A River Runs Through It. It’s as though the themes of the classic movie about fly-fishing, rivers, religion and sibling relationships are reflected in the lives of an Eastern Cape family when you listen to Alan Hobson recounting tales of growing up as one of four brothers on a farm near Pearston.
Alan’s story begins in 1820, with two Hobson brothers who landed at Algoa Bay as part of a group of British settlers. “Since childhood, we’ve been hearing that when the two brothers came ashore, one had a Bible under his arm and the other a bottle of whisky. The one carrying the whisky was an entrepreneur who hired spans of oxen to transport necessities to farms in the area. Soon, he could buy his own oxen, and eventually he bought land.”
This is where Alan grew up with his brothers, hunting and fishing. Repeat.
“We attended St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. When we could go home on weekends after our sports matches, my father would stop at Darlington Dam near Jansenville [also known as Lake Mentz] early on a Saturday morning to throw mielies in the water. We’d be very excited on our way from boarding school, knowing what came next: picnicking beside the dam, and afterwards the six of us – four brothers plus Mom and Dad – would stand shoulder to shoulder, fishing.
Denne historien er fra Summer 2021/2022-utgaven av go! Platteland.
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Denne historien er fra Summer 2021/2022-utgaven av go! Platteland.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prÞveperiode pÄ Magzter GOLD for Ä fÄ tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg pÄ
There are few secrets in Verlorenvallei
All platteland towns have that one famous (or infamous) character who knows everyone's business. Meet Livia Hoogenboezem, the keeper of every piece of gossip in Verlorenvallei...
Make magic with winter's abundance
This winter menu is our invitation to look beyond the bewildered herb garden, move out of your comfort zone and bake a loaf of bread, appreciate the beauty of a head of cabbage, and invite the rain gods to the table to feast with you on venison pie, pudding and cake.
It takes a family
Christian Fry and his fiancé, Pippa de Lange, arrived at Dombeya with just a day to spare before the Covid-19 hard lockdown commenced in 2020. Their purpose was to save the Fry family farm from being sold. They've settled into life in their Elands River Valley haven now but continue to dream big and work hard.
For the love of birds...
They may be called birdwatchers but they are in fact using their ears. As Johan van Zyl discovered on his maiden outing as an \"avian tourist\" with BirdLife South Africa to find the 450 bird species that live in the Garden Route and Little Karoo.
To the babbling brooks of Sabie
Roughly every five years, Jaco and Jens Reverchon get itchy feet. They hopped around Cape Town, moved up north to the Greater Kruger and then, recently, put down roots next to the Sabie River where they live a peaceful life with their animals.
Creativity & community in Dinokeng
The driving force behind the successful Makers Village in Irene has now implemented the same concept in Cullinan, creating an incubator and exhibition space for entrepreneurs and artists. Platteland dropped in at this budding creative hub to find out what it's all about and came away impressed.
Willie Strauss Never an idle moment
A variety concert... that is how to approach your life and career when you want to survive as an artist living in the platteland. So says singer, lyricist and radio food expert Willie Strauss, who entices visitors to Die Sinkstoor in Cullinan with traditional offal and his mother's Bushmanland boerekos.
To die for
How do you avoid the tourist avalanche if you live in an Afromontane forest where holidaymakers descend in December? You drive to lonely outposts in the mountains of the Cape, says photographer Obie Oberholzer, and you make pictures rather than take them.
1 Fiat 500 2ha 4 boys...19000 miles!
When the go-cart that an engineer father had built for his four sons couldn't handle the tufty terrain on their 2-hectare plot in Montana, Pretoria, they hunted down a Fiat 500 in a salvage yard. They only wanted its suspension system, but Mom intervened, the car was saved, and those little daredevils clocked up an impressive 19000 miles - all without leaving the plot.
SUTHERLAND Cold town, warm hearts
Life in Sutherland in the Northern Cape isn't always easy, but even those who leave tend to return. Come with us to find out why.
