Latest / Wander the World with Pippa Hudson / Wander the World: Bliss and Stars luxury retreat in the Cedarberg

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Wander the World: Bliss and Stars luxury retreat in the Cedarberg · Wander the World with Pippa Hudson

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Time for us to wander the world. And if you
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: were listening last week listening to our conversation about travel
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: trends for twenty twenty six, you might have heard our
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: contributor Alison Folk mention how the concept of wellness travel
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: is being seen as one of the big growth areas
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: for the year. We're talking here about either longer holidays
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: or just short breaks that are specifically designed to offer
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: physical and mental health benefits. This is not the kind
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: of trip that is about traveling to see how many
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: countries you can visit, how many big attractions you can
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: tick off your list, catching up with lots and lots
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: of friends and family on a whirlwind sort of social visit.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: It's quite the opposite. We are talking about slowing down,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: about setting time aside for yourself to breathe and to
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: just be in the world and to take stock of
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: where you are and who you are and what your
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: life is like, and just take a proper break from
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: it all, to reset and reboot if you like. And
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: I really can't think of a better example than today's
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: destination which we are featuring, which is a high end
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: retreat in the Sea Ederburgh called Bliss and Stars. And
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: it was born out of a European couple's personal quest
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: for a quieter, simpler life, recognizing that they had sort
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: of got themselves onto a treadmill that they didn't want
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: to be on for the rest of their lives, and
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: it led to them stepping away from a very busy,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: unproductive life in Copenhagen in Denmark and coming to South Africa,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: where they have found a new sense of peace and
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: purpose in the middle of the Cedarburgh Mountains, at the
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  Speaker 1: long end of a dusty road. What they have created
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: there is something very very special and if anybody listening
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: has already experienced it for themselves, we would love to
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: hear from you. If you have been lucky enough to
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: experience bliss and Stars, we would love to hear from
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: you on our WhatsApp line seven two five six seven
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: one five six seven. Tell us what it was like
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: for you, what you valued about the experience. I have
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: lost sight of my guests on the zoom line, but
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: I know that they are there and I'm hoping we
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: will be able to hear them as we welcome to
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: South Africa. The founders of Blissen's Stars, Heina and Daria Rasmussen,
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  Speaker 1: who are joining us via zoom this afternoon. It's great
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  Speaker 1: to have you on the show and thank you so
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: much for joining us.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having us. Good day to the listeners.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: Hi people.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Nice to chat to you, and so glad we can
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: we're hearing you loud and clear. Thank Heavens for that.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Let's start at the very beginning of your story, Daria,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: tell us about your life before you came to South Africa.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: What was it that you were doing, What was your
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: life like, and what was it about that life that
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: made you have this moment of pause and go, I
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: think we want to do this differently. Tell us the backstory.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, going back for those times. So I have
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: my background working in marketing and advertising. I've been I
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: spend over two decades very fast paced and exciting life
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: in so many ways. I work for global corporations. I've
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: been traveling a lot and you know, learning a lot
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: of meeting lots of exciting people, also working too much.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: The man's dements were very high. But for me, it
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: was this realization one day that it was waking up
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  Speaker 3: every morning and it felt like I was a siziphous,
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  Speaker 3: like I had to climb the Mountain every day, and
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: you know, my career was progressing, but it was the
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: sense that I had to work hard for it in
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: the sense that there was something was not right, and
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: you know, I couldn't put a put a finger on
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: it right. It was just this sense of sense, the
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: feeling that was that was snugging me until until one
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: day I went to silent retreat myself and I spent
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: forty eight hours in in silence, and I had this
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  Speaker 3: really profound understanding that for me, this life no longer
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: gave gave maning and I wasn't I wasn't truly truly
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  Speaker 3: living up to to to my values and what's what mattered,
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  Speaker 3: what mattered to me. So this was what started my
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: journey of slowly untangling myself from that world you know,
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  Speaker 3: of corporations and career.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Okay, and I know what about you an astrophysicist wasn't
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  Speaker 1: written in the stars for you? Did? Where were you
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  Speaker 1: on this sort of map at the time that Daria
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  Speaker 1: was going through this realization, Well.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: I'm very fortunate that in order to do a project
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  Speaker 2: like we did, you have to be not just on
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  Speaker 2: the same page of the book, you have to be
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  Speaker 2: on the same line, and we were very much aligned.
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  Speaker 2: I grew up on this tiny little island in Denmark
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  Speaker 2: with just three and a half thousand inhabitants. Nature was
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  Speaker 2: always present. It wasn't that much light pollution back then
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  Speaker 2: in the seventies. So I started my love with the
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: stars very early on, and that took me to the
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  Speaker 2: big cities, the astrophysics and engineering. I spent a few
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  Speaker 2: decades in corporate but the stars was always my my
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: send space, my my space to stay sane in the
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: corporate world, and I was very fortunate to work for
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  Speaker 2: a very progressive company. They had focused not just on
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: the on the financials and the business sides, but also
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: on the human sides. So they introduced mindfulness and we
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: went on on a long mindfulness journey in the course
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  Speaker 2: of six to eight months, where we would take a
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  Speaker 2: few days every every month go into a retreat center
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  Speaker 2: in the forest. And that gave me that last bit
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  Speaker 2: of courage that I needed to to find the big stick,
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  Speaker 2: put it into the hamster wheel and and and live
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  Speaker 2: the dream I always missed nature. Denmark is a small
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  Speaker 2: place and Copenhagen is Cobenagen is not that big, so
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  Speaker 2: you can pack the can and drive an hour and
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  Speaker 2: be in nature. You were spoiled in the same very
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: much same way in especially in Cape Town, but it's
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: it's quite overcast of noise, so we had to look
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: south to find the clear stars.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: We know South Africa is sorry to interrupt, I was
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  Speaker 1: going to said, we know South Africa's skies and stargazing
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  Speaker 1: opportunities are globally sought after. Was that the reason you
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: looked here this far south or had you had the
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: experience of visiting South Africa previously that had introduced you
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  Speaker 1: to the wide open spaces and skies that you might
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: find here.
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  Speaker 3: We came to South Africa first in twenty ten actually
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  Speaker 3: for surfing. It was another this is another reason, just
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  Speaker 3: South Africa, right, But we just fell in love with people,
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  Speaker 3: with the country, with the open spaces. It was something
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  Speaker 3: we cried at the airport leaving this country and we
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: felt like there's some we left the peace of our heart.
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  Speaker 3: So once we started discussing what are we going to
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  Speaker 3: do with our lives now, because we felled the both
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: we're done with corporate, what we're doing, South Africa was
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: of course on the list, and yeah, that was for Hina.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: It was definitely a night skuy.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: Yea affair was South Africa. So early on, so even
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: when I was back in corporate, I started to plot
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: in coordinates across the country where I would imagine that
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  Speaker 2: astronomy would be world classed levels. And I started every
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: day I would plot in the data from the astronomy forecasts.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: So already at that time had an idea. So later
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: on when we did have the courage to quit our jobs,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: just before we did that, we took one month's holiday,
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: went on a one month's road trip just to see
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  Speaker 2: what's out there and to feel is it still South Africa? Almost?
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  Speaker 2: We look other places and yeah, it was just confirming
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  Speaker 2: us that yeah, that was the place to go.
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  Speaker 3: It was me always felt yeah, and it feels in
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  Speaker 3: South Africa. I always love and say it feels that
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  Speaker 3: the scar there's most place between earth and sky. Compared
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: to Europe. Do you have much more space openness that
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  Speaker 3: you came the more freedom in so many ways too
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  Speaker 3: when you go out into this beautiful nature.
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  Speaker 1: It's so refreshing to hear that, because I think we
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  Speaker 1: often take for granted the space that we have grown
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  Speaker 1: up knowing as our normal, and sometimes it takes a
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  Speaker 1: change of perspective and traveling to another country and seeing
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  Speaker 1: how on top of each other people live in the
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  Speaker 1: small spaces that people inhabit to make us realize how
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  Speaker 1: privileged we are to have so much open space in
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  Speaker 1: South Africa. So you packed up your bags, you resigned
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  Speaker 1: your jobs, you sold everything and moved to South Africa.
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  Speaker 1: How did you end up coming to open a retreat
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  Speaker 1: called blisseded Stars two hours down a dirt road deep
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  Speaker 1: in the Cedarburg? Did you find the property on that
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  Speaker 1: road trip you were talking about? How did it happen?
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  Speaker 2: No, Well, we already knew what we wanted to do,
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  Speaker 2: so the concept of Bliss and Star was already there,
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  Speaker 2: but we didn't know where to do it. We just
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  Speaker 2: knew that we had to go off the beaten track.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: We had to escape the light pollution and find a
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  Speaker 2: placement an abundance of clear skies. And at that months trip,
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: or that one month long road trip, we reached out
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  Speaker 2: to some real estate agents. One of them became a
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  Speaker 2: good friend and she ended up having the listing that
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  Speaker 2: that is now our home. We didn't visit it initially.
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  Speaker 2: We we wrote for four and a half months, visiting
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  Speaker 2: countless farms and we ended up being in this region
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  Speaker 2: and we thought, let's let's just go off the beaten
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  Speaker 2: track and see what is at the end of that
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  Speaker 2: deep track. And I'm very very happy that we did.
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  Speaker 1: And you found we.
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  Speaker 3: Were pretty ignorant back Dan. You know, we left offices
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  Speaker 3: cozy save Copenhagen, and it's like we just got bunker
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  Speaker 3: the word and build a retreat. And later we've known that,
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  Speaker 3: you know, we had this idea that we're going to
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  Speaker 3: find this place where they all be five cortridges and
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: like big house, which is gonna renovate it and you
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  Speaker 3: know this will happen. So so yeah, it's kind of
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: said we traveled quite a lot and yeah we ended
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  Speaker 3: up here.
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  Speaker 2: We never found that place, so instead we started to
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: look for a blank canvas. And I think it I
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: would almost say it's a requirement that you have to
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: be a little bit crazy, you have to be lucky,
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: and you have to believe in it, and you have
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  Speaker 2: to bring some skills as well, and you have to
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  Speaker 2: meet the right people who can help you to make
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  Speaker 2: it happen. Because the place we ended up finding for
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: many from in some ways it doesn't make sense. You
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: can never get a truck here. When people arrive here
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: and they see the place, they wonder, how on earth
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: did you build this? Because you have I mean you
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: have to be crazy. Everything has to be driven at
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: least an hour off roading with BUCkies. You can never
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  Speaker 2: get a truck anywhere, and all materials have to be
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: carried by other sides. It has to be a passion
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  Speaker 2: project in order to succeed, and you know you'll build up.
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  Speaker 2: So must resilience and so much momentum that whatever hurdle
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: is thrown at you you will plow through or over.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: But if you know what ride you're up for before
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: you start, you might give up. So ignorance can also
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: be bliss because we had no idea how it could be,
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: and a lot.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: Of people.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: And say, nah, I'm never going to Yeah, we proved
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: them wrong.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: We are in conversation with Daria and Heina Rasmussen, who
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: are the founders and creators of Bliss and Stars. It's
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: a natural retreat in the heart of the Cedarburg where
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  Speaker 1: you get away from it all and take the time
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  Speaker 1: to breathe, to look at the night skies through telescopes,
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: to spend time in nature and just get away from
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: the daily routines and rat race of it all. Now
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: just with three and it's left. We must tell our
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: audience what you have created in terms of a visitor experience.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: If someone comes to spend a retreat with you, and
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: they're different packages offering different kinds of retreats depending on
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: what you're looking for, But can you just sketch for Ustaria,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: what is the visitor experience?
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: Like?
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: What will they find when they arrive at blisso stars.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: They find a lot of nature, for sure, But what
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: we have created, you know, it's you know, we call
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: it retreat, we call it sanctuary. But basically we have created,
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: were created a pause for people, a space, a place,
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: a space in time where people can come and literally
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: push a stop button and everything that they know from
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: everyday life it just stops. There is no mobile coverage,
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: there's no Wi Fi here, right, So that's our profound, profound,
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: big game changer, game changer for people, and our retreat
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: are built on a very very simple premises. Right. We
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: take care of mind and body and it all happens
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: in the setting setting of nature. So our programs will
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: include elements of breath work, meditation, somatic work, you know,
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: nervous system regulation movement, and as well, you know, hold
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: a nature aspect that highness is driving.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Now we use nature as a force as well, with
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: the night sky as a big reset button, just to
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: put everything in perspective. We visit rock outsides on the farm,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: swim and wild rivers. Just do all these things that
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: you might have done as a kid. But bring that back.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: I believe we are playing way too little as grown ups.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: Oh absolutely echo that, and the sounds like the most
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: beautiful place to play. The last thing I want to
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: mention is you're also encouraged to play with your food
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: on a different kind of level. You talk about nourishing
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: the mind and body. I know you've just really east
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: an updated edition of the cookbook which celebrates your plant
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: based diet at Blessoned Stars. Was that a hard sal
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: that some visitors arrived going, I'm South African. I want
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: meat and potatoes on my plate next to the vegetables.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: You Imma, it happened. So we've been before we started.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: We've been told so you are not serving meat, you
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: have no Wi Fi. We also don't serve alcohol in
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: this place. You're never gonna survive a day in South Africa,
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: but we're proved wrong. And yes, of course for many
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: people it's a it's a bit of you know, a big,
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: big step to actually come for for a week into
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: a place when there is no meat. And sometimes people
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: may have some ideas of what is retweet food of
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: vegetarian food withink salads, you know, stink broccoli. But you know,
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: in collaboration with with our chef, we have decided to
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: just bring again joy to eating vegetables and showcase what
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: is possible. So you know, we not interesting in preaching
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: to people vegetarianism or veganism, but actually again surprising people
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: and giving them different experience compared to what they know
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: back at home. So we have over the who've been here,
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: we had quite a few converts and we often get emails,
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: especially from South African men that's very proudly let us
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: know that they but less but they have vegetariles.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: I'm not surprised having looked at the book which is
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: called Each Thrive Repeat by Chef Appealelana. It is full
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: of just the most delicious looking and really elegant beautiful food.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: So if you are leaning towards vegetarianism or wanting to
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: get a little bit more experimental and raise your veggie
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: game a little bit. I highly recommend you look out
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: for a copy of the cookbook as well as booking
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: yourself a visit. We must wrap up the conversation unfortunately,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: but the last thing I'd love to share with our
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: audience members is that if they would like to come
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: and experience this experience of Bliss and Stars for themselves,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: where should they reach out to you to find out
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: more about your pricing, your offerings, your retreat structures, et cetera.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Is your website the best place to go for information?
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Yes, the website is definitely the best place to Goage
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: is a Bliss and Stars dot com. They can find
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: all the information they need and as well our contact details,
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: so if they would like to.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Know more Bliss and Stars dot com. It's about a
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: four to four and a half hour drive from Cape Town,
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: depending on which senior group you choose to pursue, but
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: it will feel like a million miles away from everyday
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: life by the sounds of things. It's been a huge
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: pleasure to chat to Daria and Heinah Rasmus and the
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: founders of this exquisite retreat, and I hope I get
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to come and experience it with myself one
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: day and see those beautiful night skies. Thank you so
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: much for making time to join us this afternoon.