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.

EDITORS’ LETTER • Platteland without borders

go! Platteland

FAIRLADY Smart Women • Want to start your own business or supercharge your side hustle? The online course 7 Steps to Your Start-Up will give you all the tools you need for a one-off fee of only R950.

Chitchat

News & diary • The new season brings with it longer days, holidays and a jam-packed calendar. Choose from sampling the world’s most delicious sausage, picking your own sunflowers or planning a road trip to enjoy as many summer festivals as possible.

Dates to diarise*

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Let’s go to town • Our search for the hottest festive-season buys took us to Albertinia, Alice, Cape Town, Cradock, De Rust, De Wildt, Dundee, Gqeberha, Hillcrest, Johannesburg, Knysna, Montagu, Oudtshoorn, Stellenbosch, Wellington and Wolmaransstad.

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.

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 Kriegler.

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.

Meet the people

Market day in Still Bay! • On Saturday mornings, locals and visitors alike descend on the vibey Stilbaai Brugmark, where everything from clothing and coffee to plants and the region’s best homemade products are on sale.

Eat, drink, be merry!

The 2025 edition is here!

‘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.

Register now for the 2026 go! Festival of Hiking • In 2026, we will host our annual Festival of Hiking in two provinces: the Western Cape and Gauteng. From 20 to 22 February, the Cape event will once again be held at Meerendal Estate, outside Durbanville. Gauteng hikers should diarize 29 to 31 May, when the festival will take place at De Wildt, 30 minutes outside Pretoria. Start priming your feet because registrations will open soon.

The thundering hooves of the Hardap! • 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.

A tree of many tales… • In the Free State, 17 km east of Ventersburg, you’ll find a pepper tree that’s among the...