This dynamic company consists of a small team of administrators with Marike herself managing all areas of the business. “When I established my company just over a year ago, it was very scary. We started out with a few projects and then as our confidence levels grew, our assignments increased based on the number of positive referrals that we received. We are now so busy that we can hardly cope with the amount of work,” says Marike, clearly pleased with recent developments.

The acquisition of AllyCAD and Civil Designer was one of the first investments that Marike insisted on when the company became operational. “As I worked with Knowledge Base’s programs, the other packages that I worked on seemed to pale in comparison. It is amazing how you can generate contours from orthophoto information. All you have to do is to transfer the survey and map information into Civil Designer, do a slope analysis to draft the contours and wap bang, you have generated site maps. It is such a pleasure!”

According to Marike, the Knysna area is famous for its slope regulations and this has caused many clients to rethink their property purchases. “Developers may not develop an area with slopes that are steeper than 1 4. So when a client needs some help, I can advise them on what may be developed based on existing regulations.”

“Since I’ve been on my own, I am involved in everything. Many of my clients are private developers so I help with property assessments and investigate things like spatial and statutory requirements. I find that Civil Designer comes in quite handy when I generate the preliminary potential report relating to the property because the program conducts slope analysis quite easily. I also lend assistance when putting the project team together. These consist of engineers, electrical engineers, hydrologists, flood line analysts and aerial surveyors,” explains Marike.

Project activities are spread over a wide geographic region and span from MosselBay all the way through to Plettenberg Bay and even Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn. “Business is definitely booming and I believe that it is as a result of a committed attitude towards service excellence. It is important to remember that we are not only planning and helping to develop towns, but that we are also in a service industry and the clients' needs have to be met,” says Marike.

The Outeniquasbosch Safari Park is an interesting project that has recently come aboard. “This project is just outside of Hartenbos and consists of a 520 ha game farm. The project is

still in its beginning stage and should be finalised towards the end of March 2006 once all the relevant project approvals have been granted. The owner developer has been farming with game for the last 16 years. He has something like 27 buffalos and 2 giraffes on the property and is a real wild life lover. The plan is to develop houses similar to a game farm estate.”