History
The farm has been in the von Buddenbrock family since 1951 when Ray von Buddenbrock was given the farm by her father as a wedding present.
Her son, Ean, is the present owner and has been on the farm since 1989.
The farm was originally laid out by Captain Dean in the 1920’s and he named the farm after his daughter, Rhoda.
Captain Dean was a founder member of Ceres Fruit Growers packhouse and fruit was exported from the farm under the “Heron Brand” in those days.
He was also a keen golfer, being the founder member & captain of the Ceres Golf Club.
The size of Rhodene is 150 hectares of which some 30 hectares are planted to fruit.
It is a deciduous fruit farm consisting mainly of various varieties of pears, as well as apples and peaches.
The fruit picking season stretches from the middle of December to the beginning of April.
In 2010 we acquired the next door farm called Voëlvlei and renovated four cottages there.
Ean is married to Glenda and they have a daughter, Chantelle, and a son, Karl.
Chantelle studied Jewellery Design and Manufacture at Stellenbosch University and currently helps on the farm.
Karl is at the University of Pretoria studying Veterinary at Onderstepoort.
The family have three dogs: Skollie, a Great Dane, rescued from the S.P.C.A and he follows Glenda around everywhere – he is huge and loves eating! Rambo is a Rottweiler, and the name says it all. He is also our best looking family member! Charlie Brown, our Jack Russell is thoroughly spoiled and carries enough attitude for the whole family.