July 2020 – Sweetfontein

The success of Sweetfontein can mostly be attributed the the great team we have assembled over the years. It’s truly a privilege to be working with such a humble group of people that shares their fearless leader’s vision for her in such an uncertain time. No task is ever too big or too small to accomplish to ensure fulfilment of Jan Sauer’s dream. Their friendly faces will welcome and make you feel right at home after a long journey.

Sweetfontein’s Farm Manager, Pikkie Louw was born in the Karoo and has been with the Lambrechts Family for 7 years. With his quirky sayings he can lighten even the most of dreadful moods.

Andries is the epitome of a Karoo child. You can ask him anything about the Karoo Field or animals and he will in a very fascinating way start telling stories with humorous detail of specific encounters with every species.

Together these two men handle the farming portion on Sweetfontein.

David (lovingly known to most of our guests as Mannetjie) is our caretaker, and it can be said that he can do almost anything, even forming part of the kitchen brigade when we start plating mains for 160 wedding guests!

Marie and Sophie, is the two soft spoken better halves of Mannetjie and Andries. Taking care of the rooms, laundry, kitchen and even the venue, these two women know how to do almost everything.

Then Sweetfontein would like to introduce you to our very own Rat Pack!

These four men, Ishmail, Ruben, Christo and Jacobus are all bachelors working (and also entertaining!) everyday to make sure that your stay is even more enjoyable. (Christo was on leave while taking the photo)

Lastly, our Guest Liaison Officer, Issebel Swanepoel have been a part of Sweetfontein’s team from the very beginning. Receiving and entertaining guests for 6 years, she knows the in’s and out’s of every part of the business.

After the announcement later today by Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, individuals are now allowed to leave their homes for leisure travel, and curfews for restaurants has been moved to 22h00, within you province. Luckily with the Northern Cape being the biggest province, we are EXTREMELY excited to say, “Sweetfontein and her staff can’t wait to welcome you back!”

So we finally decided to give blogging a go! We hope that you will derive as much joy from the Karoo as we do.

Having a passion for something in life is certainly something all of us aspire to, not many can find it but what we are hoping for is that you will start to see and come to love the Karoo as a place where you can stop, go back to your routes and appreciate all the little gifts that we overlook day to day.

The Boutique Group prides itself with the fact that we keep on growing, with now three establishments up and running. Sweetfontein Boutique Farm Lodge, Boutique Guesthouse Hanover and Seisoen Retreat Richmond.

This blog will be about day to day living in the Karoo, what we do weekly, how to overcome certain obstacles in the Karoo, how to extract the best out of local produce, to work with what you have and just to take a step back and appreciate quality.

It will become your guide for just about everything that you find interesting in the Karoo.

Sweetfontein Farm has been known to the locals for quite some time but it was only as little as 7 years ago that it truly started to establish itself among the holiday travellers and thrill seekers as the place to be in the Karoo. Luxurious accommodation, exquisite scenery and euphoric activities that will leave you wanting for more.

The current national lock down and economic state has been difficult to deal with on every level. We cannot wait to share with the public and all our loyal guests what we have been up to during lock down. As every farmer and especially the Karoo women can attest to, one cannot simply sit down and wait for opportunity to come and knock on your door again. Life goes on and we have definitely been busy!

So please join us on this journey through daily life in the Karoo!