This is the English translation of the second Waidmannsheil feature about NTONI, published in issue 84. Text by Aad van Well. Photography by Kees van der Mark.
Two months ago, the first article described how Kees van der Mark, his business partner Emiel van der Maaten and their fellow investors acquired a 10,000-hectare property in the Karoo. It explored the area’s history, the story of NTONI and the transition to the reserve as it exists today. But the real work only began after the purchase. Once Kees, Emiel and their partners gained a proper understanding of the land, the scale of the task became clear. A 10,000-hectare Karoo property comes with wildlife, mountains and magnificent views, but also with deferred maintenance, silted-up water points, poor roads, empty houses, damaged fences and a landscape that can only recover if the work is tackled in the right order.
First understand the land, then decide
Anyone taking on land of this scale can easily get carried away by enthusiasm. There is always more to do than time, money and manpower allow, making it tempting to start everywhere at once. Kees and his friends deliberately began by establishing an overview. They first tried to understand exactly what they had bought. Where were the weak points? What required immediate attention? What could wait? And in what order should the work be completed to avoid spending heavily without achieving lasting results?
That sounds logical, but on a property of this size nothing is simple. Everything is connected. Water supports vegetation. Vegetation determines the wildlife population. Roads provide access and control. Fences make management possible. Reliable people on the ground provide continuity. A clear direction prevents a project like this from becoming a bottomless pit.
Emiel, Jan, George, Erik, André and Kees therefore began by laying a solid foundation. A respected ecologist was commissioned to develop a long-term vision for the reserve. The document had to guide practical decisions in the field. The objective was clear: restore NTONI as a healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient reserve, with appropriate wildlife species and population levels, varied vegetation, reliable infrastructure and comfortable accommodation for residents and guests.
The report was reviewed, discussed and translated into practical choices. That is where the difference lies between an attractive plan and a plan that actually works. During the past twelve months, NTONI has worked hard, with discipline and a clear sequence: establish the foundations first, then refine them.
Emiel van der Maaten
Emiel has worked with Kees for twenty years as the developer of their joint property projects and is experienced in delivering complex restoration work. A civil engineer educated in Delft, he began his career with Bouygues Construction in France, where his enthusiasm for project development took shape. A shared hunting trip to South Africa – with its vast views, extraordinary landscapes, freedom and variety of wildlife – inspired his passion for conservation management and his love for the country.
At NTONI, Emiel has coordinated the implementation of the improvements. The reserve received its Certificate of Adequate Enclosure for the fencing, which allows species including buffalo to be kept on the property. Emiel selected an appropriate contractor and worked with him on the dams, roads, solar-powered electric fencing, the approximately 80-kilometre road network and the restoration of three residences.
Everything depends on the people on site
A project can be planned carefully from the Netherlands, but ultimately the work must happen on the ground: in the dust, along the fences, on the roads, at the water points and across the veld. The people on site are therefore decisive.
Daily management at NTONI is led by Franco and his wife, Jan Marie. Both have many years of field experience and are professional hunters. They understand guests and hunting, while also knowing the daily rhythm of the land. They recognise developing problems quickly and can make adjustments every day.
NTONI also employs four permanent staff members and ten day workers, with plans to add three more permanent employees during the coming year. These are essential requirements. A 10,000-hectare reserve cannot be managed remotely or through good intentions alone. It needs people who observe, walk, repair, report, direct and continue following up.
In the Karoo, everything starts with water
Discussions about wildlife management in South Africa soon turn to species, numbers and hunting. Yet the real story in the Karoo begins one step earlier: with water. Water determines where vegetation survives, where erosion occurs, where wildlife gathers and how much carrying capacity the land truly has.
The Karoo can receive substantial rain, but it also experiences long dry periods. If water is not retained, it disappears almost immediately. Fertile soil can also wash away from slopes and higher ground. NTONI has therefore made water management a priority.
Forty dams have been constructed to retain rainfall and slow erosion, creating forty permanent water points. This benefits wildlife, vegetation and the overall condition of the reserve. When water remains available for longer, the system gains stability: plants have a better chance to establish, less soil is lost and habitats become more resilient. It may sound technical on paper, but in the field the landscape visibly changes. Water management is the backbone of the restoration.
Bringing the soil back to life
Retaining water is not enough; vegetation and soil must also be considered. One of the most distinctive elements of NTONI’s restoration programme is the propagation and planting of spekboom. This hardy and nutritious South African succulent is well suited to the climate. With its fleshy green leaves and reddish-brown stems, it can develop into a substantial shrub that provides browse while helping return structure to the landscape.
Thousands of cuttings propagated at NTONI will be planted during the coming period, including approximately one thousand in April alone. This forms part of a continuing restoration programme and reflects the same underlying principle: invest in the foundations of the landscape.
Alongside spekboom, Emiel has begun propagating Aloe ferox and witgat trees inside the old stone-walled kraal. These nutritious plants and trees will be established at different locations next year. Kees, Emiel and their friends are investing themselves fully in NTONI with the aim of leaving a lasting Karoo legacy.
Roads as a condition for effective management
A glance at the map makes clear that accessibility is a challenge in its own right. The sixteen former farms that now make up NTONI were barely connected. Roads had been neglected for years, and some sections had become difficult to negotiate even with a 4×4.
This is more than a practical inconvenience. Good roads are required to inspect fences, reach water points, conduct wildlife management, deploy staff efficiently and move guests safely and comfortably around the reserve. A local road contractor was appointed to create kilometres of new gravel roads and improve existing routes. NTONI now has approximately 80 kilometres of road, making even the more remote corners accessible again. It may not be romantic, but a reserve only begins to function properly when its managers can reach every place they need to be.
Fences are more than a boundary
The fencing was another major task. Tens of kilometres of old internal fencing remained between the sixteen historical farms, much of it no longer serving a purpose. Removing those internal divisions reunited the property and gave wildlife considerably more freedom to move. This was ecologically and practically important: animals can now move more naturally, and the reserve can be managed as one system rather than a collection of separate compartments.
The approximately 50 kilometres of perimeter fencing were also thoroughly restored and electrified using four solar stations. Sensors now report faults immediately. Staff inspect the entire perimeter every week, while the technology allows them to respond more quickly. Traditional fieldwork and modern technology work together; someone must still repair a damaged fence, but locating the problem sooner makes an enormous difference.
Giving old buildings a purpose again
At NTONI, management is not only about veld and wildlife. The buildings form part of the property and tell its history, but they also need a role in the present. The sixteen old farmsteads developed as separate South African farms gradually grew together. What was once a distributed agricultural system of homes, labour and production later became partly inactive. Houses stood empty, maintenance was deferred and use became fragmented.
During recent months, the houses and lodges have been restored and reintegrated. Franco and Jan Marie live at Marafontijn Lodge near the entrance, ensuring that management is present in the right place. Guests can stay at the renovated Roxburgh Lodge, with seven en-suite bedrooms, a lounge, dining room, open kitchen, braai and swimming pool. Fannie’s Lodge provides a simpler self-catering option with four bedrooms in a beautiful position near Wilgekloof.
These facilities are part of a properly functioning reserve. Good people must be able to live on site, while guests who come to hunt, observe or assist need suitable accommodation. A property of this scale ultimately depends on its wildlife, organisation, tranquillity and quality of stay.
Wildlife management begins with vegetation
For hunters, this may be the most interesting part of the story. NTONI first assessed the carrying capacity of the land. Every section was sampled and the soils were analysed, revealing that parts of the vegetation had become unbalanced.
One important recommendation was to reduce certain browsing species and introduce true grazers. That requires a different way of thinking: management decisions must be based on what the landscape can sustain. During the first months, NTONI therefore carried out substantial management reductions among species including impala, blesbok and springbok. At the same time, grazers were added, including Cape buffalo, which now fulfil their grazing role alongside the existing wildebeest.
These choices are only possible when ecology is taken seriously. Many reserves become unbalanced because attractive or commercially popular species are retained for too long, even when the vegetation requires different pressure. NTONI appears to have understood that distinction clearly.
Counting, monitoring and adjusting
To avoid managing by instinct alone, all wildlife is counted each May using drones and thermal imaging. The resulting data is entered into a population model, which helps the team determine how many animals of each species need to be removed through management.
Count, analyse and manage selectively: on a property of this size, that approach is essential. The combination of population counts, vegetation analysis, water management and targeted reductions is already producing visible results. The substantial rainfall of the past year has helped, but rain alone is never enough. The reserve must be ready to benefit from it. With the new dams, improved water distribution and adjusted grazing pressure, NTONI has become remarkably green in a short period. According to Kees and Emiel, the results have appeared astonishingly quickly.
The outside world should see what is happening
Communication also has a role alongside the work in the field. Within the project, Emiel coordinates the photography and external presentation. A reserve that aims to operate at a high standard must work well internally and communicate its story clearly.
Professional imagery of the reserve has been produced, including drone footage. In South Africa, hunters and groups often have their trip recorded by a film crew. A recent American group did so at NTONI, and some of that material could later be used for the reserve’s website and presentation.
There is naturally a commercial dimension, but there is nothing wrong with that when the foundations are sound. Beautiful photographs cannot rescue a poorly managed reserve. A property where demonstrably serious and considered work is taking place may confidently show what it has achieved.
One year later, there is direction again
A list of the work contains many figures: 40 dams, 50 kilometres of perimeter fence, 80 kilometres of road, thousands of spekboom cuttings, several lodges and a team of permanent staff and day workers. Behind those figures lies something more important. In a relatively short period, NTONI has regained direction.
Where neglect, vacancy and stagnation were once visible, the pieces are beginning to work together again. Water is retained. Roads are passable. Fences function. Buildings have a purpose. Vegetation is being strengthened deliberately. Wildlife management is based on counts and analysis. The reserve is beginning to operate as one whole.
The work will require years of attention, investment and adjustment, but the trajectory is now positive. On land of this scale, that may be the greatest achievement of all.
For Kees and his partners, the purchase of NTONI marked the beginning of a long restoration operation. Anyone who sees only a luxury hunting destination is looking too superficially. Behind the mountains, wildlife and lodges lies the demanding reality of water management, road construction, ecology, staffing, maintenance and discipline.
That is precisely what makes NTONI interesting: a large South African reserve is being brought back to life, step by step. Only when those foundations are sound does the next question come properly into view: what is it actually like to hunt across land like this?
That will be the subject of the third instalment.