Walking through Xanadu Nature Estate and meeting its residents, you quickly realise that it has become the ideal ‘work-from-home’ location. This is not because residents working in Johannesburg and Pretoria are choosing not to make the 45-minute drive to the city, but rather because families are relocating from other parts of South Africa, like Cape Town and Durban, to create their home in Xanadu Nature Estate.
Asking residents why they love living here, three key elements stood out – the natural beauty of the landscapes, a wide range of facilities that can be enjoyed in a safe environment, and efficient and professional management of the community and its assets.
Xanadu Nature Estate is set on 240 hectares of beautiful, indigenous bushveld nestled in the Magaliesburg Mountain Range. Its name means ‘idyllic place’, and it certainly lives up to it.
It offers a range of property options, including a sectional title retirement village. The estate’s lifestyle facilities cater to various interests, from bird-watching and sporting facilities to running and walking trails.
A great passion for the outdoors
Conservation and community are at the heart of Xanadu. This is apparent from when you arrive at the estate. Bordering the entrance of the community is the Xanadu Private School, led by principal Phillip de Bruyn.
The school is a Christian private school that is owned by the Doxa Deo Educational Trust. It has seen a marked increase in enrolment over the last few years due to its investment into infrastructure. In addition to Xanadu Private School, a number of other good schools are located within a short drive of the estate.
Xanadu is family-centered, the environment is a hive of activity, and when school closes for the day, you see children and young adults walking home from school and making use of the facilities. Meanwhile, up in the retirement village, the trustees have built themselves a garden sanctuary, with well-maintained walking paths and beautiful gardens, under the watchful eye of long-standing trustee Maggie Venter.
A key ingredient to the success of Xanadu Nature Estate is the respect the residents have for the natural environment. The estate is home to 280 different species of birds, which can be observed from four different bird hides. Blesbok, impala and nyala freely roam the grounds alongside smaller creatures such as mongoose, porcupine and bushbabies. During our tour of the estate, we not only came across a number of animal species but an abundance of indigenous flora.
The on-site environmental management team ensure the conservation of the estate’s biodiversity. Their efforts include maintaining a self-sustaining plant nursery and managing an invasive plant removal programme that eliminates harmful species such as pom pom weed, syringa and Spanish thistle.
The estate is appealing to nature lovers and those who want to embrace an active lifestyle because those who manage the estate are equally passionate about the natural surroundings and are keen on offering a variety of recreational activities.
The lifestyle village offers tennis, cycling and hiking. To socialise with guests or other residents, the clubhouse and its braai facilities are available to use.
All-female leadership
The final key ingredients to Xanadu’s success that residents highlighted are the transparent management of the estate’s assets, the professionalism of the management and staff, and confidence in the leadership of the board.
Xanadu Nature Estate is one of the few estates in South Africa that has all female leadership with both the community manager and chairperson roles being held by women. It is the value they place on homeowner sentiment and service delivery that is echoed throughout the team, and this is reflected in the running of the estate.
Xanadu boasts state-of-the-art security (which includes 24-hour access control, foot and vehicle patrols, full electric fencing with thermal CCTV cameras and an on-site alarm and monitoring service).
It is centrally located, and residents often spend their weekends with their families, either taking in the breathtaking Hartbeespoort Dam on a Harties Cableway ride, having a picnic, taking in the panoramic views of the Cradle of Humankind, or going on a safari in the Lion Park. Other nearby attractions include the Jasmyn craft and food market, Cradle Heath Spa and the glorious Magaliesberg area, which also boasts unrivalled natural beauty.
Xanadu really does cater to all – from the adventurers to those who are keen on a quiet, relaxed lifestyle. Ultimately, Xanadu Nature Estate offers a familycentred lifestyle that is ideal for those yearning for a natural environment with security and plenty of facilities.
