Heart for the Karoo

The story of how Betty turned into a beauty is one that needs to be told.

It all started with me, Lisa, planning a very ‘temporary stay’  in the Karoo as a young medical doctor.

It ended with me staying on ‘a bit longer than planned’ after marrying my Karoo farmer. And that was just the beginning of Beautiful Betty’s story.

Locals will know Tannie Bettie as a well-known and loved teacher in Beaufort West . For us she was also a long-time dear family friend . When she sadly passed away, renovating her house, acquired from her estate auction, became an absolute passion project for me. I discovered my flair for interior design, and the guest house soon evolved.

“I am going to make everything around me beautiful and this will be my life…”

Elsie de Wolfe’s words really rings true for me personally. Making Betty ‘beautiful’, although imperfectly so , was a personal journey for me, and a tribute to tannie Bettie’s beautiful legacy as well.

With time I found this arid and remote Karoo truly has special and ingenious inhabitants. It really is as if the lack of big city lights sparks one’s own creativity. It certainly sparked mine… And very soon I had a treasure chest of local makers, products and gifts with a Karoo footprint , and The Shop was born.

Beautiful Betty is not just a resting place for weary travelers, a place to meet for coffee, a chat or a gift. It is truly about celebrating and sharing with visitors a piece of the Karoo, its people, its uniqueness…

The story of how Betty turned into a beauty is one that needs to be told.

It all started with me, Lisa, planning a very ‘temporary stay’  in the Karoo as a young medical doctor.

It ended with me staying on ‘a bit longer than planned’ after marrying my Karoo farmer. And that was just the beginning of Beautiful Betty’s story.

Locals will know Tannie Bettie as a well-known and loved teacher in Beaufort West . For us she was also a long-time dear family friend . When she sadly passed away, renovating her house, acquired from her estate auction, became an absolute passion project for me. I discovered my flair for interior design, and the guest house soon evolved.

“I am going to make everything around me beautiful and this will be my life…”

Elsie de Wolfe’s words really rings true for me personally. Making Betty ‘beautiful’, although imperfectly so , was a personal journey for me, and a tribute to tannie Bettie’s beautiful legacy as well.

With time I found this arid and remote Karoo truly has special and ingenious inhabitants. It really is as if the lack of big city lights sparks one’s own creativity. It certainly sparked mine… And very soon I had a treasure chest of local makers, products and gifts with a Karoo footprint , and The Shop was born.

Beautiful Betty is not just a resting place for weary travelers, a place to meet for coffee, a chat or a gift. It is truly about celebrating and sharing with visitors a piece of the Karoo, its people, its uniqueness…