Andrea Watkinson, a born and bred Capetonian, started her working career in the Travel Industry before moving to the Garden Route some 7 years ago with her husband Neville. Included in her life's activities she travelled extensively to many parts of the world as well as being active in playing and couching netball. She previously held positions in the sales and marketing industry culminating as Sales Manager for Tuffy Brands in Cape Town. On settling in the Wilderness she got involved in the Business and Professional Women's Organization and served on the Board of Directors of Phambili, a charity organization in George. With such a good track record, Andrea ventured into property sales and soon became the manager of the Remax Office in Wilderness achieving multiple awards as a sales agent.

During the year 2008 she was voted as top 4th and 8th sales agent nationally. As she developed her passion for people and property, she further honed her skills and today owns her own business and was recently head hunted to take on the prestigious brand of the International property guru, Fine & Country in the Wilderness. Andrea was visited by the CEO of Fine & Country Global recently and found that the easy access to over 300 offices in the UK was a clear step forward to serve her clients better. The technology that Fine & Country will provide to her office and agents will boost sales enormously and give her company a giant leap forward, says Andrea. Linda Erasmus, CEO of Fine & Country in South Africa, says that Andrea, with her extensive local knowledge, will benefit from the National and International Marketing arm of Fine & Country and conversely, Fine & Country will benefit from having a true professional with a passion serving their clients in Wilderness.

Andrea and her husband Neville have been married for 19 years. Neville was one of the first restaurateurs at the now famous V & A Waterfront in Cape Town. Whilst Andrea looks after the Sales and Marketing activities, Neville heads up the administration of the office. The Wilderness area offers over 18 km of golden beach and is a big attraction for people who love to walk. Victoria bay is a popular spot for surfing and away from the water, canoeing, canyoning (kloofing) and abseiling form part of the list of extreme adventures. Wilderness is a utopia for bird lovers and the tapestry of forest, lakes, rivers and floodplains with the mountain as a backdrop, offers an array of activities.

The profile of the people living here varies between fairly young retirees wanting to get away from the city life, foreigners who fall in love with the scenery and families who want to provide a healthier upbringing for their children. About 65% of the properties accommodate permanent residence, which is a fairly high percentage for a seaside town.

The close proximity to the George airport (22km), Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and the shopping malls of George offers a peaceful lifestyle, without many sacrifices. George is home to very good hospitals, private and public schools and the satellite campus for the Nelson Mandela University of Port Elizabeth.

The cosmopolitan feel in the Wilderness is created by the interesting mix of South Africans, British, Belgian, Dutch and Germans. A few French people and Americans also seem to favour the area.
With both neighbouring towns embossed with so many golf courses, Wilderness residents can pick and choose when it comes to the game of Golf.

Wilderness offers a wide variety of properties for sale. Vacant land can be bought for as low as R650 000 whilst the higher end can fetch R2 million. Small Holdings (land only) can be bought under the R4million mark. The most expensive property in recent years were sold for just under R10 million. Asking prices for current properties on the market can go as high as R20million.

Andrea confirms that the Wilderness market has not been as adversely affected as the downturn in the economy has proved to have had elsewhere.

Wilderness is the town that add some mystery to the Garden Route and there is no doubt that it is also the Hidden Gem of this tapestry of lakes, lagoons and dunes.

Andrea Watkinson can be contacted on: 082 579 4619 or 044 877 0146
e-mail: andrea@wildernessproperties.co.za