SASSO WORKSHOP: FOUNTAINHILL ESTATE, WARTBURG, KWAZULU-NATAL MIDLANDS

18 – 19 SEPTEMBER 2024

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

The Fountainhill Estate is located 2 km south-west of the town of Wartburg and 17km north-east of the city of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Originally a Lutheran mission station and school the Fountainhill Estate belongs to the Taeuber Management Trust, which in character with its conservation farming ethos, had it declared a Protected Environment as part of the Central Umgeni Protected Area in 2021. The protected environment encompasses several working farms within a greater, catchment based, nature reserve.

The topography is characterized by rolling hills with mixed slope gradients ranging from gentle to extreme. The major topographical feature is the Hlambamasoka gorge witch drains westerly into the Umgeni River and which includes the important Holly Shelter, Mid-Stone Age, archeological site.

The Fountainhill Estate is predominantly underlain by sandstone of the Natal Group with small areas of tillite of the Dwyka Formation. Hlambamasoka gorge and steeper cliffs are associated with Gneiss or Granite parent material. The soils are variable depending on the depth and degree of weathering of parent material and include well-drained, plinthic, lithic, melanic and stratified alluvium profiles.

Agricultural land use generally reflects soil and climate potential and include sugar cane, maize, avocado's and mixed cattle & game for biodiversity objectives. Adaptive management are encouraged, and the farm support applied research trials by numerous entities including Universities, NGO's and Public Sector.