The way beyond Barkly East, leading onward to Moshoeshoe’s Drift and the village of Rhodes, was some what problematic to negotiate – or, plainly said, just shitty. If it weren’t for the high mountains I could have been on some track in Equatorial Guinea or driving through the green paddocks of New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle had passed. Owing to the recent rains, the little gravel road with its multiple muddy vehicle tracks looked a lot worse than the road almost never travelled. In fact, my fancy Autobahn-designed German car, now with its tyre treads filled with mountain mud, kept on flickering and beeping all kinds of commands like “Change to snow conditions on all alpine inclines!” I know, I know – I should have read the manual, but it’s nearly as thick as the Bible. So there we were, skidding and slipping all over a mud slide in the southern Drakensberg, not having thoroughly studied the Bible or the VWTiguan’s manual.
I still follow that dream of going somewhere I’ve been many a time before, in the hope of finding new alignments of lines and shapes, draped with other moods and light. This somewhat photographer, in his quest for special moments, would guide his search for images through a moving theatre, a collage of continually moving scenes. When you are visually lured by the weird and wonderful, the vast and the near, the up and the down, it all comes down to two things: timing and perspective.
This story is from the Winter 2023 edition of go! Platteland.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Winter 2023 edition of go! Platteland.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The art of small talk
In the city, a glib smile suffices when it comes to interaction with any stranger that crosses her path. Yet a visit to Struisbaai taught Elizabeth Wasserman that small talk is no small matter
From food scraps to compost in a jiffy: We test the iCompost
If turning kitchen waste into compost could be done at the touch of a button, more people would take it up, and much less waste would end up in landfills. That’s what Himkaar Singh, the man behind the innovative iCompost, believes. Platteland was keen to put this innovative appliance to the test
Find wisdom in the forest: It all starts with soil
A tree is an investment in any garden, even though patience is required to pluck the (figurative) fruit. When you plant several trees together to create your own forest, the reward is much greater. They offer shade, they support life… and they improve your soil. We spent time reflecting in our white karee“forest”– and learnt a lot
Ohrigstad's tiny big farmer
Agriculture courses through the veins of the Els family, who have been farming in the Ohrigstad valley in Limpopo since the 1930s. And they are getting younger and younger: Grandfather Jan Els was 36 when he set out, father Dewald 27… and littleWaldo got behind the wheel of massive machines at the age of 6!
The head hen who lays the golden eggs
The Country Chic is a delightful specialty store in the Swartland where small farmer and entrepreneur Suzanne Smit sells the organic free-range chicken eggs and poultry meat she produces – straight from her farm to the shelves of her own store
On mountains and moments
On a trip in the southern Drakensberg, a torrential downpour and a field of prickly thistles got acclaimed photographer Obie Oberholzer thinking about the power of perspective
Ballad of the butter farmer
High up in the Italian Alps, Maria van Zyl learnt to make the tastiest butter in South Africa. Then she started a clever “subscription farming business” delivering dairy products to households in the Cape on a weekly basis, which is how she could afford to buy the first five cows for her micro-dairy. Meet the (bio)dynamic small-scale farmer with big plans
Spring on a stick
Expand your braai repertoire by serving a side dish of flavourful spring-vegetable kebabs cooked to perfection over the coals.
A puzzle of nostalgia
Ride a fat bike through the town where you grew up - an abiding landmark in your life - and behold the picture that reveals itself.
Let's braai!
Celebrate Heritage Day on 24 September with this braai menu, which Platteland put together from Martelize Brink's recently published second cookbook, Oor die Kole.