Birder Friendly in a Conservancy

Conserving the beauty of the Schoemanskloof Valley has become a priority for the sparse local community. With the interest in property and rising prices, the formation of a conservancy was an obvious way to secure the natural beauty of the valley. The Old Joe’s Kaia property forms part of this conservancy and its owners are determined to leave no stone unturned in this effort to rehabilitate and leave behind an unscathed environment.
Being a birder’s paradise, becoming a Birder Friendly Establishment (BFE) as part of Birdlife South Africa’s drive to create environmental awareness, has become the next obvious step in the guesthouse’s strategic planning. The environmental specifications required for Birder Friendly Establishments are well aligned with the longer term objectives of the guesthouse and have contributed to the streamlining of other ‘green’ issues at Old Joe’s Kaia such as recycling and the safe disposal of waste. The kitchen has also moved towards the use of organic products as much as possible by establishing its own vegetable garden and buying local free-range produce in order to reduce food miles. All these efforts form a solid platform for the underlying philosophy of providing the guest with a holistic experience of harmony and tranquillity.

What's in the Name..?

The name 'Old Joe's Kaia' has a lot of significance for many different reasons and just as we often ponder the origin of names, we are frequently questioned about our guesthouse's name.
The first part of the name 'Old Joe' refers to a supervisor of a road-building team who was involved in construction in 1927. When a rock with a very peculiar shape was excavated and made to stand up straight it was named after Joe, mainly because of its pot belly. The statue stood near the entrance of the guesthouse for many years and is responsible for the second part of the name 'Kaia' - the home of Old Joe, where 'kaia' means home in several native languages. In 1984 the owners at the time named the guesthouse appropriately 'Old Joe's Kaia'. In 2000, when the road was upgraded to become the N4, the statue was moved 7 kms from the guesthouse towards the Johannesburg direction (West).
The second part of the name, i.e. 'Kaia' has been very controversial, as many people believe it has a negative connotation of an inferior home. When we moved down to Old Joe's Kaia three years ago we were determined to upgrade the guesthouse as well as the name. However, it did not take us long to realise just how well-known the name really is worldwide. Our website tracker soon confirmed this with 78% of all search engine enquiries using the full phrase 'Old Joe's Kaia'. We have now reconciled ourselves with a name which implies a dwelling which is humble, loved and taken care of...

Birding - Green Twinspot

During the past few weeks we've had several sightings of this uncommon bird in the Schoemanskloof Valley. This has created enormous excitement amongst the locals!
The Buff-spotted Flufftail has also been heard frequently.
The White-throated Robin-chat has delighted us with his melodious call. It is an endemic bird to our area.
This is truly a birder's haven!

By the way... this is a special day for Cape White-eyes. Small, yet determined and well-defined - the brand is so clear (Lvj).
http://www.oldjoes.co.za/

Welcome to Old Joe's Kaia!

The reason we decided to create a blog is because there is SO much happening on our premises and in our beautiful Schoemanskloof valley, that we simply had to find a way of letting the whole world know!
We will let you know shortly about the current status of our refurbishment programme, our '2010' plans, the new 'green' approach we have adopted and much much more! - we'll speak soon.

Kind regards
Paul, Marian and Damian
http://www.oldjoes.co.za/