All About Life in the Country
Ever wondered what it’s like to move from the city to a South African dorp?
In their years of travelling through Small Town SA, Karoo-based photojournalists Julienne du Toit and Chris Marais have encountered all kinds of new arrivals to the platteland. They include animators, sculptors, cartoonists, movie set designers, geeks, hotel owners, chefs, stock market analysts, writers, editors, photographers, nurses and teachers, tattoo artists and moonshiners.
Julienne and Chris are also part of this ever-growing group of former city-based semigrants now based in the countryside. Moving to the Platteland records some of what they experienced when they left Johannesburg and moved to Cradock in 2007. But even more valuable are the recorded insights, observations and advice from dozens of other people who have also made the leap from the city to the platteland.
How did they do it? What made them do it? Where do their children go to school? How did they get their restaurants, guesthouses and businesses going? How did they find their niche, their creative sweet spot, their perfect little dorpie?
The answers to these and many more questions about life in the country are tackled in Moving to the Platteland. This illustrated and author-signed book offers you a decade of insights, warts-and-all experiences and advice on the practical and the social aspects of thriving in a small South African town.
NB: If you are ordering one of our print books from outside South Africa, please contact us before paying. We will then work out your particular courier price and send you a quotation.
10 reviews for Moving to the Platteland
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Gail Halsall –
I received the book yesterday thank you. I absolutely love it! I sat up last night and read the whole thing. I just couldn’t put it down!
Robyn and Peter Chalmers –
Thanks so much, the book arrived this week and we are avidly devouring it! It’s fabulous and exactly what we need as my husband and I prepare for a new life next year in Stanford (and possibly a restaurant)!
Alpha Greeff –
Got the book and absolutely love it.
Know some of the people being quoted too and familiar with many of the places referred to as a result of us riding many miles through and in and around the Karoo on our sidecars.
Excellent choice of cover for the book.
Dene Coetzee, author of Winds of Change –
Congratulations on a well written and absorbing book. You have got the balance perfect, between case studies of those that have made the successful transition to the platteland and good practical advice to those who are contemplating the move.
I also enjoyed Chris’ photographs. What made it more interesting is the fact that I know many of the characters that you featured. It is a great read.
Eddie Blignaut, author of Karoo Chuckles –
I am thoroughly enjoying dipping into it – it is going to be on the coffee table for a while yet.
Karen Laidlaw –
Have now finished reading (and digesting) your very generous book.
You share details that have been hard-fought accumulated, over many miles and much time.
And so saving those of us that will listen, a lot of time and money. A lot!
We South Africans are lucky to still have options. And while my husband Ian and I contemplate our future options, expect to have numerous sunbeams hit your heads, as someone says “thank you J and C for showing us a better path and the hidden dongas”.
(Donga: hole you fall into when your sight is impaired by rose-tinted glasses)
Your show-and-tell format is also excellent: small bite-sized reading portions, with perfect pictures,a flowing writing style and a professionally produced result. Congratulations!
Caroline Hurry, Travelwrite –
Moving to the Platteland – Life in Small Town South Africa by Julienne du Toit and Chris Marais conjures the zeitgeist of abandoning the big cities for bucolic bliss in the Karoo and country surrounds.
Everyone’s doing it, or at least thinking of doing it, which makes this book so prescient!
Both authors are well established and an absolute joy to read!
Don’t even think of making the Big Move without a copy!
Richard Cranna –
I recently purchased a copy from Sophie’s Choice Coffee Shop in Willowmore and am devouring the book from page to page. I’m a big fan of the Karoo, as my family come from the area. The book offers great insight into the happenings in these small towns, creating a lot of nostalgia for the area. It’s well written and a book which I’ll be referring back to more than once, for sure. Thank you.
Lenie van Zyl –
Ek wil julle gelukwens met hierdie boek. Ek kan skaars glo dat mens SOVEEL inligting en foto’s in een boek kan saamvat.
Dit wemel van feite, raat, waarskuwings, aanmoedigings, positiewe sowel as negatiewe inligting.
Ja, dit is nie net ‘n mooi opgesmukte weergawe van iets wat jou wil oortuig om Platteland toe te trek nie, maar ook al die dinge wat jy te wagte kan wees wat nie so aangenaam kan wees nie.
En die foto’s! Dit het soveel lewe aan die boek gegee!! Dit het gevoel of ek binne in die boek geklim het en al die interessante karakters persoonlik ontmoet het.
Hierdie boek het ‘n baie, baie spesiale plek op my boekrak.
Helen Moffett –
Practical and fascinating, and doesn’t romanticise rural life. You don’t have to move to a Karoo town to enjoy this. It’s a really good read.