Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2024 från go! Platteland

An outdoor adventure with your dog can be an unforgettable experience but it takes detailed planning to guarantee everyone’s safety. Cindy shares her tips for beginners: 1 Choose the right route Assess your dog’s fitness level by starting with short dog-friendly trails and slowly introducing longer, more difficult routes. Find out if any of the routes have rules around dog-walking and adhere to them. 2 Be well prepared Remember to pack all your dog’s equipment: lead, water bowl, food and first-aid bag. Take note of the weather and avoid extreme heat or cold. Take enough water for yourself and your dog, and make sure that you know where to find the nearest vet. 3 Listen to your dog Watch your dog and be aware of any signs of fatigue, overheating…

WESTERN CAPE Calitzdorp ExPRESSed  15–17 June This year’s theme, Wild and Wonderful in the Winter, promises a jam-packed weekend and unforgettable gathering in the heart of the Little Karoo. Make use of the festival’s hop-on hop-off wine train to discover the diverse offerings of food and drink, handcrafts, music and entertainment. An old-fashioned church bazaar, treasure hunt and cultural and heritage excursions are also on the programme. Tickets R300 per person for all three days on Quicket (collect your festival passport at the tourism office on 14 June between 16:00 and 18:00). Contact Calitzdorp Expressed 044 213 3775 @calitzdorpexpressed calitzdorpexpressed@gmail.com Christmas in Winter TULBAGH 28–30 June Tulbagh will once again host South Africa’s own Christmas in Winter party with a magical electrical light parade to kick off festivities on the…

Shweshwe oven gloves R590 per pair Baraka Gifts & Decor barakashop.co.za Cozzi Pets cactus-shaped scratching post for cats (Nebukatneser not included. – Eds) R700 Takealot takealot.com Honeybee Heroes runs The Honey Club – sign up to receive a hand-picked seasonal selection of raw local honey plus a gift delivered to your door four times a year (6 x 355 g jars) R550 per box Honey Bee Heroes honeybeeheroes.com Haus Republik’s Selene rechargeable lamp has three lighting modes, warm, cool and daylight, which you activate by touch (345mm tall) R800 Yuppiechef yuppiechef.com Organic vegan hot chocolate with 70% chocolate R105 Honest honestchocolate.co.za Porcelain cups R150 each Skermunkil Design Studio skermunkil.com Cape Fynbos Gin’s Citrus Edition is infused with the zest and juice of five citrus fruits, cloves, white pepper, honey and fynbos (500ml) R300…

According to Property24 statistics, 110 properties were sold in Sutherland in 2016. There must have been a tale or two about gold or diamonds doing the rounds! The only other year that stands out is 2018, when 49 properties received new owners. In 2022, only 12 properties were sold, and just 13 were sold in 2023. When Platteland visited, 34 properties were on the market in and around the town. Here are three of them. R480 000 This 2141m² erf on the eastern side of town has a borehole and a few trees. The property is enclosed by a wire fence and there is a neat wall at the front. R1 million This stone cottage has 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. And, as you would expect in a Karoo house,…

Elsje Becker is a strong, gutsy woman. How could she be anything else after raising a troop of four lively lads, each one an even bigger (self-confessed) petrolhead than the next? This grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of one is a woman who perserveres, endures, holds her own and, above all, holds everything together (but she rarely holds her tongue…) It’s no wonder that today, on the eve of her 90th birthday, she is still capable of doing a hundred squats every day. Her husband, Joop, also a proud and upright man who spent many years working as an electrical engineer for the former Iscor, today reads aloud his memories of the 1957 Fiat Nuova 500 in their garage in detail – and with great gusto. Joop turns 90 in…

The early bird catches the worm; the early birder catches the bird. Bird pharisees who happen to rise early are the first to notice them: silent zombielike groups armed with binoculars, ears attuned like those of bat-eared foxes, staring at an unremarkable brown shrub. The call of a little brown job (LBJ) has been heard somewhere in the vicinity of the half-dead bush, and each member of the binoculars brigade is now earnestly trying to see it for themselves. Those who are successful ululate quietly on the inside (just as birding etiquette demands) and immediately record the species, date, time and place on their phone or in a notebook. This silent brigade not only looks like a sect, it sounds and acts like one, too. At the Reflections Eco-Reserve next…

WALKING SCENT TOURS Smell your way through the Mother City “Have you ever explored a place with your nose?” asks Justin Williams of Follow Your Nose, who hosts walking scent tours and perfume workshops in Cape Town.“Every plant tells a story, and on this leisurely walk you get to know the Cape and its vegetation using your sense of smell.” Since plants flower at different times of the year, the route the scent tour takes depends on the season. In the winter months, walkers explore the fynbos growing in the Constantia Greenbelt and learn more about indigenous plants such as wild mint, pine-leaved saffron-bush, wild clematis, golden sage and sour fig. The scents of exotic species such as Japanese honeysuckle, pink jasmine and frangipani are equally captivating. Justin is a…

Right now we’re captivated by Vonkeltee, the new sparkling cold-brew ice tea from renowned Franschhoek wine, fruit and guest farm, Babylonstoren. The new low-kilojoule drink is available in two flavours, rooibos and honeybush, and comes in 300ml tins. Both versions are caffeine-free, high in antioxidants, low in sugar, and contain no added flavouring or colourants. The cold-brew method preserves most of the plants’ health properties and enhances the natural flavours of the tea. Product head Ernst Kleynhans says Vonkeltee tastes best served ice cold and on its own. “But a slice of lemon and a few ice cubes won’t do any harm. The lemon adds natural fruit acids that elevate the flavour. Don’t add too much ice, because this will dilute the drink as it melts.” The stylish bright-blue and…

Portuguese Festival 31 May–2 June JOHANNESBURG EXPO CENTRE Experience Portuguese culture and enjoy authentic food at this fun family day, complete with Portuguese dancers and artists. Helicopter trips and drifting will keep adrenaline junkies happy. Tickets R120 per person (day pass); R80 for children at Computicket. Contact 060 524 3767 The Portuguese Festival didi@portuguesefestival.co.za Italian Republic Day Festival THE ITALIAN CLUB, PRETORIA 2 June The“jacaranda” branch of the Italian Club invites you to raise a glass of apéritif wine to toast la dolce vita with the annual celebration of Italy becoming a republic. Authentic Italian food and products will be on sale, with shiny sports cars from South Africa’s Ferrari and Lamborghini clubs on display. Tickets R60 per person (R40 for pensioners; R30 for under 12s) on Quicket. Contact Italian…

Ulli Gerntholtz Manager at Rogge Cloof Private Nature Reserve Ulli’s uncle bought the Rogge Cloof farm at the top of the Verlatenkloof Pass 32 years ago. “It was a getaway for the family over the years and it was very primitive and basic in the beginning. There was no power and when we did get electricity later, we decided we would never have TV here – and that’s still the case. It was truly fantastic to be able to bring our children here and expose them to this kind of life, so close to nature.” Although Ulli spent years working for Woolworths Food and later also travelled the world for international companies, the African veld remains his favourite place. “Especially Namibia – my wife said that I love that country…

It’s the middle of December in a small coastal hamlet along the Garden Route. Two old people are sitting on their veranda. They are South African and call it a stoep. The man is quiet; the woman talks a lot. The man and the bird don’t always listen as they know what the woman is going to say before she says it. Their names are Obie, Lynn and Tommy Toraco. Behind them is the roar of the Indian Ocean that echoes off the mountain and Afromontane forest that surround them. Nothing could be more lovely, they both think. However, they are both aware that beyond the Tsitsikamma Mountains is the incoming roar of traffic from the tense and often uptight Gauteng holidaymakers that descend on this area in December. Obie…

Small towns usually have the best stories. That’s because each person in every arid region or lush valley of our vast, sparsely populated platteland is either famous or infamous – everyone knows everyone else’s face, along with their history. Few things are a secret here. Church Street – or the main street named after whoever founded the town – is often home to a distinguished main character who can recite, as effortlessly as multiplication tables, the business, scandals and financial woes of all the residents. On repeat. This presiding figure is either very fat or very thin, rarely somewhere in between, and is either descended from the old founding fathers, or a longstanding resident who inherited wealth; and now, table covered in porcelain and wine, sits on the stoep and…

If you want to organise a plant swap in your town, tell Saffron so that she can share it on the Plant Swap ZA page. There are also a few etiquette rules within the plant-exchange community that are worth bearing in mind. 1 Decide ahead oftime what you want to swap You can bring new or rooted cuttings, small or large plants. Anything related to botany is also suitable. Think pots, gardening tools, plant art, or items decorated with flowers. 2 Label your plants Hang a tag with the correct name on each plant so that everyone can immediately see what is available for swapping. Plant-care tips will also be appreciated by the new owner. 3 Bring a container in which you can safely transport your plants without them falling…

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Forget about poor Alice, who first had to take a clumsy tumble down a rabbit hole before she discovered her subterranean wonderland. In the mining town of Cullinan, it takes just the blink of an eye before you are launched into Willie Strauss’s unique solar system. Simply step through the green door in an equally green corrugated fence. Prepare yourself for what lies behind this unremarkable portal: a farmyard scene that includes seven adopted dogs (Kosie, Gerda, Bella, Hester, Thembi, Rentia and her son, Frikkie, that all come from Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre in Bronkhorstspruit), four sphynx cats (with which Willie once bred and entered cat shows), two British shorthair cats, two swans and a platoon of noisy ducks and flamboyant Polish chickens. A variety of comfortable spaces has…

“I’vehad horses in the past, but this last year is the most time I’ve spent with these magnificent animals. Horses are like mirrors – they reveal your own emotions to you. Working with them has been a calming experience,” Jaco Reverchon explains. It took hard work to establish an equilibrium at River Stables Sabie. Here, 10 horses are grazing happily in a meadow next to the Sabie River, but it is also home to five dogs, three donkeys and one fat pig lazing about. The owners, Jaco and Jens Reverchon, moved to Sabie in August 2022. Before that, they lived in the Balule Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger, west of the Kruger National Park, where they managed their lodge, Mhangela. And prior to that, the couple lived in Cape…