Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2025 från go! Platteland

What would a bazaar table be without jars of jams, preserves or quartered quinces? Now, there’s a competition that celebrates this cherished tradition. “The goal of the SA Preserve Championship is to recognise and reward quality while showcasing our exceptional preserved products,” says Susina Jooste, chief judge and cookbook writer. “It’s about knowledge exchange, economic growth, raising the standard of the industry, and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.” The competition is organised by Agri-Expo, South Africa’s oldest agricultural organisation, and also the driving force behind the SA Dairy Championships. Entries are now open and any preserved products – fruits and vegetables – that are available commercially may be entered. The judging panel will choose the top products in a blind-tasting session that follows strict guidelines. Visit the competition website…

40% DISCOUNT* TO SUBSCRIBE ON THE PRINTED MAGAZINE FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS • 087 353 1300 (for local calls) or +27 21 065 0033 (for international calls) • subs@media24.com • WhatsApp 087 353 1333 • SMS “service” to 31069 and we’ll contact you (SMSs cost R1,50 each; free minutes do not apply) FOR RENEWALS • 087 353 1300 (for local calls) or +27 21 065 0033 (for international calls) • subs@media24.com OR GO DIGITAL SUBSCRIBE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AND HAVE EASY ACCESS! No postage, no hassles Visit zinio.com or magzter.com R336 FOR 4 ISSUES * Subscribe to Platteland and get four issues per year. This offer is valid until 21 August 2025. Terms and conditions Only South African residents qualify for this offer. We may amend the fees payable in…

Just like regular flu, there are various types of bird flu, and not all of them are deadly. This is according to Dr Lesley van Helden, state veterinarian in epidemiology at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. Researchers distinguish between two types: highly pathogenic bird flu, also known as high path, a severe form of the disease that causes various symptoms in birds and usually kills them quickly; and low pathogenic bird flu (or low path), which is not as serious. Experts predict that the current wave of bird flu, H5N1, which is currently wreaking havoc in Europe and America, will not bypass South Africa, and could even cause more damage than the 2023 epidemic, when around 10 million chickens – 20-30% of the country’s total chicken stock – died…

For the third time, Three Ships Whisky has produced the World’s Best Blended Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards, beating competitors from Scotland, Ireland, Japan and America in blind tastings. Their Bourbon Cask, a proudly South African whisky, made at the James Sedgwick Whisky Distillery in Wellington – was especially praised for its unique flavour profile: oak, vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate and smoked pineapple on the nose, with a palate of cornflakes, caramel sauce and ripe fruits, rounded off with brown sugar and vanilla. “Our hot climate compelled us to think differently about whisky and to find innovative ways to work with our warmer temperatures, and not against them,” says Walters Uys, Lead Spirits Intrinsic at Heineken Beverages. “The climate speeds up ageing and although our angel’s share [the…

Handmade ceramic pour-over cone with steel stand R600 Mug R300 Kate Malan Creative katemalancreative Herbarium bath oil, a mixture of grapeseed and sweet almond oil with dried flowers submerged in it R255 Bergblom Soap bergblomsoap.com Decorative rabbit crafted from reclaimed blackwood (37cm tall) R295 De Oude Fabreeck deoudefabreeck.co.za Hand-poured candles R113–R290 each Ethereal Candles etherealcandlecrafters.com Handmade ceramic mugs R240 each Kate Malan Creative katemalancreative Essential oils in 10ml roll-on sticks for all kinds of niggles (clockwise from left): Sinus, Calm Down, Headache, Cheer Up, Stress, Wake Up R50 each Pure Indigenous pureindigenous.co.za Kid mohair fluffy scarf R680 Mohair socks, hand-dyed using a natural plant-based dye R180 per pair Spinlea Farm spinleafarm.com Platteland says Findout moreonpage24. Sout Afrika Movie Night set with 6 popcorn boxes, popcorn kernels and salt-and-vinegar sprinkle R260 Funky Ouma funky-ouma.co.za Platteland…

Lithalethu Mshoti Manager of the Montagu Museum Litha, who worked at Heritage Western Cape and the Caledon Museum after completing her studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, says she didn’t know a soul in Montagu when she was appointed in this position in February 2024. From her Long Street office in the Old Mission Church, a national monument, she is frank that, as a black woman from the Eastern Cape, she felt nervous about coming to“a small Afrikaans town” in the Western Cape, although she had quietly been looking for a smaller, safe place where she could raise her youngest son, Lilanga (now 4). “The first few weeks were difficult for me, but the people of Montagu were very helpful… and Lilanga’s Afrikaans is now better than his…

Carin Wiggett and Sonia Neethling Funeral consultant and attorney These two sisters are more than a little proud of their father, Paul, and what he does for the people of Memel. But sometimes they are concerned that he will give away everything he has. “When we tell him that he is a true humanist, he gets totally worked up, but that’s exactly what he is. His only goal in life is to be good to other people,” says Sonia. She followed in her father’s footsteps and became an attorney. “I have my own practice here in this building, which was once the bank. My father will also move here soon because he wants to turn his office into a museum. He has a heck of a lot of old things…

COOCOO CLUB Birds of a feather During the lockdown five years ago, artist Jeanne Hugo began watching the birds in her back garden as a hobby. Her first collection of posters and sketches, “Garden birds of South Africa”, was so popular that today she runs a successful art and design company focusing on many of our feathered friends. In her new collection, “Weird & Wonderful Birds of South Africa”, her finely detailed bird sketches preen on posters, tea towels, napkins and clothing. Where did the idea for the second collection originate? Since starting this illustration project five years ago, I’ve made a point of regularly spending time outside. When we go on holiday to other parts of the country, or visit bird sanctuaries, beaches and wetlands, I’m always on the…

As she crosses the low-water bridge that meets the wide, glistening tar roads of the town, Bybie van den Bergh rolls up the sleeves of her blouse. The wind races, dry and listless, across the plains around Veldrus. Gliding past the majestic cliffs of Tandkop, safe and protected in the capsule of her car, she glances at the cypress trees beside the N3 rocking in the wind. It’s already 31ºC and the temperature in the kitchen where she will spend the day working has probably already reached 40ºC. She counts the cars at the Moedergemeente and again at the APK church, where she turns off. The late-morning services will be over in 30 minutes’ time. By 12 o’clock, the tables at her restaurant could be filled with women wearing tailor-made…

Now it’s even easier for South African bakers and sourdough devotees to have access to fresh stoneground flour that’s milled the day before the courier arrives to collect and deliver it. In last year’s Spring issue (Platteland #44), we featured the place-specific breads that Carien Hugo Waring from Moorrees Bakery in Moorreesburg bakes using local stoneground flour. Since then, Carien and her husband, Craig, have purchased their own Austrian micro stone mill, called Klaus, which led to the formation of the MMM (Moorrees Micro-Milled) Stoneground & Sourdough Club in March this year. For R300 per month, 2kg of the month’s unique MMM flour blend will be delivered to your doorstep, along with a tried-and-tested recipe. If you subscribe for 12 months, you’ll only pay R250 per month, and a six-month…

WESTERN CAPE Silver Mountain Music Festival GROOTVADERSBOSCH 13–16 June The peace of nature and the sound of music – from classical compositions to pulsating African percussion – join in perfect harmony in the magical area between Heidelberg, Swellendam and Barrydale. Tickets Book at Quicket. Contact silvermountainmusic.co.za @SilverMtMusic @silvermtmusic info@silvermountainmusic.co.za 0793350269 Mushroom foraging DELHEIM WINE ESTATE, STELLENBOSCH 13 & 14 June and 4 & 5 July Discover this renowned wine estate through the 20 mushroom varieties that grow in its pine forests. The day begins with an information session with mushroom expert Gary Goldman, followed by an excursion in the forest where you can harvest your own mushrooms. A special three-course meal and wine-tasting are included. Bring along your basket and a pocketknife. Tickets R1000pp (R850 for children) at Quicket. Contact…

Robyn Ferraz is standing on the porch of her Watchtower cottage, a squat red-stone building nestled on a little rise in the landscape. It offers breathtaking views of the 122-hectare farm which Robyn has been managing for the past seven years. “I love this place and the sheer beauty of it,” she says gesturing to the rolling green hills, still wet from a late summer thunderstorm. “We used to come up here for holidays when I was a teenager.” But Robyn’s road to the Southern Drakensberg took many a turn before she and her family settled in on the now famous Splashy Fen farm. “I was 17 when my parents moved here in 1980. Before that we moved around quite a bit – my father, Peter Ivens-Ferraz, was a journalist,”…

Successful entrepreneurs like Brandt Coetzee and his older brother, Aam, are problem solvers by nature, people who see the world differently from everyone else. Where others identify problems, entrepreneurs find opportunities. When the former Department of Water Affairs and Forestry started the Working for Water programme 30 years ago with the aim of eliminating invasive plants and creating jobs, Brandt, who was living in his childhood home town of Prieska, began to wonder how to best utilise the wood of the eradicated prosopis trees, which at that stage had already invaded 1,4 million hectares of agricultural land in the Northern Cape. (Read “How did prosopis trees arrive here?” on page 84.) “Just look at how grass-green the prosopis trees remain throughout the worst droughts in the Karoo. Everything around them…

MENU APPETISER Baked figs MAIN COURSE Choose one or more main dishes to serve with the pumpkin fritters as well as a starch such as roast potatoes or fresh bread. Lemon-and-cream chicken Oxtail pie Stuffed springbok leg Pumpkin fritters with orange sauce DESSERT Naartjie halves with a kick Baked-fig appetiser Serve these to keep your guests happy before the main course is served. Makes 20 Preparation time 20 minutes plus soaking time Cooking time 30 minutes YOU NEED • 20 dried figs• 1 cup (250 ml) apple juice• 20 macadamia nuts (we roasted ours to strengthen the flavour)• 250 g streaky bacon THIS IS HOW Soak the figs in the apple juice for 1 hour. Heat the oven to 180 ºC. Use a sharp knife to cut a small opening…