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.

The soul of the Free State

go! Platteland

Chitchat

News & diary • The days may be getting shorter and cooler, but this autumn’s social calendar is definitely hotting up!

Local is Lekker!

An armchair ‘safari’for your doggo

Introducing the A-Team of SA olive oil!

A freshly brewed book for your coffee table

Wild, wilder… Winelands!

Dates to diarise*

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Let’s go to town • Just before the leaves started to turn colour, we went in search of autumn goodies in Durban, Elgin, Heidelberg (WC), Johannesburg, Krugersdorp, the KZN Midlands, Loxton, Middelpos, Polokwane, Pretoria, Robertson, Simondium, Stellenbosch and Wellington.

Find zen in Zastron • The natural beauty of Zastron, an agricultural town situated at the foot of the Aasvoëlberg in the Free State, as well as the sincerity and empathy of its residents, will captivate the hearts of even the most hardened city slicker.

Meet the people

What does property cost?

Eat, drink, have fun!

Nowhere else • TV viewers have been deeply touched by the series Nêrens, Noord-Kaap, a farm story that tackles difficult and heartbreaking themes. Two questions have endured among the quiver trees that glow in the golden light of the late afternoon: “How did I get here?” and “Where do I want to go?”The people of the “real” Hantam Karoo keep their answers to these questions as simple as possible.

Magic, always, and everywhere… • In 2020, two creative city slickers, Hanneke and Kevin Bentz, swapped the City of Gold for Philippolis where they run two guesthouses and a tearoom and décor shop. Soon they will also be making natural wine from the grapes growing on their two-hectare biodynamic farm outside the town – and it’s all just part of a much bigger story!

The ‘N2 Mall’ turns 30 • The famous Dassiesfontein farm stall on the N2 between Bot River and Caledon celebrated its 30th birthday in January, but four years before constructing their first building in 1995, Sassie and Alda Fick were “secretly” selling farm products from a trailer parked next to the highway.

Following the rain and the sheep • For a long time, nomads and trekboers wandered large parts of our country, their direction and destination determined by the movement of the clouds. These days, fences, boundary walls and roads tell us where we may and may not go. But in the Karoo, Bushmanland and Namaqualand, people and animals still follow the rain.

Oh, for a cuppa Joe! • Three former Windy City residents – a teacher, a medical doctor and an investment banker – have started a new coffee brand that is already available in 46 branches of Spar, 32 eateries and 12 farm stalls, with sales of around 6 tons of coffee predicted for their first year!

The power of herbs • After a health scare in 2017, Janine Honiball started growing herbs and using them in her home cooking on the family farm outside Ventersburg. Now, this entrepreneur – one of only two herb farmers in the Free State – is supplying more than 5 tons of fresh herbs to Checkers and Shoprite annually.

Let’s go into the garden • Book the Fynbos Trail in the Overberg and experience the region’s indigenous autumnal display, admire the biodiversity of Vergelegen, sketch...