Sandstone has two of these fascinating steam powered drilling machines. Both are with a restorer in the Western Cape where it is hoped to build one out of two. Click here to read the full story.

Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation which we  support at Sandstone Estates. It is about letting nature take care of itself and enabling nature’s magical ability to heal itself.

By rewilding we allow nature to create undisturbed  biodiverse habitats. 

100% of the complex that you are in at the moment was put down to lawn or brick paving or roads. That is changing. We only cut lawns where people need to move around and we only cut grass if we think that there is a potential for a fire risk. Apart from that we will let nature dictate what it would like to see growing in a specific area.

If you walk into an area that was previously a cut lawn but which has now gone wild, you will discover a place that is alive with reptiles, small mammals, birds and of course insects. The only intelligent thing that man can do is to leave these areas alone – do not go there, do not walk there and do not disturb them.  Our complex is big enough that one does not need to take short cuts through rewilding areas because we have cut pathways to accommodate that.

Torsten and Ilona Eggert from Germany arrived at Sandstone on Freedom Day, 27^th April, with their Hanomag camper van that they restored themselves to travel the world. They started their journey in  2017.This year they arrived via ship at Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and started their journey through northern Africa and SA and then  back to Gqeberha to take a ship back to Germany. Torsten Eggert has a passion for Hanomag and Lanz Bulldog machinery, so our Visitor Coordinator, Mariette Palmer, took him to the tractor shed area and he was all over/underneath/on top of the Lanz machinery and couldn't believe that Sandstone has such a variety of items. He advised that his home in Germany is just 20km away from the original Lanz Bulldog factory that was later bought by John Deere. There they have a lot of show days where all friends come together and display their pride and joy machinery. He advised that the crawler in the Sandstone collection is a very rare item. At the conclusion of their visit they asked that we thank the owner for all the kindness and friendliness they experienced at Sandstone. Sandstone thanks Torsten and Ilona for their visit and wishes them a safe journey back to Germany.

You can follow their adventures on their web page eggert-koronczi.de  It’s in German but can be translated and follows their travels around the world.

Keith Simmons has been a regular visitor to Sandstone for many years and assisted us with some of the technicalities of our web site when we moved service providers and webmaster some years ago. He has a passion for Stationary Engines and has brought his small Stirling Engine to many events at Sandstone including Stars of Sandstone 2019 and our recent Easter Steam Festival. The attached PDF from Keith describes the Stirling while the attached photo illustrates the size of the Stirling,  Click here and enjoy the read!