Wish to stay connected?
This is how.
There are various Whatsapp groups for Rheenendal locals. This is how we stay connected, ask for advice, get references regarding service providers, check if others' power is also off, and sell our odds and ends.
Join the groups via these links. Ask a neighbour to request that you're added to the group, if you're stuck.
If you are a new resident on the Highway West or Bibbieshoek roads, ask around to join the Whatsapp groups for those areas.
Greater Knysna
Popular Facebook Groups
Doing a quick search on Facebook will offer you a large number of Knysna pages and groups to join.
Rheenendal doesn't have a substantial, active Facebook group, but the following ones for Knysna are very helpful.
General
Rheenendal is a much larger area than one might realise (see the map).
It starts from the N2 / Rheenendal turn-off and extends all the way down the Rheenendal road (actually called Highway, as it was the original main road, before the N2 was built) to Keurhoek – a location at the end of the road. From there, the gravel road goes to Homtini, Kraaibosch, Barrington, Karatara, and beyond.
Considering that most have subdwellings, there are about 110 residences down the Rheenendal road, 40 down Highway West, and 60 in Bibbieshoek. Keurhoek has 70+ properties. So, quite a large community!
The average-sized properties are around three hectares, as that is the minimum size they could be subdivided to from the original larger farms (which is the reason why the farm numbers are often "portion of").
There are seven larger, operating farms. The rest are smallholdings that serve as pure residences or small-scale self-sustainable farming.
Portland Minimarket is situated at the Highway West turnoff, and stocks all the basics (and more). They are open all week, from early to late.
There used to be a fuel station and post office at Totties (close to Keurhoek), which was the original Rheenendal "town". Now, there's only a lovely restaurant and Sunday market.
There is a clinic in Keurhoek, but for doctor and dentist appointments, residents travel to Knysna or Sedgefield.
Eskom (via George) is our electricity provider and not Knysna Municipality (like the town's properties).
You'd think that buying directly from the provider would result in a lower electricity bill... And if you've been used to having a single phase pre-paid meter in town, you'd choke on the availability fee of the 3-phase supply on many of the properties.
Some you win, some you lose.
There is fibre for the properties along the N2 and Phantom Pass, but not down the Rheenendal road.
Lots of people have already enquired. Lots of us constantly complain about it to the service providers. But, unfortunately, we don't foresee fibre coming to our area soon.
Join this Facebook group to stay up to date with the campaign for fibre in Rheenendal.
As much as everyone used to be unhappy with Telkom in general, their ADSL internet service here was actually of the most stable.
Unfortunately, the copper connections in Rheenendal (including the phone landlines) have been discontinued slowly until everyone was off by early 2023.
"The best" depends on your location. One property might get great Vodacom or MTN reception and can use their router, while the next-door neighbour gets no reception.
Alternatives, to the cellphone companies, are the dish option on your roof via a third-party internet provider or a satellite connection. See the Directory for contact numbers.
There is no Telkom ADSL or fibre in Rheenendal.
Depending on where you live, it's either Vodacom or MTN. Cell C and Telkom offer very poor cellphone (and wifi) reception in Rheenendal.
During longer loadshitting stints, the towers' batteries die and then there's no signal at all. For most of us, it means no electricity, no water (due to no pumps working), no internet and no cellphone. Welcome to living out in nature. (Still much better than living in town, though!)
Household
Household waste is collected by Knysna Municipality on a Tuesday morning (usually early).
Refuse needs to be in black plastic bags and closed tightly. Residents are encouraged to buy wheelie bins from the municipality to avoid monkeys and stray dogs opening the bags.
If rubbish bags are torn, residents are requested to clean up in front of their gate to avoid plastic blowing down the road. (Read about our road cleanup here.)
In the case of bags not collected by the end of the day, they should be removed and put out again the next day, to avoid them being torn open by wild animals during the night.
There is no recycling collection in Rheenendal and green bags can be taken to town. Garden waste and building rubble need to be disposed of yourself.
Apart from loadshedding, of course, we often experience power failures due to branches on the lines or some fuse blowing.
The best way to deal with your power being off, is to check the Whatsapp group if others are experiencing a blackout too. (Otherwise, just check your own DB, as the older wiring and breakers often cause issues.)
Faults need to be logged with Eskom (in George) directly and not with Knysna Municipality, as they are not our electricity provider in Rheenendal.
There is no municipal water service in Rheenendal (only in Keurhoek). We all rely on rainwater collection for household use. Some have dams they can filter from when their rainwater tanks are low.
Very few people have boreholes. It costs around R1 000 per meter to drill and water can be found around 250 meters. And then it's brackish and not usable for household consumption or gardening.
So, rainwater it is. But, it rains enough and if you have adequate roof size and storage capacity (see the water page), you'll be fine. Keep your gutters in good shape and clean. Fix even the tiniest gutter leaks – you'll be surprised at how fast a trickle can fill a tank. Get extra tanks for storage during heavy rains, and monitor your usage so you're not caught off-guard. We all manage like that. You'll work it out.
If you run out, you can order water from the municipality. They charge R1 033,80 per roughly 5 000 litre tank (a little over 20c per litre). But the catch is the transport cost, which is R24,61 per kilometer from the fire station.
Also see the water page for more information on our average rainfall and water usage in Rheenendal.
We also don't have municipal sewerage service in Rheenendal. We all have septic tanks.
Ensure that your family members, tenants and guests know the limitations of a septic tank. Nothing but toilet paper can be flushed (to prevent blockages), and no bleach or harsh chemicals should be used to clean the toilets, as it kills the critters that eat away in your septic tank. (Vinegar and baking soda work wonders.)
We do receive two honey sucker pumps per year – free of charge. Just phone the municipality to come pump your tank when it's full and not soaking away properly.
Your waste water (grey water) from the shower / bath / basins are going to a soakaway tank (sometimes tied in with the septic tank, sometimes separate).
This can get blocked over time due to a scum and grime build-up.
Before digging it up, phone a drain blaster to try and blast it open first. See the directory for numbers.
Some properties have on-site accommodation for sleep-in domestic workers and gardeners, but most come either from Keurhoek (at the end of the road) or town.
If you ask this question on a social group, you'll get a hugely varied response.
Wages rely on the number of hours working (usually 07:30-ish, if coming with a taxi from town, until 15:00 or 16:00). You'd also have to consider whether taxi fare is calculated separately or included, whether you're sometimes lifting (then no taxi) or not, whether you provide meals or extras, how long the person has been employed by you, etc. So, it's not quite safe to ask this open question on a social platform.
Minimum wage is always a good indication of where to start calculating from, but not the benchmark.
Minimum wages used to be different per area and for domestic and farm workers. Currently, the national minimum wage (from 1 March 2023) is R25,42 per hour and applies to also domestics, gardeners and farm workers.
According to labour laws, employees may not work more than 45 hours per week (paid at "normal time"), and lunch breaks and travel time are excluded (not calculated as work time).
So, on minimum wage for someone taking a taxi from Hornlee to town and another one from the taxi rank to Rheenendal (and back), working from 07:30 - 16:00, you'd look at: 7½ working hours @ R25,42 (totalling R190,65), plus 4 x taxi trips (2 x R14 + 2 x R21) = ±R260 per day.
Some domestics work only until 15:00 and some need only one taxi to their home and back in town or Keurhoek.
Therefore, the average going rate in Rheenendal is currently R220 up to R350 per full day.
Generally, the taxis charge R21 for a trip to the taxi rank at PnP in town, but this sometimes varies. A trip from there to the locations around town averages R14.
Animals
Our municipality allows you to keep six adult dogs (over the age of six months) on an agricultural property.
Also see the Dogs page for more dog-related information.
Of course! You now live out in nature.
The snakes control the vermin population, so it's quite important to maintain a balance. If you get rid of the snakes, you'll have rats and mice. That's just how it is when you live in an agricultural area.
Educate yourself a little on our snake varieties and look out for the snake awareness courses offered.
Generally, there are just three to be worried about: the Boomslang (too shy to come bite you and will flee super fast), the Night Adder (look out where you step at night) and the Puff Adder (most likely issue, because they lie in the grass and footpaths, and are too lazy to move).
You can call a snake catcher to remove a snake from inside your home, or a Puff Adder, but they prefer you to just let the outside snakes take their course, unless they pose a serious threat to your family members and animals.
Read a bit more about our snakes here.
Being surrounded by natural vegetation means we have all sorts of critters here.
Generally, the little black scorpions (often found in wood piles and bark) are harmless.
If it has large pinchers, but a small tail stinger, it'll feel like a bee sting. (More dangerous if you are allergic to bees.) If the pinchers are small and the stinger large, then it's venomous.
The little black guys are quite harmless and docile. You can just ignore it (or pick it up with a sheet of paper – they don't run fast) and dispose of it.
The monkey and baboon troops don't mix and roam around the area. Sometimes you'll also see a lone male. They move around, so you might find monkeys or baboons a nuisance for a while and then don't see them for months.
Keep animal feed out of sight (also inside open chicken coops) and rubbish bins closed to not attract their attention.
Our road is a very busy one – plenty of dogs have been killed. Please stop and try to help, or attempt to locate its owner via the Whatsapp groups.
Also read some more on the Dogs page.
Activities
A few residents open their doors to the public. Totties offer lovely meals and a Sunday market. Portland Manor has a restaurant, and also screens the sporting events in their pub. The School is an art venue and intimate coffee shop.
Seasonally, you can pick blueberries at Homtini Guest Farm, and enjoy a picnic in the organic macadamia orchard at Red Bard. You can walk and braai in the forest (SANparks) or swim in The Drift. There are plenty of relaxing activities on offer, like yoga, massaging, pottery and more. The list goes on and on. Most are well-hidden gems.
Look at the Directory for more.
Drive down the Bibbieshoek road and enquire at the hut behind the boom about the entrance fee to the forest and its lovely picnic sites.
Note that no dogs are allowed on your trip.
No, no, no. Please avoid cycling down the road and also discourage your tenants and guests to do so. The road gets more traffic than you'd imagine. Remember that it also serves the large location at the end, and taxis speed up and down to get people to work and back.
The road is single lane all the way and most of it has a double line. There is no yellow line or sidewalk. The single lane is just wide enough for a large vehicle. A truck fills the entire lane. There is absolutely no space to safely pass a cyclist (which cannot move into a side lane, as there is none). So, a passing vehicle would have to cross over into oncoming traffic when passing a cyclist.
Cycling on the Rheenendal road puts the lives of the cyclists and passing motorists in serious danger.
If you mean to ask if you'll be safe while walking or jogging along the road, then yes. We don't ever have incidences of muggings or kidnappings. (But, one should probably never say "ever".)
If you mean to ask if the road is safe, then no. There is no side lane, so if you're planning a walk, then keep off the tar and wear long pants for when you have to jump over a bush or two.
Security
Well, it's still South Africa. But, welcome to our bubble.
We don't generally have incidences here and enjoy a peace that's far from what residents in town have. Some people don't even have lockable entrance gates. Few have burglar bars and alarms.
But stay vigilant. Try to support local service providers to minimise traffic from outside entering our properties. (See the Directory for references.)
Join the security Whatsapp groups. (See the numbers of group admins to request joining.)
Allsound isn't actively patrolling in Rheenendal. Probably because there's no real need to. Touch wood.
We share a response vehicle with Brenton / Buffalo Bay, so response out here might be slow. It's best to rely on the local Whatsapp security groups for assistance, in the case of an emergency. (See the numbers of group admins to request joining.)
If you're a licensed firearm owner, you would've completed the competency course and know the rules – which apply to everyone and out here too.
Security Groups
Contact these Whatsapp group administrators to add you to the relevant security groups.
Farmwatch Emergency
FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY
Jacques Rossouw: 082 928 1590
Schalk Hildebrand: 072 259 7927
Security Alert / Heads Up
For general security-related posts, like a car / animal in the road, stack burning, wanderers to look out for, etc.
Deon van Zyl: 079 039 3448 (Fire Watch)
Jacques Rossouw: 082 928 1590 (Security)
Schalk Hildebrand: 072 259 7927 (Security)