The Restory Retreat Centre

  Tafelkop Spring “The woman said, “Sir, give me this water...” ‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬ ‭MSG‬‬                                        Somewhere in the distance is Wakkerstroom The Conversation Elements From The Conversation The path to the fountain changes with the seasons. Here in high summer it is overgrown and difficult to walk. You will not get lost, because the cliffs of Tafelkop lie just to your left on the way to the spring and serve as a beacon. But you often wander off course and with great difficulty get back on the faint footpath around massive rocks and over fallen tree trunks.     Lost   Stand still. The trees ahead and the bushes beside you  Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,  And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,  Must ask permission to know it and be known.  The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,  I have made this...

On the farm, they are cleaning up all the old fallen or dead trees, cutting it into planks and beams. Because The Restory forms part of the larger farm, all the Pine wood we're going to use in the renovations (for roof trusses, purlins and brandering) have been donated to us. All cut from he fallen Tafelkop trees. We're very grateful. And especially impressed by the thick beams that have been cut to size for the restorations in the workshops. Yesterday morning Matilda and I walked the few meters down to the large shed to shop Cedar wood that they sell. It was like entering a candy store. Planks and beams in widths and sizes that are generally hard to come by. It was a lovely process bringing dreams, drawings, and wood together: Thick, wide planks for the long table envisaged for the large conversation room where we'll have our retreat and other sessions. More delicate lumber for writing desks and bedside tables in the bedrooms. Sturdy pieces for benches. It is going to be h...

Only when the last tree has died  and the last river been poisoned  and the last fish been caught  will we realise we cannot eat money.                                                                  - Cree Indian Proverb. Think about Knysna and you think about wood. In many ways it is the indigenous wood capitol of South Africa. The names of the trees itself lead you into the cool, moist surroundings where they grow – Outeniqua Yellowood, Hard Pear, Cape Blackwood, Ironwood, Candlewood, White Pear, Stinkwood, White Elder, Cape Beech. From this timber craftsmen have brought forth the most beautiful furniture for almost three centuries. The 300 000 hectares of forest seemed to be an unlimited source of wood when it was first exploited in the 18th century and during the years that follow...

“And this our life, exempt from public haunt,  finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,  sermons in stones, and good in everything.  I would not change it.”                                                         William Shakespeare, As You Like It