A gentler, quieter time
We took a quiet trip to the Garden Route to reconnect with family and friends, pick strawberries and hibernate for a bit in the early winter.
We’ve been away. Hence the quiet over the last three weeks. We took a trip to George and the Garden Route to visit family and friends who live in that beautiful part of the world.
Our flight down was smooth and we arrived well ahead of time to a surprisingly clear, warm winter’s day. George airport is tiny and in no time we were pushing our bags to the pick up zone. Emma, Emmett and toddler Ava had only just arrived and we met them on the zebra crossing to the parking lot.
“You are early, aren’t you?” asked Emmett, placing a bag in the expansive boot of his car.
“I don’t know how they do it, but we got here half an hour ahead of time,” said Matthew.
When travelling by air, there are often more complaints about delays, cancelled flights and late landings, so a trouble free flight and a super early arrival was a pleasant turn-up and a great way to start our trip.
Unintended silver lining
Evidence was everywhere of the devastating gale-force winds and rain storms that swept through the Garden Route at the end of May. The sodden earth from days of downpours could not hold the trees when the winds ripped and pulled at the towering giants. Hundreds of trees were toppled.
Snapped branches that hung by ribbons of bark, teetered on the shoulders of branches below. Enormous oak, poplar, bluegum and cypress trees, their root bowls exposed and flailing, lay fallen on lawns, sidewalks, in parks and green areas throughout the town of George.
Wood hewn by tree fellers was piled on every corner. Winters would be warm for many years to come for those with wood burning fireplaces. The hum of chainsaws continued to fill the daylight hours and would for months to come. Fancourt Estate and the George Golf Course lost over 260 mature trees alone.
“Almost every road was blocked by fallen trees,” said Emmett, “Walls were knocked down, you can see where they have been rebuilt.”
Although Emmett lost several trees on his property, there was no damage done to any of their buildings. Their next door neighbour’s cypresses, however, took a serious pounding. One fell across Emmett’s carport but did no damage. The clean up resulted in the rooms of the outside cottage, where we were staying, being flooded with sun and light.
“The unintended silver lining?” said Chantal, warming her face in the weak winter sun.
Strawberry fields
We had packed for cold and wet but George embraced us with warm and sunny. We meandered through slow days doing very little and relaxing a great deal. The FIFA Football World Cup kept us up at night and we slept in later than we have done for years. It felt healing.
We visited Redberry Farm on a quiet, colder, Friday afternoon. It’s a perfect outing for families. There are several restaurants, the Boplaas wine cellar for tastings, an ice cream shop and gift store.
Chantal picked the biggest strawberries she has seen in a while with Emma and Ava. The strawberry fields were vast, most under tunnels. At first glance there seemed to be no berries, but as we walked through the trough-like paths on either side of the plants we could see red fruit peeking out under broad leaves.
Matthew stayed warm indoors with Emmett.
“We’ll order lunch so it’s ready for you when you are done,” he said.
Somebody had to do it and the craft beer was good.
Play parks with jungle gyms, slides and swings are dotted around the venue. Kiddies can feed rabbits then take a tiny train ride around a strawberry field. There is a hedge maze, paddle boats for summer fun, pony rides and pedal go-carts.
“Leah would love it.” Chantal messaged Cailyn with a photo of the tub of strawberries.
As if no time had passed at all
A trip down south would not be complete without a stay over in Knysna with Chantal’s best friend Sharon and her husband Gary. Chantal and Sharon have known each other for almost fifty years. They were in boarding school together in high school.
After school Sharon went to university in Cape Town, while Chantal stayed in Johannesburg to attend Wits University. Sharon never returned to the City of Gold but the two friends have always been in contact, picking up where they last left off as if no time had passed at all.
The two women chatted up a lagoon of stories while the men had to busy themselves elsewhere. Matthew helped Gary with several chores. They returned to the table only to replenish their drinks and have a tapas lunch.
We are all sports fans. We watched South Africa beat India in the women’s T20 World Cup and had the football playing in the background over dinner.
At the end of our stay we said goodbye as if we were going to see them next week. It will be a next week, but probably in a year’s time when we will pick up where we left off as if no time had passed at all.
Gentler and quieter
Our stay down south was gentler and quieter than previous visits. It was obviously necessary. It felt like a period of hibernation, while the soil, turned and prepared, held some newly planted seeds. Not much can happen while the weather is cold above ground. Below ground the seeds are kept warm and are readying to germinate.
Above ground and back at home the world was teetering into chaos. The prospect of ill-considered and politically motivated protest marches against so-called illegal immigrants were stirring up fear. Uncertainty closed businesses and kept people ensconced in their homes.
It was better to be quiet and introspective while keeping the fear-mongering at bay. It was better to contain our emotional energy and be available to support those that needed it most.
We were grateful for our time away, and more grateful to return to a peaceful home in a peaceful suburb. There is always a war being waged somewhere, being able to retain the peace cultivated inside ourselves has made all the difference.
Until next time.
Yours in peace,
Chantal & Matthew
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Credits for this issue — Images: 5th Place
Written by
Chantal Dawtrey
Supporting women, especially in midlife and beyond, to navigate life transitions · Emotional fitness coach
Chantal supports women, especially in midlife and beyond, to navigate life transitions. She designs and delivers data informed digital programmes that build organisational emotional fitness. She helps people move beyond habitual patterns into greater awareness, agency, and well being.
With over 15 years of coaching experience and more than two decades in facilitation and human development, Chantal partners with individuals, teams, and organizations to build emotional resilience, enhance self-awareness, and develop sustainable well-being strategies.
Her primary focus as a coach is supporting women, especially those in their 50’s and beyond, to navigate profound life transitions with clarity, steadiness and self-reconnection. Finding answers to questions about identity, purpose, belonging and desire to an emergence, a reclamation and a return to self.
If you're going through a transition and would like support, let's talk.
Matthew Green
Reducing the Certainty Deficit in high-performing people and teams · Emotional fitness coach
Matthew works with athletes, performance teams, and anyone who wants to reduce the Certainty Deficit in their situation or context.
The Certainty Deficit is the space between what you can do and what your body will let you do when it counts. It is context-specific and situational. A person or athlete can have zero deficit in one situation and a significant one in another.
The body holds beliefs that keep the Certainty Deficit in place. These beliefs run deeper than self-talk and faster than any conscious strategy. When they shift, the ceiling shifts, and new possibilities arise.
Matthew is also an emotional fitness coach who supports individuals to live and lead from a place of inner clarity and stability. The work is somatic-first, practical, and grounded.
If you're seeing a pattern that current approaches haven't shifted, let's talk.
My origin story: Why elite athletes underperform when it counts
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