GRAAFF-REIENT NEWS - "Eight-forty, eight-forty, eight-fifty thousand. Eight-fifty thousand, any advance on eight-fifty?"
And bang went the gavel of auctioneer Brandon Lear.
The children of Johan Meyer of Grootsleutelfontein, Prince Albert, jumped up and began to dance around their father. He had just bought "Prime Time", the 50-inch sable bull of Tina de Jager, for R850 000.
This happy scene played out at the annual Summit Wildlife Auction held at the Botanics Sports Ground in Graaff-Reinet on Saturday, 29 September.
The Summit Auction, now in its third year, again drew a large number of visitors to Graaff-Reinet. Many commented on the hospitality shown by the Summit team, and the relaxed vibe evident during the weekend.
This general sentiment was perhaps best captured in the words one of the buyers: "Dis die lekkerste veiling en die lekkerste mense en die lekkerste kuier van al die veilings wat ek die jaar bygewoon het".
The weekend started on Friday morning with a new addition to the schedule, the Summit Shield Golf Day. Nearly 40 golfers teed off in fairly windy conditions to pit themselves against Graaff Reinet's 9-hole layout and fast greens.
Noel Taylor Freeme of sponsor Drostdy Toyota emerged as the winner.
Next on the schedule was the Friday evening braai, where the hall was jam-packed.
Prof Johan Willemse of the Free State University engaged his audience and drew many laughs with his talk on business strategy. An auction of charity lots was then held. The lots included a family group of angora goats from the Mohair Industry of South Africa, wire from Cape Wire, a commission painting by Nenane Bester and wine from Eduan Steynberg of Stellenbosch Vineyards.
The two buyers Norman Adami and Neil Rex between them bid close to R500 000 for the lots on offer. A visibly emotional chairman Neil Dodds thanked them for this incredibly generous support for the charities under the wing of Summit.
The auction itself on Saturday morning was attended by approximately 550 people, including buyers from Germany and the UK.
Most lots saw brisk bidding, with genetically superior animals going for good prices. Most sellers indicated that they were very satisfied with the prices achieved.
Some of the other highlights of this year's auction were the pregnant buffalo cow of the Grootbaas Buffalo Stud which was bought by John O'Brien for R620 000, and the 18-inch Kalahari Springbuck ram of Jules of the Karoo which found a new home with Edward Key of Kimberley for R170 000.
The final turnover came in at R12 million. Dodds said that he was happy with this result, equalling last year's figure under more difficult market conditions.
Attendees were able to settle into the pub area after completion of the auction to watch the Springbucks beat the Wallabies, and later left the auction venue in happy mood saying "See you next year!"
The Summit Auction's weekend started on Friday morning with a new addition to the schedule, the Summit Shield Golf Day. Nearly 40 golfers entered the competition.
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