Deep South Retreat — Eastern Cape, South Africa

Welcome

A valley sanctuary between bush‑covered hills

Deep South Retreat is on Firglen Farm, 20 km from Makhanda / Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. The guest house lies in a natural valley, with the surrounding landscape varying from grassland to East Cape thicket to indigenous forest, fed by a number of freshwater springs.

The 500-hectare farm is a sanctuary for animals and plants and grazes a herd of Nguni cattle. With three biomes, birdlife is abundant and diverse. We offer quiet seclusion in a natural and safe place that caters unobtrusively for your needs.

Your hosts, Robert Berold and Mindy Stanford, are both writers and editors. We accommodate groups or individuals — primarily people who need a quiet, generative place to meditate, write, paint, or just be. Typical retreats we host are for writing, meditation, tai chi and sound improvisation, and there is studio space for visual and recording artists.

The Natural World

Bask in nature

Walk through bush, along a forest stream, or up wooded slopes. Swim in a pool of clean spring water, a ten-minute walk from the Centre. The natural soundscape changes all the time — baboon and bushbuck barks, the occasional jackal at night, and birdcalls from forest, valley bushveld and hillside.

In Their Words

What retreatants say

I've attended four retreats at Deep South and hosted one of my own. It's ideally suited to intimate small group encounters. Mindy's cooking and warm hospitality make one feel right at home, and we always felt well taken care of. I would highly recommend it as a venue for personal, small group or solo creative, spiritual, healing and other joyous activities.
Anton Krueger · Buddhist groups and writing retreats

If nature is a healing space for you this retreat centre is an ideal place to stay. Nature in this secluded valley is breathtakingly beautiful. The kind hosts, Mindy and Robert, saw to it that I had everything I needed, and they respected my privacy. Mindy's home cooked meals were delicious and generous.
Hannelie Duvenage · solo retreat

Staying there felt like going home to the warm embrace of parents who want your healing as much as you need it, who want your stay at home to feed you good food and inspire your light to shine brighter. We got everything we needed and more.
Jessica Lejowa · writers workshop

Deep South Retreat is an ideal place for inward journeying. Amidst the lush indigenous bush filled with birdsong, Robert Berold and Mindy Stanford have created a home where writers can reach deep into themselves, hear the truth of their words, and discover new paths for their work. It is a precious gift to all who value solitude and creative thoughtfulness.
Kobus Moolman · solo writing retreat

You treated us in a way some of us have never been treated before. It felt so good to be hosted, to be cooked for, to be provided for. Thank you for taking me to the dam Mindy, that was a healing experience on its own. I keep thinking about the walk back, the sun, the small chatter between the contented silences.
Winter Tshikila · writers workshop

The retreat centre proved to be the perfect venue for our weekend silent retreat. All eight of us had comfortable rooms and ablution facilities. The kitchen was spacious and well equipped and our meeting space worked well. There are plenty of spaces inside and outside for people to be private or to be together communally. Highly recommended for anyone thinking of a group stay.
Rhona Duncan · church meditation retreat

The Retreat Centre

Spacious accommodation

The Centre offers comfortable short-term (weekend) or longer-term (2–4 week) stays for solo retreatants and groups of up to eight. Each unit has its own bedroom(s) with a writing desk, a kitchen and living area, ablutions and outside space. Communal areas are a meditation room and an outside braai pit. The centre has wifi and laundry facilities.

The accommodation

East wing — one double bedroom plus two small bedrooms, a shower and toilet, a large studio-kitchen-living room, and a covered veranda.

Middle section — two bedrooms, a studio/kitchen, living room, shower and toilet, and covered veranda.

West wing — one spacious and one smaller bedroom, a large kitchen and living area, and bathroom/toilet.

There is wifi in all units, backed up by an inverter for power outages, a braai area with firewood available, and two fireplaces in the Centre.

Catering: full catering (three meals a day) or partial catering, or self-catering. Mindy's home-cooked meals draw on the retreat's abundant vegetable garden.

Rates 2026

Rates

Our pricing is designed so that international bookings allow us to subsidise those local artists who would not otherwise be able to attend retreats.

Accommodation rates differ for Southern African and international guests. The international view below shows every price in US dollars, euros and pounds, updated at the day's exchange rate. Catering rates are the same Rand price for all guests.

Accommodation up to 8 people

Per person, per night R450R900

Couples sharing, per person R390R780

Stays of 5 days or more Discount available

Catering same for all guests

For each retreat, we discuss the menus in advance, including special requirements such as for allergies or dietary restrictions. The prices below assume straightforward vegetarian and non-vegetarian options; other special requirements may be more expensive.

Self-cateringthree kitchens — fridge, stove, microwaveNo charge

Full catering — 3 meals/dayFor groups, R40 pp for morning & afternoon teasR430 ppR430 pp

Part-catering — one cooked meal/dayincl. dessert & beverageR210 ppR210 pp

Breakfast ingredients (self-catered)R65 ppR65 pp

Writing Mentoring & Workshops

Four kinds of retreat for writers

Robert Berold offers writing interaction with individual writers and writing groups, including groups who bring their own facilitators.

Solo retreat

Come for a few days or weeks. You can be entirely alone, or have some contact such as walks and shared meals.

Robert's input: consultation if you want to discuss your project, or get a response to your writing.

Small group retreat

Small groups of 2–4 writers for three days or longer, whether already engaged in a project or wanting a retreat break to read or do some (or no) writing.

Robert's input: meet each afternoon to read work and suggest a focus for the next day; an optional morning reading group tailored to the group's needs.

Group retreat

Up to 8 writers for 4–14 days — usually urban groups who know each other, have planned in advance, and bring their own facilitators. A mix of readings, discussion, exercises, feedback and free time.

Robert's input: assist in planning, selecting reading texts, supporting facilitators, adapting the programme as it unfolds.

Poet mentoring course

An 18-month one-to-one course based on the methods Robert developed in the Rhodes University MA in Creative Writing. Fortnightly Zoom sessions on new work and self-editing, ongoing reading and writing assignments, with the intention to write, edit, and publish a new collection of poems. The course is online — a visit to the Retreat Centre is not required but some poets find it helpful.

Robert Berold coordinated the MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University from its inception in 2011 until 2015. For ten years (1989–1999) he edited the poetry journal New Coin. He is currently on the editorial advisory board of New Coin, and a member of council of the Amazwi South African Museum of Literature.

Robert has published four collections of poetry and has written or compiled nine other books, which include a memoir, a biography, the rural skills handbook People's Workbook, a book of interviews with poets, and an anthology of South African poetry. For links to his books, interviews and reviews, see deepsouth.co.za. He has edited over 50 collections by South African poets, many of them published by his Deep South press. His publisher website www.deepsouth.co.za is an archive of reviews, interviews and articles by and about the thirty authors he has published.

His vast knowledge and experience with poetry as a mentor, poet and publisher was essential in developing my debut poetry collection. He showed me how to find the right poetry to read for my creative nourishment and development. He also guided me in self-editing my own poems.
Siza Nkosi · U-Grand, Malume? (Botsotso, 2023)

He was supportive and kind in his criticism, without letting me get away with weak and messy work. From him I learnt to find the musicality in my poetry, to honour my intuitive voice, and edit my poetry with these things in mind. I would love it if other aspirant poets were able to experience this calibre of teaching.
Sarah Frost · River Fugue
(Karavan Press, 2025)

He showed me many simple ways of editing and making a book. Looking at each piece of writing not once but a lot of times, tuning it like a musical instrument to get the right tone. He is a sensitive reader who has an open mind for all sorts of writings. I think that is what makes him one of the most outstanding editors.
Mangaliso Buzani · A Naked Bone (Deep South, 2019)

To discuss costs for Robert's time, please contact him directly.

Getting Here

Travel & transfers for international visitors

Most international guests fly into Johannesburg (OR Tambo International), then take a short domestic connection to Gqeberha / Port Elizabeth — Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport — the closest airport to the retreat.

From the airport

Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth airport to Makhanda is approximately 90 minutes by road. From Makhanda to the Retreat centre takes a further 40 minutes on the Highlands Road, a rural gravel road. We will send you detailed directions by WhatsApp.

Car hire & shuttle

The usual range of car rental companies operate at the airport. The shuttle service we recommend is Peter's Shuttle (Pieter Verwey) — petershuttleservice@outlook.com, WhatsApp +27 79 327 7414 — at approximately R1,200 one way · .

From Makhanda to Firglen Farm

We offer transport from Makhanda to the Retreat for R500 per vehicle one way · (each vehicle up to 4 people and their luggage).

Day excursions

If you want to take a day off retreating, we recommend:

Local game reserves, such as Addo Elephant National Park — sanparks.org — or nearby private game reserves such as Kwandwe and Pumba.

A visit to Amazwi South African Museum of Literature, the national archive of South African literature in all languages — amazwi.museum

One of the magnificent East Cape beaches near us, such as Kenton on Sea — oystercollection.co.za

About & Contact

Your hosts

Deep South Retreat is run by Mindy Stanford and Robert Berold, who have lived at Firglen Farm for the past 20 years. Firglen is a natural sanctuary for many plant, bird and animal species, and is in the process of being declared a Protected Environment area.

Robert Berold

Poet, editor, writing teacher and publisher. He co-founded the MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University in 2011, and has edited over fifty books by South African writers, many of them published through his Deep South press. At the retreat he offers writing mentoring and workshops for groups and individuals.

Mindy Stanford

Editor, writer, and deep tissue massage therapist, and the author of two books of poems. A warm host who grew up on a farm, she loves sharing the natural environment with visitors — and the retreat's vegetable garden supplies her healthy, home-cooked meals.

Get in touch

We'd love to hear what you have in mind. Reach either of us directly:

Emailinfo@deepsouthretreat.com

Mindy StanfordWhatsApp +27 71 145 3585

Robert BeroldWhatsApp +27 76 815 5970

Telephone+27 (0)46 622 5081

WhereFirglen Farm, Highlands Road, 20km from Makhanda, Eastern Cape