Like a nymph, Carina Stander appears from among the trees in the Tsitsikamma, where she and her family live. Barefoot, wearing a plain white dress... her hair long and dark brown with splashes of colour. She glides down the garden path, which she, her husband and two sons laid themselves, to the gate in the white picket fence. Smiling broadly, she throws her arms wide open, tilts her head and warmly exclaims: “Welcome to our world!”
It’s a land of magic, of fables and fantasy, that she’s created with her husband, Gerrit van Niekerk, and their two sons, 14-year-old Aden and 10-year old Ilan. In the garden, monkeys cavort and turacos call to each other in the trees, and every now and then one of their two cats, Mooiloop and Avontier (meaning “night tiger”, according to Aden) make an appearance. The garden is a profusion of flowers and foliage, with paths, sculptures, cosy nooks, treehouses, hammocks and a “foefie slide”.
The interior of the double-storey log home is equally fantastical: bright colours, art everywhere, arum lilies and other flowers popping out of pots and vases on the windowsills. Orchids in full bloom. And everywhere, mementoes of people and places: near the front door is a model boat that the boys chose in Mauritius; in the cinema room there’s Carina’s grandmother’s couch, the bell from her father’s herdleader, a door handle from Zanzibar, a bird sculpture from the Amazon…
This story is from the Spring 2021 edition of go! Platteland.
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This story is from the Spring 2021 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.
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