We are excited to announce 3 brand new knitting retreats and tours for 2024 in South Africa. All three retreats will feature uniquely different experiences and each will include a 4-5 day stay in a safari lodge featuring the “Big Five” at a private game reserve! All retreats will provide you an opportunity to showcase your handmade clothing and accessories in small, intimate group settings of no more than 12 people per trip. The following retreats in the Eastern Cape of South Africa have been carefully curated for 2024. Pricing and the ability to book the trips will be announced soon.
- Sustainable Mohair Workshops and Safari (April 21-29, 2024)
- Karoo Farm Experience, Wine Festival, and Safari (May 14-23, 2024)
- Winter Wool Festival and Safari (June 12-22, 2024)
Sustainable Mohair Workshops and Safari
This retreat will include workshops focusing on mohair from Angora goats that are locally sourced and of the finest quality while showcasing a “recycle and reuse” approach to a green economy. There will be instruction and hands-on facilitation on how to make your own recycled yarn by mixing different textures and colors. You will be able to use the yarn you made to create beautiful clothing/décor and accessories. You will also have the opportunity to engage with (and directly support) rural South African women who carefully process the mohair and wool fiber to highest standards. We will also take a trip to the beach to quiet the mind, connect with nature, and let your body reset into wellness.
What’s included:
- Happy hour meet and greet
- Luxury coach with experienced driver
- 3 days full of workshops
- All workshop supplies included
- All accommodation
- All meals
- 5 days, 4 nights at a safari lodge
Karoo Farm Experience, Wine Festival, and Safari
9 days: May 14-23, 2024
This retreat will be deep in the Karoo on a working Dohne merino sheep farm with a rich history going back hundreds of years. You will stay in modernized and renovated, 3-star, farmstead cottages that were originally used as sheep kraals and coal and engine rooms on the farm. You will be able to interact and enjoy farm life, including feeding lambs and kidding. After dinner, you will have the privilege to enjoy one of the best star-gazing opportunities in the country.
What’s included:
- Happy hour meet and greet
- Luxury coach with experienced driver
- Processing raw wool for spinning
- Natural fiber spinning
- Foraging and grinding to make natural dyes
- Dyeing yarn
- Painting on wool
- All workshop supplies included
- All accommodation
- Almost all meals
- 5 days, 4 nights at a safari lodge
Optional, bonus activities:
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Medicinal plant walks
- Bird watching
- Guided tours of Bushman Rock Art
- Fossil talks in a private museum
- Wine Tasting festival (additional cost)
- Private wine and food pairing dinner (additional cost)
Winter Wool Festival and Safari
10 days: June 12-22, 2024
Attend one of the largest Winter Wool Festivals in South Africa! There will be many workshops, art exhibits, wool product stalls, agricultural and educational exhibits.
What’s included:
- Happy hour meet and greet
- Luxury coach with experienced driver
- Entrance fee to the Winter Wool Festival
- Voucher for a workshop at the festival
- All accommodation
- Most meals
- All meals except for lunch during the wool festival
- 4 days, 3 nights at a safari lodge
FAQs
Q: Sounds exciting! Which trip would be the most ideal for non-knitters?
A: All three retreats feature safari and game park experiences that cater to all people. Of the three retreats featured here, we recommend the Karoo Farm Experience, Wine Festival, and Safari for those who don’t knit since the trip provides the opportunity to attend a very large wine festival in the Karoo and additional activities on the beautiful farmstead.
Q: Why are you capping the group totals to 10-12 people for each trip?
A: I have been on many knitting retreats that span the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I strive to replicate the good trips that cultivate higher quality and more relaxation with less drama. May you bring your peace, joy, and knitting fun to contribute to a boutique group experience while enjoying South Africa. Ubuntu: “I am because of who we all are.”
Interested or have questions? Contact us by email for more information.
