Lifestyle
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The platteland here... and down under
No matter where you are, the platteland is always a unique ecosystem where the gears turn more slowly and you're filled with greater self-awareness, as Freestater Elizabeth Wasserman discovered in her new home on New Zealand's South Island.
5 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Salad and trout from the maize triangle
When you arrive on a farm in the heart of the Free State's maize triangle to find all the implements overgrown with boscage, two thoughts will go through your mind: either the farmer has grown tired of ploughing, or he knows something no one else does. And then you discover tunnels filled with vegetables and dams brimming with trout...
7 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Easy as pie
One-pot cooking is just the thing for family get-togethers as the holiday season approaches. We invite you to wow your guests with this curried venison and lamb pie. Different, yes. Delicious, certainly. And a stunning focal point for your festive table.
2 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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A festival that grows on you
Since 2017, succulent enthusiasts have assembled in Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo for the town's annual succulent festival, which takes place over the third weekend of September. Platteland paid a visit to the eighth edition.
7 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Survivors of the veld
Succulents are hardy and drought-resistant, and come in the most fantastical shapes and colours, and varied textures. Plus, they're easy to propagate and sow from seeds. We paid a visit to the annual succulent festival in Calitzdorp to ask the experts for practical advice on keeping these dependable plants healthy and happy.
10 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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The end of my street
This is Loxton, one of those places where the wild west wind blows. Where avenues of Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis) and rows of pear trees were planted by a visionary town clerk, a Mr Theunissen. Out of his own pocket.
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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When two worlds collide
Antjie Krog's Blood's Inner Rhyme is part-autobiography, part-reportage and part-fiction, the main theme developed through a varied multitude of narratives and conversations between the writer and her mother, two personally devoted yet ideologically opposed beings with a shared love for the Free State writes Johann Krieglar
5 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Time to read
In an era where attention economy reigns supreme, people apparently scroll far more on their phone screens than they read. But for anyone seeking depth this summer holiday, a book remains the ultimate companion. Here are eight of Platteland's favourites that were published recently.
4 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Vergelegen voted the best
The historic Vergelegen estate in Somerset West has been announced as the Best Wine Farm Experience at this year's Kfm 94.5 Best of the Cape Awards.
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Still Bay all the way!
Still Bay – often referred to as a blend of a Mediterranean fishing village and a sleepy surfer's paradise – is growing fast and getting busy. Yet it remains the perfect work-from-home, holiday or retirement spot for anyone longing for a peaceful life in the platteland.
10+ min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Boerewors is tops!
Here's a great talking point for your next braai: our very own boerewors has been chosen as the best sausage in the world!
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Simply...delicious!
Take guests on a palate-pleasing journey with this selection of Mediterranean-style dishes from Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen's latest cooking travelogue, JAN Voyage. Flavour takes centre stage (and so will you!).
5 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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The thundering hooves of the Härdap!
Rehoboth, runner-up in the Kwêla Town of the Year competition, is known for its tall camelthorn trees, perfect roosterkoek, beautiful women – and its horses. Piet van Rooyen visited the 2025 Rehoboth Winter Cup, where almost 100 horses competed in a grand total of 19 races.
7 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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It's time to garden
Buy a bottle of perfume redolent with aromas of fynbos and the Karoo; admire world-class botanical art in Stellenbosch; discover what the gardening trends forecasters are predicting for 2026; and, if you're feeling creative, make your own “flower frog”.
6 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Made with LOVE
Well-known chef, restaurateur and food writer Karen Dudley creates flavourful and soulful dishes from - and for - the heart. We share a selection of recipes from her new cookbook Upwards, which serves as a reminder that creating in the kitchen is as much about connecting with people as it is about food. Our selection lends itself to convivial gatherings of friends and family - perfectly timed for the festive season.
10 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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MACADAMIAS Planting a legacy
By adopting a different approach to agriculture and the way tribal land can be used, two emerging farmers are driving change – and providing hope – for rural communities. Their vehicle? Macadamia nuts.
7 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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A tree of many tales....
In the Free State, 17 km east of Ventersburg, you'll find a pepper tree that's among the largest in the world. It's a tree that has witnessed great tragedy, but one that has also brought – and still brings – much joy and comfort to those who encounter it.
8 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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'Here we farm with stones' (and silence)
The Great Nothingness north of Laingsburg is where you'll find Bloukrans Klein-Bewarea guest farm. Here, three unique self-catering cottages – one of stone, one of mud and one of corrugated iron – offer visitors refuge from the troubles of the modern world.
6 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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South Africa's pot of gold
Jars of pantry staples always make a welcome gift. Now, South Africa has an official honour roll for our best preserved foods, just in time to fill the Christmas stocking.
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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And the cleverest sheepdog is...
Your dog is your best friend... and quite possibly also your best farm worker.
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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Sunflowers from Stellenbosch
Few things say “summer” quite like the sight of a bright yellow sunflower. Dan Enslin of The Neighbours Farm wanted to share their joyful exuberance with as many people as possible and allocated approximately 4 hectares of land to growing them.
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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A Delft-blue Christmas
No matter how many times you've visited the picturesque Boland farm Babylonstoren, situated near Simondium in the Paarl-Stellenbosch- Franschhoek triangle, there will always be something new to see, do or desire.
1 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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A celebration of the veld
What does a mountaintop in bloom or the dunes of the Cape smell like?
2 min |
Summer 2025/2026
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He was just called 'P'
Book discussions are usually well attended in the platteland, but when a little old “P” causes a case of mistaken identity, it’s a story worth telling, says Nadine Petrick.
5 min |
Spring 2025
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A last refuge at the Gamsberg
A network of historical paths had to intersect before award-winning Afrikaans author and poet Piet van Rooyen and his wife, Annalie, put down roots at the Gamsberg in Namibia five years ago.
8 min |
Spring 2025
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Cooking with gas!
Celebrate spring – and Braai Day – with friends and family preparing and braaiing lamb sosaties or ribeye steak with an assortment of delicious vegetables. In his award winning book Food Trail South Africa, Warren Mendes spices things up with daring combinations. Here's a taste...
8 min |
Spring 2025
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Refuge of silence
When writer Zelda Nel Bezuidenhout and her husband, Izak, stumbled upon Skuilkrans Private Nature Reserve just outside McGregor, they knew they'd found it: the off-grid, eco-conscious, pet-friendly, writing and getaway retreat they'd long imagined.
6 min |
Spring 2025
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RIETBRON Wellspring of life
There's never been an abundance of people and businesses in Rietbron. But what you will find in abundance, aside from water, in this little town located in Die Vlak in the Great Karoo is blissful tranquillity. Just walk its dusty streets and you'll feel it...
9 min |
Spring 2025
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Start your own cut-flower garden
Even if you think you don't have green fingers, you can cultivate your own flowers for picking – and save a lot of money in the long run. Follow our expert advice on how to start your own cut-flower garden this spring. All you need is one small bed (or four to six large pots).
7 min |
Spring 2025
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Cherry picking in the Free State
Spring at the Ionia Cherry Farm between Fouriesburg and Ficksburg is a season of promise, according to one of the directors, Frieda Kruger. “The whole world around us is in bloom and the air smells like fresh beginnings – it’s like a fairytale!”
2 min |