go! Platteland

The slow life is the good life: go! Platteland celebrates the rural lifestyle and the entrepreneurial spirit of people whose hearts are in the platteland – whether they grew up in the countryside or are already based there, are contemplating making the move or simply hankering after the rural life. Platteland offers articles that focus on entrepreneurs, DIY projects, animals, gardening, food, towns and people. It is both practical and inspiring – as much of a visual feast as it is a celebration of great writing.

Let’s watch… and learn

go! Platteland

My road to the platteland

No more blasphemy, please

How about a map?

To start all over

My list for the new year

Rosendal… forever in my heart

News & diary • Autumn heralds a time of rest and change. Make the most of the cooler weather by exploring your world – and collecting unique travel mementos. It is also the season for eating well: flavoursome cheese, innovative beer and delectable fare that will delight your senses.

Heidelberg awaits that one-tonner…

Raise your glass to our beer of the year!

Klein River punches above its weight

For your diary*

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Let’s go to town • We found goodies and lovely new treats made by entrepreneurs in Gardens, Harkerville, Heidelberg (Western Cape), Kleinmond, Knysna, Meadowdale, Plettenberg Bay, Port Owen, Prince Albert, Randburg, Richmond (Northern Cape), Sedgefield, Swellendam and Woodstock.

Karoo gold for your skin • The Stegmann family has been farming with merinos on Kruidfontein near Willowmore for more than 150 years. These sheep provided the inspiration for their family business Lanogold, an affordable Karoo skincare range containing medical-grade lanolin as the main ingredient, in combination with extracts from plants that grow in the region.

A rainy day in willowmore • Things have changed in Willowmore since Platteland’s previous visit eight years ago. Still, it was good to take a stroll through the streets of this Eastern Cape town again.

– ORANIA – Great white hope? • The white Afrikaner home of Orania on the border of the Northern Cape and Free State is a merciless but progressive pioneering settlement that compels South Africans of all colours and cultures to look the past – and themselves – squarely in the eye.

In a nutshell

What does propery cost?

Meet the people

Eat, drink, have fun!

For the love of steam • A group of steam-train enthusiasts and photographers gathered from all over the world for a singular opportunity: to see grand old steam locomotives again traverse the plains of the Northern Cape and Free State, billowing smoke and steam. Camera shutters clicked away, and there was much elation and emotion.

Valley of the rising sun • If you’ve made the trip to the Kruger National Park via Hazyview, you will know the rolling koppies and valleys of Kiepersol and the Sabie River Valley. This is farming country, but there is also plenty of fun to be had in the Lowveld sun. After all, shorts and flip-flops can be worn all-year round.

Meet the people

Eat, drink, have fun!

The cats ‘go to town’! • After her dramatic rescue, a Sea Point feral cat has had a quite remarkable life. Since Platteland wrote about her in 2017, she acquired a (feral) sister and became an ambassador for a fund in aid of feral cats. And then the whole family moved to the platteland!

From the earth • Kathryn Eybers and Ross Dwyer went off-grid 20 years ago when they bought a piece of destroyed land outside De Rust and turned it into the Numbi Valley Permaculture Farm – a balanced, sustainable ecosystem with a unique cob home and yoga studio they built with their own hands, from that very same damaged soil.

Build a pizza oven...