Thatchers, suppliers and specialists on our network work in all nine provinces, from estate homes and garden lapas in Pretoria East, Centurion and Fourways, to Cape reed homesteads in the winelands, game lodges in the Lowveld and the Waterberg, resorts on the KZN coast and the Garden Route, guesthouses in the eastern Free State and farm lapas and rondavels across the platteland. Choose your province or town to read about thatch there and request quotes.
Gauteng
In Gauteng, thatch mostly means the back garden: round lapas beside pools in Pretoria East, Centurion, Midrand, Fourways and Kyalami, thatched estate homes along the N14 and around Lanseria and Muldersdrift, and smallholdings with rondavels and bomas on the edges of both cities. The roof has to survive Highveld summers, when afternoon thunderstorms bring frequent lightning and, in some years, heavy hail. Winters are dry and the grassland burns, so fire distances to boundaries matter as well. Many thatching crews are based around Pretoria and the northern edge of Johannesburg, and grass is trucked in from the Free State, Mpumalanga and KZN. Estates usually have their own architectural guidelines, so check them before you draw up plans.
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Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga both grows thatch and uses a great deal of it. Much of the country's thatching grass is cut on the grasslands of the eastern Highveld in winter, around Ermelo, Carolina, Badplaas and Lydenburg, and bundles leave on trucks for Gauteng and beyond. Down the escarpment, the Lowveld around White River, Hazyview, Sabie and the Kruger gates is lodge and guesthouse country, with thatched chalets, bomas and rondavels everywhere. The two halves wear thatch differently: Lowveld summers are hot and humid, so shaded roofs grow moss and rot faster, while the Highveld side gets cold, dry winters, grass fires and strong summer lightning. Mining towns such as eMalahleni and Secunda have less thatch, mostly garden lapas and smallholdings.
North West
North West has two thatch belts. In the east, Hartbeespoort Dam and the Magaliesberg are full of thatched weekend homes, river and dam-side resorts, wedding venues and estate houses, many within easy reach of Pretoria crews. Further around, the Pilanesberg holds bush lodges and bomas, and Rustenburg and Brits have smallholdings with lapas. The western half, from Lichtenburg to Mahikeng and Vryburg, is maize and cattle country, where thatch is mostly farm lapas, rondavels and the odd old farmhouse. Summers bring hot afternoons with violent thunderstorms, lightning and hail, while winters are dry and veld fires run across the grassland and bushveld. Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp sit closer to the Vaal, with river resorts and garden lapas.
Limpopo
Limpopo is game lodge country. The private reserves around Hoedspruit and the Kruger side near Phalaborwa, and the Waterberg plateau near Vaalwater and Lephalale, are full of thatched chalets, dining bomas, reception buildings and staff housing. Hunting farms and bush camps across the bushveld add lapas and rondavels by the dozen. Tzaneen and the Magoebaskloof hills are greener, with mist, high rainfall and forest, so thatch there stays damp and grows moss. Polokwane and Mokopane have suburban lapas and thatched homes on smallholdings. Summers are hot, with heavy storms and lightning, and the dry winter months are veld fire season. Lodges in remote reserves often need crews who camp on site.
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the driest province, and that is good for thatch: a roof here dries quickly after rain and rarely grows moss. What wears it down instead is strong sun, hot wind and dust, and on farms and game ranches the risk of a veld fire. Thatch is not everywhere: most of it is on guest farms and lodges around the Kalahari and the Green Kalahari along the Orange River near Upington, on hunting farms near Kuruman and Kathu, and in garden lapas in Kimberley, Kathu and Upington. Distances are huge. Many towns have no thatcher of their own, so crews come from Kimberley, the Free State or Gauteng, and grass and poles are trucked a long way.
Free State
Much of the thatching grass that roofs Gauteng is cut on Free State grassland, especially in the eastern Free State around Bethlehem, Harrismith, Reitz and Vrede, so supply here is close at hand. The thatch you see is varied: guesthouses and holiday cottages in Clarens and the Maluti foothills, farmhouses and workers' rondavels across the maize and cattle districts, lapas in Bloemfontein gardens and resorts along the Vaal near Parys. Weather is harsh in both directions: summer thunderstorms with lightning and hail, and cold, dry winters with frost and grass fires. Welkom and Sasolburg are mining and industrial towns with little thatch beyond garden lapas and smallholdings, so crews are often based in Bloemfontein, Bethlehem or Gauteng.
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal wears thatch in three climates. The coast from the South Coast through Durban and Umhlanga to Ballito and Zinkwazi is warm and humid, and thatch there stays damp, grows moss and needs more care; beach bars, resort umbrellas and holiday homes often use synthetic thatch for that reason. The Midlands around Howick, Nottingham Road and the Drakensberg foothills has country houses, guest farms and wedding venues under grass thatch, with misty summers and cold winters. Further north, Zululand and the game reserves have lodges and bush camps. Rondavels with thatch roofs are traditional across rural KZN. Grass grows on the province's grasslands, and many thatchers are based in the Midlands.
Eastern Cape
Few provinces have as much variety under thatch as the Eastern Cape. Round homesteads with grass roofs are part of village life across the former Transkei around Mthatha and the Wild Coast. The private game reserves between Makhanda, Alicedale and Port Alfred have thatched lodges and bomas. Coastal towns such as Jeffreys Bay, St Francis Bay, Kenton-on-Sea and Port Alfred have holiday homes, and St Francis Bay is known for its white walls under dark thatch roofs. Gqeberha and East London have garden lapas. The weather swings from wind and salt on the coast to dry Karoo heat around Graaff-Reinet. Grass grows in the east of the province, and Cape reed comes from the southern Cape.
Western Cape
Thatch in the Western Cape is usually Cape reed, not grass. Restio reed harvested mostly in the southern Cape gives the fine, dense finish on Cape Dutch homesteads in Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Tulbagh, and on fishermen's cottages and coastal homes from Hermanus to the Garden Route. The weather is the reverse of the rest of the country: rain falls in winter, driven by north-westers, and summers are dry, windy and fire prone, with mountain fires in the Boland and around the Peninsula. Old Cape Dutch buildings may fall under heritage rules, so check before changing a roof. Many reed thatchers are based in the Boland, the Overberg and the southern Cape, and travel across the province.