Rhodes Retreats Loading

An exquisite energy fills Rhodes, a tiny Heritage hamlet in the Eastern Cape, cosseted by the Bel River and guarded by the mountains, at the base of Ben MacDhui, the new record holder of the highest altitude summit in South Africa at 3001 metres and the highest pass, replacing the previous record holder, Sani Pass; it is also the ‘dragon’s tail of the Drakensberg’.  Often covered in pristine and pure white blanket of snow , this winter wonderland coupled with an inexplicable divine light, creates a place of wonder, magi’s and magnificence.

Light has significant meanings associated with both the angelic realm and miracles and can symbolise life, love, wisdom, and hope.

For me, Rhodes called three years ago as I was embraced by its love, basked in its light and opened my heart to receive its palpable healing… never expecting my trusted heart to declare that this place on Earth is where my soul truly soars and a deep calm infuses within me… I am home.

This is the place where the Milky Way starts on one side of the mountain, bordering the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho and forms a canopy over the entire Rhodes night sky, slipping gently over the mountains on the opposite side of the Hamlet, seemingly ending beyond the beyond.

The search for our home and a retreat began in earnest right on our first visit… guided yes, sometimes driven by forces unknown… we have found our Rhodes Retreat.

As we begin setting up our heart-home and plan the crafting of a retreat experience that will infuse others with this beautiful energy, the excitement is unreal – ‘unreal’ has its origin in Middle English, coming from the Old French word ‘iréel’, which means not real or imaginary. This is so much deeper and more tangible than we could ever have imagined. My personal credo has always been:

“When you discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough to make room for it in your life.”

As a corporate jungle escapee, wordsmith, author, publisher, editor and former natural healer and healing academy principal my tenure in both corporate and personal wellness melds business and holistic health. Life started as a student of law and  at 34, I had a huge career and life change to a naturopathic and ethnomedicine practitioner. In this time and space I am the honoured custodian of the gracious old gal that is Odyssey Magazine, founded by Jill Iggulden-Stevens (then Jankowitz) in 1977. Jill becomes a nonagenarian on the 8^th of October this year

Happy 90^th Birthday Jill, you are so loved and appreciated.

Other than the ‘mag trade’, I am the wellness consultant for the Wellness Tourism Association and the curator of ZA Holistic’ s Spirit Festivals incl. KwazuluSpirit Festival.
“Wellness tourism is the powerful intersection of two large and growing industries: the $2.6 trillion tourism industry and the $4.2 trillion wellness industry. Holistic health and prevention are increasingly at the centre of consumer decision-making.” Source: Global Wellness Institute

This is the primary reason we publish this segment ‘Wellness Within’ a mag within a mag.

All love Ed.