Kamala Karoo Sanctuary — where your soul comes to breathe in the heart of Barrydale

"Kamala Karoo Sanctuary in Barrydale is one of the Klein Karoo's most extraordinary places to stay,  a luxury wellness retreat and bed and breakfast on Route 62 where yoga, labyrinths, sound healing and deep rest come together in a setting of extraordinary natural beauty." - Ruth Goodman 


There are places you visit, and there are places that visit you long after you have left. Kamala Karoo Sanctuary on Bain Street in the heart of Barrydale is firmly the latter,  a luxury wellness retreat, sanctuary and bed and breakfast that offers something increasingly rare and increasingly sought after in South Africa: a place where you can actually stop, breathe, and feel yourself return to yourself.
In a world that rarely stops asking more of you, Kamala Karoo Sanctuary exists to give you back what that world takes.
The story behind Kamala Karoo

Kamala Karoo Sanctuary is the vision and lifework of Terry de Vries, journalist turned internationally qualified yoga teacher, sound healer, labyrinth facilitator, vision quest facilitator and shamanic breath work teacher, whose journey back to Barrydale is itself a story worth telling.

The daughter of a former rector of Stellenbosch University whose father grew up on a farm near Brandrivier just outside Barrydale, Terry spent years working as a journalist before a single event in 1994 prompted a profound reassessment of her path. What followed was a decades-long journey of transformation, through yoga training in America, pilgrimage walks across continents, the building of labyrinths across the globe, the study of sound healing and breath work, and the deepening of a practice rooted in the conviction that genuine healing and genuine rest are not luxuries but necessities.

Terry discovered labyrinths for the first time in 1997 while doing her yoga teacher training at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in America. What began as an afternoon of play with her young son became a life-defining realisation. In the years that followed she walked labyrinths on every continent, built them across South Africa and internationally, and developed a world-renowned practice as a labyrinth facilitator, building her first South African labyrinth in 2001 and continuing to create them across the globe to this day.

Her father, who was granted honorary citizenship of Barrydale in 1980, grew up and matriculated in the town. When Terry walked onto the stoep of a property on Bain Street in Barrydale in 2018,  the property already had a labyrinth, she knew immediately. This was her next home. And more than that, it was the fulfillment of a twenty-five year dream to build a place where others could experience the transformation she had spent her life studying and facilitating.

When she phoned her sister to say she had found her new home in Barrydale, her sister laughed and said she had always wondered which of the siblings would return to their roots. Terry had come full circle.

Architect Johann Slee,  a celebrated Stellenbosch-based architect known for his sensitivity to the colors, textures and materials of the African landscape, was brought in to design the sanctuary. Working in the distinctive Barrydale slate that defines so much of the town's built character, Johann created buildings that feel simultaneously of the earth and beyond it, grounded in the landscape, open to light, and shaped entirely around Terry's very specific and very beautiful way of seeing the world.

The accommodation, luxurious, considered, restorative

Kamala Karoo Sanctuary offers a total of eight bedrooms across three accommodation configurations on a 5 500 square metre property, making it equally suited to solo travellers, couples, small groups and those looking to book the entire venue for a private retreat, celebration or creative gathering.

The five-bedroom main house sleeps ten guests and features a communal lounge, dining room, fully equipped kitchen, library and yoga studio, all equipped with fireplaces that bring particular warmth to the Klein Karoo winter evenings. Two garden units, each sleeping two guests, can be booked individually or together as a double cottage sleeping four. A secluded garden cottage sleeping two offers the most private option on the property, complete with its own outside bath, a uniquely Karoo touch that makes an evening soak under the open sky an experience entirely its own. The entire venue can be booked exclusively, sleeping 16,  for groups who want Kamala Karoo entirely to themselves.

The rooms are unlike anything you will find in a conventional guesthouse

Each has its own colour palette, bold, earthy and deeply beautiful, with open wardrobes featuring photographs of plants and nature scenes in and around Barrydale, taken by Terry's son Josua de Vries. The beds are dressed in Egyptian cotton at 600 thread count, French linen and colorful Indian kanthas that make sleep feel like the most indulgent thing in the world. Each room has ceiling fans, heated and extra blankets, Indian kimonos, hairdryers, coffee and tea facilities, and USB ports. Large sliding doors in every room open onto garden views and each room has its own private patio.

The bathrooms feature eco-friendly products, handbasins, and hand-held bidet showers next to each toilet. The property's garden, designed and maintained with the same intentionality as everything else at Kamala, has meandering pathways through wild flowers and roses that invite long, wandering walks and the discovery of quiet sitting spots tucked among the foliage. The birdlife is abundant and consistently delightful. Free WiFi and secure parking are available throughout the property.

The facilities — a sanctuary within the sanctuary

What separates Kamala Karoo from a beautifully decorated guesthouse is the depth and thoughtfulness of what it offers beyond the rooms.

The outdoor infrared sauna is a revelation for tired bodies and overstimulated minds. The saltwater swimming pool, surrounded by the garden in all its beauty, offers one of the most peaceful swimming experiences in the Klein Karoo. The fire pit creates an evening focal point that invites genuine conversation and genuine rest in equal measure.

The yoga studio, properly equipped and air-conditioned, is the heart of Terry's retreat offerings,  a sacred space that hosts yoga classes, breath  sessions, sound baths and a range of transformational practices that Terry has spent decades developing and refining. The soul library is curated, calm, and full of the kind of books that send you somewhere new.

The labyrinth at Kamala Karoo is one of its most extraordinary features

 
Labyrinths are ancient tools for walking meditation, personal reflection and spiritual transformation and Terry is one of the world's foremost practitioners and builders of labyrinths, having constructed them across South Africa and internationally since 1997. To walk the labyrinth at Kamala Karoo under the wide Klein Karoo sky is an experience that defies adequate description and stays with you long after you leave.

Staying independently or on retreat

Kamala Karoo Sanctuary operates in two beautiful modes. When a retreat is in session, delicious vegetarian breakfasts are served daily and during retreats, sumptuous vegetarian meals are provided throughout with vegan and gluten-free options as standard. During these periods, the property becomes a fully facilitated wellness environment guided by Terry and visiting practitioners.

When there is no scheduled retreat, Kamala becomes a luxury bed and breakfast,  a wellness guesthouse where guests can design their own experience of rest and renewal. Guests may use the fully equipped kitchen to prepare their own meals, arrange for meals to be prepared by Kamala, or explore the remarkable restaurants of Barrydale, which are within easy walking distance.

Groups hosting their own retreats may also bring their own chef to take advantage of the property's facilities

Yoga classes, hiking in the surrounding Klein Karoo landscape, and cycling are all available for guests seeking activity alongside their rest. The Warmwaterberg Hot Mineral Springs is a twenty-minute drive. The Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, a 58 000 hectare conservation area offering malaria-free Big Five safari experiences is approximately 30 kilometres away. Transport can be arranged from Cape Town and George airports.

Who Kamala Karoo is for

Kamala Karoo Sanctuary welcomes adults only and does not accommodate large parties or groups of a bachelor or bachelorette nature. It is a space for those who come with intention. In Terry's own words, Kamala welcomes those who are stressed out, depleted, or feeling anxious; at a crossroads in their lives; in need of time out or deep rest; disconnected from themselves, nature, or life; working through loss, grief, or transition; recuperating from illness; trying to write, think, or simply be; or simply ready to slow down and experience what it feels like to have nowhere to be and nothing to perform.

This Easter weekend, if Barrydale is calling you and it should be Kamala Karoo Sanctuary is one of the most deeply restorative ways to answer that call.

Booking and contact details

33 Bain Street, Barrydale, Western Cape, 6750
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.kamalakaroo.com

Located in the heart of Barrydale on Route 62

If your time at Kamala Karoo deepens your sense of what life in Barrydale could feel like on a permanent basis, Ruth Goodman at Dormehl Phalane Property Group Barrydale and Overberg is the person to speak to about what property here might look like for you.

Ruth: 074 142 2861
[email protected]
www.dpgbarrydaleoverberg.com