While tourists flock here like woodland kingfishers for destination engagements and weddings, we locals get to fall in (and sometimes out of) love with the magic of the bushveld woven into the humdrum of everyday life.
Khaki fever, like tick bite fever, is of course inevitable—perhaps even a rite of passage—and many have found love this way. But not everyone wants to rely on EcoTraining’s unintended matchmaking services, or even be coupled up. Those who do want to find ‘The One’ have to take the plunge and go fishing in a small pond.
“There are 10 single women to 100 single men!” says André M. “It’s slim pickings,” says Natasha*. Which just goes to show that heterosexual singles are STILL getting their wires crossed. (Who’s going to set these two up?)
Shawn met his wife outside Pick n Pay. Widowed in his first marriage and going through a painful divorce in his second, he wasn’t looking for love—just a bit of friendly advice on where he could get ready-made curtains for his bachelor’s flat. “I had a busy schedule back then and so I asked random people outside Pick n Pay,” he says. Anne-Mare (twice widowed and not looking for love either) was happy to help and the two exchanged numbers, staying in touch and then marrying two years later, in March 2024.
Phyllah met her former boyfriend at TOTAL garage: “He noticed me while I was walking home and pretended to need directions out of Hoedspruit.” Amore met her love at Supa Quick (now Point S). She drove in, spotted Mike, and “knew instantly”. “We were both putting tread plates on our Landy’s,” she says. It doesn’t get more Hoedspruit than that—or this: “We met at a Pel’s fishing owl nest in early 2024,” says André K. “We started chatting a few months after that and one thing led to another; we’re still dating.”
Back in 1981, Marna and Hannes were childhood sweethearts at Laerskool Mariepskop, until grade 6 when her family relocated. The two families stayed in touch and, after his dad passed away in 1992 and her mom in 1994, the widower and widow found love again—with each other, making our former love birds stepbrother and stepsister. In 2000, knowing they were destined to be together, Marna and Hannes got married (THEY were first, after all!). “Now we have our happily ever after too,” she says. And yes, Marna’s stepfather is also her father-in-law.
For example, if you’re a woman and mention the other D word (divorce), you’ll have a pride of women offering time-tested advice. A client at The Hair Studio by Lara suggested I move to ‘The Valley’ (Zandspruit Valley). “That’s where all the divorcées live,” she explained, adding conspiratorially, “and they’re having the BEST time.”
In a rigorous, peer-reviewed study (that is, it was reviewed by many peers in the Hoedspruit Facebook community), Sleepers Railway Station Restaurant easily comes out tops as THE place to meet one’s significant other.
“My first kiss with my wife was at Sleepers,” says Leo (adding a “Hahaha”). “I met my fiancé there 5 years ago, using a pick-up line of ‘Not quite your scene, is it?’” says Jessica. The pair recently got married on Valentine’s Day. Harold* mentions something about “the jungle gym at the back” (thought it best not to ask for details). And even I am on trend! On my first and only visit to Sleepers, I experienced a charming moment with a charming, much younger man. In our defence, we didn’t clock the age gap until later: he had more maturity than some men double his age and I was dressed as a leopard for a theme party (though I behaved like a cougar).
Online dating and apps—Tinder, Grinder and Facebook in particular—came in a close second, and for a variety of reasons, including privacy and a wider network of people. “I didn’t want to find a man who frequents bars!” says Angelia. Pick n Pay scored third highest. But, depending on how you disaggregate the data, parking lots feature equally (is this why those new developments have a parking lot as their central feature?).
Other love locations include: Kalimambo Pub, Indian Restaurant and Grill (a 6-month meet-to-marry story – Kaylee); on the corner of Jakkals and Antelope streets (“late one night” – Richard); Hoedspruit Hotel (formerly Hotel Fort Coepieba) (one couple married 9 days after meeting: “Michael was the musician. I loved him instantly” – Lienkie) and hardware store OBARO (“I am not ashamed!” – Tony).
Angelia and her beloved wanted a simple, romantic barefoot wedding in the bush and arranged it mostly themselves at the Bush Pub & Inn. As well as the 30 invited guests were hundreds of uninvited guests: Angelia got hitched with her wedding dress held up high, as harvester ants, on a mission of their own, crawled over her feet, ankles and legs. Now that is commitment.
The beauty of this wild environment and the spirit of its people make it easy to feel the love here in Hoedspruit, whether you’re happily single or romantically attached in any variety of combinations.
*Names have been changed
This is the second instalment of ‘Hoedspruit Living,’ a column written for and originally published in Wild Getaways (edition 3, 2025) that explores the rhythms, quirks and beauty of small-town bushveld life.
PHOTO: JMx Images
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