Traveling through small towns is one of the many blessings of road trips in South Africa; for Carol, revisiting a Klein Karoo town filled with memories inspired a whole new level of understanding about community and unity.
South Africa (04 June 2025) – Five years since visiting Groenfontien in the Klein Karoo, Carol Rupert Stewart was passing through the small town with her husband Alistair, and they decided to spend a night, indulging in nostalgic memories and visiting old friends.
The sad part of time moving on, is that circumstances change and it was this reality that inspired Carol to pen her experience, helping her process the grief of change and embrace the beauty of unity and togetherness.
Carol shared her beautiful story with Good Things Guy, in the hope of inspiring others to visit the small towns of their past.
“I recently returned home (to Somerset West) from a trip to the Karoo, stopping at the little town of Groenfontein for a night. My husband and I had stayed once before, and it is still the South African travel experience that enchanted me more than any other. I expected a similar experience, but my naiveite was soon reminded that time will shape stories at its will, and although it was an entirely different experience, this one hit even deeper than the last owing to the displays of strength, courage, community and compassion that we were privileged to witness.”
This is her story, in her own words:
Groenfontein, where memories meet meaningful moments.
This weekend we returned to the Klein Karoo dorpie of Groenfontein for the first time since 2021. It is a little greenbelt, on the banks of a river, on a stretch of dirt road outside of Calitzdorp. And Calitzdorp is the epicentre of port-style wine production in South Africa. I was particularly excited for the return. The last time, Alistair was cycling through the region, and I took a day to drive around alone, popping in to visit tiny wineries and photo galleries, and taking good time to have fascinating conversation with incredibly interesting people that live an enviable richness of life rooted in simplicity and that very Karoo-specific spirit of ‘’n Boer Maak ‘n Plan’. The stories from that day still live very deeply within me, possibly also owing to the starvation of human contact in those Covid years and the giddy sense of freedom that exploration once again allowed.
So when “Al” suggested we make a stop there en route to the magnificent Swartberg Pass and ultimately Prince Albert, I was delighted to introduce him to my experiences, that I have referenced many times over the past five years.
It is a curious human trait, however, that our nostalgia has us forgetting that time demands change – not only in nature, but in we as people, and more importantly, circumstance.
My expectations were of chickens being shooed off the stoep table for a wine tasting with Patrick* and his wife, having been greeted with enthusiastic small town hospitality by the farm labrador and retriever. And Marie and Grant, in their late years, with their colonial style tea service at The Retreat, informed by their years as lodge owners on the Caprivi strip on the Zambezi river. Followed by a fascinating wander through Roger Young’s Kruisrivier photography gallery, where the ex-Joburger settled to do carpentry, only to develop fame as the town’s local photographer of all events for the local farming White and Coloured communities, from the Manne-Aand cross dressing charity fashion show at the local Church, to endless pink-organza-and-orange-chinz adorned wedding ceremonies. His storytelling through his camera is unlike anything I have seen, and his narratives accompanying each one will challenge you to keep your composure as you stand in front of that heart-wrenching photo of a father digging a grave for his own child. Look up his work. My keyboard fingers simply cannot do any of it justice.
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When Disability Changed Her Life in an Instant, Queenie Grootboom Found the Heart to Keep GoingWe arrived at Patrick’s* wines. The labby and retriever replaced with two new wet noses, a little more subdued than the last. He was in the company of two local winemakers, sitting around an impressive pile of crispy chicken wings. Of course we were welcomed to feast. But a weary looking Patrick soon shared the news that he had recently lost his wife. His grief was so raw. He shared how hard this year has been. One of the winemaker friends quietly collected all the lunch dishes, and washed up – a simple act of kindness that made it clear how the community is rallying around one of theirs. It was incredibly special to witness.
We moved onto The Retreat for the night. Marie was there along with Erica, her new partner in the business. Grant, her husband, had also recently and suddenly passed, leaving Marie with a massive farm and guesthouse to manage. Now she is one stoic, capable woman. Into her eighties, walking the farm trails twice daily with the dogs, recently cured of her deafness with a cochlear implant. Erica from the neighbouring farm is a fair few years younger, but her kids have left for their life adventures, and these two women have found incredible companionship as friends, and now business partners. The tea service as beautiful as ever. A delicious farm styled home cooked meal shared by us all around a huge communal table.
Which led us to Roger Young’s gallery the next day. And yet another story of heartache and indomitable human spirit, as Roger walked out with a cane, one leg a prosthesis, having had a leg amputation 2 months ago. Eleven surgeries in the past year had failed to save his leg from rejected knee replacement hardware. This was his first day back in the woodwork studio, alongside his partner, Phyllis, herself a renowned costumier who worked on building the War Horses for the South African stage production. Roger, at 76, is walking 2kms a day down the dirt road, completes several sets of multiple single leg squats daily, and shows an adamant determination to not give into anger and regret or let this stop him from living the life he chooses. Phyllis is quietly proud beside him. No doubt she has set a lot aside to take on the role of caregiver. She is wonderful. The coffee and biscotti shared on the stoep were the perfect companion to more storytelling, and the photos again had me laughing, gasping, blinking back tears, and feeling privileged to be in the presence of these remarkable tales of unfiltered humanity.
We drove away and I struggled to hold in the immenseness of the emotions filling up every inch of me. I felt sad. I felt grief – for them primarily, but also for the stories I had naively assumed would be transferable to this trip. I felt overwhelming admiration. I felt like a fortunate observer to witness the magnitude of community kindness and genuine care and utter resilience in a corner of our country that represents the best of us all.
These are new stories. They will be held as dearly as those in the previous chapter. Friendship – tenderly offered through kindness and community. The strength of women supporting women. The determination to overcome adversity. Deep respect for nature. Creativity. Inviting in strangers to bear witness to the most raw of human experiences, right in their homes.
Goodness, but the Karoo gets in your blood if you let it.
by 
