Candlewoods Country Estate, Centurion

In 1814, long before the town of Pretoria was established, the Erasmus family (Rasmus Elardus Erasmus) settled on the farm Brakfontein. The ‘Waenhuis’ (Coach House) which was built in 1814 and the ‘Voortrekkerhuis’ (Pioneers house) which was built in 1857 still stands as a reminder on the Estate today. The location has been declared a Historical Heritage Site. In 1895 the ‘Here Huis’ was built and the house has remained largely unchanged from its original form until 2007/2008, when it was beautifully and painstakingly restored to its previous splendour. The “Here Huis’ is now a very popular restaurant (Ga Rouge Restaurant and Wine Cellar) where people can come to enjoy and admire this historical monument. Much of the original building materials brought from England to South Africa by boat, still remain in the house. The original chandeliers, as well as the douglas-fir wooden floors that were brought over from the Americas by Spanish ships in the eighteenth century, are not to be missed. A number of other historical monuments on the Estate include a coach house, an old stable, as well as a hand-built stone kraal.

In addition, the Estate boasts a very popular Guesthouse, the Candlewoods Guesthouse which is located next to the ‘Here Huis”. Guests have full access to all the historical monuments on the Estate. The Estate also has a number of duck ponds, gardens and an orchard and has many large trees. The Estate is approximately 20ha in extent.

Candlewoods Estate was established in 2004. It is a small exclusive Estate and once fully developed will consist of 268 Properties. It provides a tranquil setting on an old farm, yet has easy access to all facilities. A church, as well as a community hall, have recently been built. The Estate is popular as it is very centrally situated with easy access to Centurion, Pretoria, Midrand and Johannesburg. The Estate consists exclusively of free-standing freehold stands. The freehold stands range in size from 660 sm to 1200 sm. The price of houses ranges from R1,300,000 to R2,250,000(2012) whilst the price of stands ranges from R550,000 to R900,000 (2012). Due to the fact that Candlewoods is a new Estate, the majority of residents are still the original purchasers of the stands. Being a small exclusive Estate with only one entrance, security is top class and residents are very safe within the Estate.

The Estate is bordered approximately by Brakfontein Road to the South, Olievenhoutbosch Road to the West, Heritage Hill Estate to the East and Nellmapius Drive (M31) to the North.

Shopping Centres in the immediate vicinity include the Grey Owl Village Mall, Square@Midstream, Centurion Mall, Southdown’s Mall and Eco Park Mall. Highveld which is next door to Candlewoods Estate has many small shopping centres. The Estate also has easy access to two of the Gautrain stations, namely the Centurion station and the Midrand station.

Candlewoods Estate is central to a number of schools including Southdown’s College (Private School), Midstream College (Private School) as well as many government schools in the nearby suburbs of Rooihuiskraal, Wierda Park, Eldoraigne and The Reeds.

The Unitas hospital is about 8km from the Estate, the Highveld Medical Centre about 4km and the Southdown’s medical Centre about 4km.The closest police station is the Lyttelton Police Station situated in Basden Street and the Centurion Library is situated in Cantonment Avenue in Lyttelton.