyed Bulbul

Paradise Flycatcher

African Spoonbill

Sacred Ibis

Malachite Kingfisher

Water Dikkop

Laughing Dove

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Southern Tree Agama

African Elephant

Hadeda Ibis

Arrowmarked Babbler

Blue Waxbill

Whiterumped Swift

African Darter

Pied Kingfisher

Impala

Bronze Mannikin

Grey Lourie

Common Myna

African Fish Eagle

Little Egret

Lesser Masked Weaver

Redbilled Quelea

Redfaced Cisticola

Whitebellied Sunbird

Yellowfronted Canary

African Mourning Dove

Spectacled Weaver

Collared Sunbird

Burchell’s Coucal

Helmeted Guineafowl

Plumcoloured Starling

Spurwinged Goose

Nile Monitor

Natal Francolin

 

Zimbali is unlike most other coastal resort developments in that the estate is a richly-rewarding birding spot and large enough – at 456 hectares – for many hours of twitching.

Amongst the more spectacular gems that can be spotted is a pair of breeding Crowned Eagle; and their mere presence is indicative of a natural environment comprising ecological richness and biological diversity.

Because these magnificent raptors are apex predators, it means all other links in the food chain must be intact, or else the Crowned Eagle would relocate elsewhere and certainly wouldn’t be breeding – as they have since 2001 at the luxury North Coast eco-estate.

Studies of their prey items reveal the rich biodiversity in terms of both birds and mammals found at Zimbali, which conserves patches of coastal lowland forest fringing the golf course, which is an interesting challenge when the wind is blowing.

Other specials which one can certainly expect to see at Zimbali include the endearing Goldenrumped Tinker Barbet and the attractive Redbacked Mannikin, which is restricted to the eastern borders of South Africa.

A pair of African Fish Eagle are the other prominent raptors to be spotted at Zimbali, lording it over the open waters, while there are also a few Yellowbilled Kite around in summer and Longcrested Eagle is becoming more regular at the conservancy.

The Eastern Olive Sunbird is a typical forest bird present at Zimbali, along with Collared Sunbird, White-Eared and Blackcollared Barbet, Natal Robin, Greenbacked Camaroptera, Thickbilled Weaver and Yellowbellied Bulbul.

The secluded nature of some of the walks around Zimbali lend themselves to sightings of the shyer Horus Swift, while the riparian vegetation along the Zimbali River is just to the liking of the Yellow Weaver.

Pied Kingfisher hover-hunt over the ponds on the course, where Goliath Heron also go fishing, while African Jacana strut around the water grasses.

In the woodlands, one may see Plumcoloured Starling, Natal Francolin and Whitebrowed Scrub Robin.

 

Where is Zimbali?

 

Sightings list

Yellowbilled Kite

African Fish Eagle

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Vervet Monkey

European Swallow

Lesser Striped Swallow

Blackeyed Bulbul

Eastern Olive Sunbird

Blackheaded Oriole

Redeyed Dove

Bronze Mannikin

Forktailed Drongo

Redwinged Starling

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Pied Crow

Feral Pigeon

Palm Swift

Common Myna

Hadeda Ibis

Collared Sunbird

Burchell’s Coucal

Cape Wagtail

Horus Swift

White-Eared Barbet

Blacksmith Plover

Longcrested Eagle

Bushbuck

African Pied Wagtail

Fiscal Shrike

Yellow Weaver

Plumcoloured Starling

Redbacked Mannikin

Egyptian Goose

Natal Robin

Little Swift

Goliath Heron

Blackheaded Heron

Greenbacked Cameroptera

Natal Francolin

Pied Kingfisher

Southern Red Bishop

African Jacana

Crowned Eagle

Blackcollared Barbet

Spottedbacked Weaver

Hamerkop

Speckled Mousebird

Thickbilled Weaver

Goldenrumped Tinker Barbet

Tawnyflanked Prinia

Whitebrowed Scrub Robin

Yellowbellied Bulbul