There is a place, just a few kilometres from Wakkerstroom, where we start looking for the Reds every time we drive into town. On that spot the low hills are close to the road on either side and it is here where we usually find the herd of Kalahari Reds grazing. They are different from the other goats that we pass on the road. They tend to blend into the surroundings, but when the sunlight falls on them at a certain angle, they shine like copper kettles against the hill side. Photograph by Tollie Jordaan Initially we only saw them. Then, on a particular morning, we spotted the dog. Big, high on its legs, light of colour with a black muzzle. Somehow different from any other dog that we’ve seen in the vicinity of a herd of any kind. It wasn’t chasing or herding the goats. It was just there, amongst them, somehow part of them. It was the very first time that we’ve come across an Anatolian Shepherd, other than on the pages of a book. ...
The Restory is a Retreat Centre nestled against Tafelkop, a singular mountain head near Wakkerstroom, South Africa. Here we live a simple life as contemplatives. It is a place of re-connection: with ourselves, people, Nature, Silence and Creativity. Our retreats are aimed at this. Our conversations, writing and art centre around the univocity of life. We need a place that reminds us that we are all one. The Restory hopes to be such a place and space.