There is a quote by Karen Blixen that has stayed with me for years: "Salt water is the cure for anything - sweat, tears or the sea." Perhaps that is why the ocean has always felt like home to me, even long before I truly understood where life would take me.
As a teenager growing up in Wales I was captivated by the film Out of Africa. I remember watching it at fourteen and feeling something awaken - a longing for adventure, wide open landscapes, wildlife and a life lived closer to nature. Africa seemed impossibly far away, yet somehow deeply familiar. The 1980s filled our television screens with Live Aid, wildlife documentaries and David Attenborough every Sunday evening. Combined with a childhood on a farm, immersed in animals and horses, the pull grew stronger each year.
At seventeen I travelled to New Hampshire to teach horse riding at a summer camp - my first real taste of independence. Horses became my passport to confidence, freedom and extraordinary experiences. Later, my corporate career with British Airways opened the world even further. Yet life has a way of redirecting us when we least expect it. Being retrenched unexpectedly forced me to stop and ask what truly mattered.
In 1999 I came to Africa for what I believed would simply be a career break. Instead, it became the beginning of an entirely new life. I worked with wildlife, became involved in horseback guiding, explored extraordinary landscapes and discovered the healing power of both nature and human connection. Along the way came heartbreak, loss and rebuilding after divorce - but also growth, resilience and unexpected joy.
Somewhere within that journey, Villa Palmera was born. More than just a guest house, it became my sanctuary beside the sea: a place where I could heal, dream again and reconnect with myself. The coastline of Mossel Bay has its own quiet magic - salt air, endless horizons, palm trees swaying in the wind and sunsets that seem to soften even the hardest days.
Over the years Villa Palmera has also become a place of connection. A space where travellers from different corners of the world share stories, rest deeply, laugh around tables and reconnect with what matters most. It reflects everything I love about Africa - warmth, authenticity, adventure, community and soul.
Looking back now, I realise the dream that began with a teenage girl watching Out of Africa in Wales never really left me. It simply evolved into a life I could never have imagined. And perhaps Karen Blixen was right after all. Sometimes healing really does arrive through sweat, tears and the sea.
