At High Hopes Retreat
Centre in Greyton

A journey back to myself

There are moments in life when you realise that pushing harder is no longer the answer. When productivity hacks, wellness routines, and even the most well-intentioned self-care rituals stop touching the deeper places that are asking for attention. For me, that moment arrived quietly but persistently. I knew I needed time, space, and guidance to slow down and truly listen to myself again.

That is how I found myself driving through the rolling Overberg countryside toward the small mountain village of Greyton, just over an hour from Cape Town, to spend eight days at High Hopes Retreat Centre.

Greyton is the kind of place that immediately softens your shoulders. Oak-lined streets, horses grazing behind white fences, and mountains that seem to cradle the entire village. It feels removed from the pace of the modern world, yet it is remarkably easy to reach. Tucked within this tranquil village, surrounded by woodland gardens and quiet pathways, lies High Hopes — a retreat centre that has quietly been helping people transform their lives for nearly two decades.

From the moment I arrived, I sensed that this was not a typical wellness retreat. High Hopes is intentionally small and deeply personalised. With only a handful of private garden rooms scattered through lush trees and flowering plants, it feels more like being welcomed into a home than checking into a retreat centre.

The founders, Ange Craig and Sharon Peddie, have created something rare: a sanctuary that blends psychotherapy, somatic healing, nutrition, movement, and nature into one coherent journey of restoration.

A Retreat Designed Around You

What makes High Hopes different from many retreats is that every programme is tailored to the individual. Rather than followinga rigid schedule of exclusively group activities, the experience revolves around a combination of one-on-one and group sessions designed specifically for your needs (with groups comprising a maximum of four attendees per retreat).

High Hopes offers several core programmes, including a Basic Health Balancing Retreat, Detox Retreat, Adrenal Burnout Retreat, Trauma Release Retreat, and the Intensive Personal Journey Retreat.

For my stay, I was recommended a combination of the Trauma Release Retreat and the Intensive Personal Journey Retreat, which together created a powerful eight-day immersion into emotional healing, nervous system regulation, and personal reflection.

”High Hopes feels more like being welcomed into a home than checking into a retreat centre...”

The focus of these programmes is not simply relaxation. It is transformation. And that transformation is supported through a blend of therapies including counselling, kinesiology, mindfulness coaching, somatic practices, massage, breathwork, yoga, and nature immersion.

Meeting Ange: Therapy That Truly Listens

One of the most profound aspects of the retreat was my work with Ange Craig, the co-founder and resident counselling psychologist and kinesiologist.

Ange brings a rare depth of experience to her work. With postgraduate qualifications in counselling psychology and years spent working with trauma survivors, refugees, and individuals navigating complex emotional journeys, she holds a remarkable ability to create a space where you feel both safe and deeply seen.

Our first session together was an intake consultation based on kinesiology testing. Amongst other things, the kinesiology helped identify which foods would best support my body during the retreat — information that would later guide my personalised meal plan.

But more importantly, this session opened the door to the deeper work we would do throughout the week. Ange has an intuitive way of asking questions that gently lead you toward insights you may not have been ready to see before.

In my individual counselling sessions with her, I experienced several breakthrough moments — those quiet shifts in perspective that suddenly make old patterns understandable, and more importantly, transformable.

For the first time in a long while, I felt truly heard.

Learning the Language of the Nervous System

Alongside the therapy sessions, the retreat includes a series of psycho-education classes designed to help guests understand how trauma, stress, and emotional overwhelm affect the nervous system.

These sessions turned out to be one of the most valuable aspects of the retreat for me.

Topics included concepts such as the Window of Tolerance, the autonomic nervous system ladder, trauma and the body, grounding techniques, co-regulation, and the science of somatic experiencing.

These ideas may sound academic, but they were explained in a way that made them immediately practical.

”Understanding how the nervous system moves between states of calm, stress, and shutdown gave me a completely new frameworkfor understanding my own reactions and emotional patterns.”

Rather than feeling like something was wrong with me, I began to see my responses as intelligent survival mechanisms that simply needed support to recalibrate.

That shift alone felt deeply empowering.

Healing Through the Body

One of the guiding philosophies at High Hopes is that healing does not happen through the mind alone.
The body must be part of the process.

Throughout the week, I experienced a range of somatic therapies designed to help release stored tension and restore balance.These included Chi massage, Thai yoga massage, bliss body massage, and Access Bars sessions, each offering its own unique sense of release and restoration.

One of my favourite treatments was the aroma steam therapy — a deeply relaxing experience that combined herbal steam and essential oils to help calm the nervous system and promote detoxification.

Breathwork sessions and guided somatic exercises also helped me reconnect with my body in ways that felt grounding and surprisingly emotional

It reminded me that so much of our stress is carried physically — and that sometimes the body simply needs permission to let go.

Creativity as Therapy

Midway through the retreat, I was invited to participate in a mandala drawing session, facilitated by Sharon Peddie. Mandala art therapy is often used as a tool for self-reflection, allowing unconscious emotions and patterns to surface through colour, shape, and imagery.

At first, the idea of sitting down to draw felt slightly intimidating — I do not consider myself particularly artistic. But as the process unfolded, it became an unexpectedly powerful experience.

The mandala became a mirror of sorts, revealing themes and feelings that were later explored in a deeply insightful and empowering debrief session.

It was a reminder that healing does not always happen through words alone.

Nature as Medicine

Greyton itself plays an important role in the retreat experience.

Each day included guided walks through the surrounding mountains, where winding trails lead past fynbos, streams, and sweeping views of the valley below.

Walking through these landscapes felt like a reset for my frazzled nervous system. There is something about moving slowly through nature that invites reflection without forcing it.

Some days we walked in silence. Other days conversations unfolded naturally as we followed the mountain paths.

There were moments when the simplicity of it all felt profoundly healing: sunlight through trees, fresh mountain air, and the quiet rhythm of footsteps on the trail.

Food That Nourishes More Than the Body

Another highlight of the retreat was definitely the food!

Co-founder Sharon Peddie plus a team of talented chefs prepare the meals at High Hopes, creating plant-based dishes that are both deeply nourishing and beautifully presented.

Because the meals are guided by the personalised food list developed through kinesiology testing, every dish is tailored to support each guest's unique nutritional needs.

Breakfast often began with vibrant smoothies or nutrient-dense bowls, with equally satisfying lunches and dinners - wholesome, flavourful meals inspired by Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours, reminiscent of the style of chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi.

Knowing that many of the vegetables were grown in the retreat’s own garden added another layer of connection to the experience.

Food here is not simply nourishment. It is a powerful part of the healing process.

The Power of Slowing Down

One of the most unexpected gifts of the retreat was simply having permission to slow down.

There were quiet hours between sessions where I could sit in the gardens, journal, read, or simply rest.

The rooms themselves are comfortable and inviting, each opening onto peaceful garden views. It is the kind of place where you wake naturally with the sunlight and fall asleep early, soothed by the stillness of the countryside.

Without the constant stimulation of daily life, thoughts begin to settle. Insights arrive more easily. Emotions that have been pushed aside for years finally have space to surface and be processed.

Leaving With Tools for Life

On my final day, I had a “Way Forward” session with Ange, where we discussed practical ways to integrate what I had learned into everyday life.

This was perhaps the most valuable part of the experience.

Retreats can sometimes feel like a beautiful bubble — transformative while you are there, but difficult to sustain once you return home.High Hopes takes a different approach, ensuring that guests leave with concrete tools for maintaining emotional balance and nervous system regulation.

I left with practices I now use daily: somatic experiencing techniques, breathwork exercises, mindfulness practices, a unique way of noticing and nurturing the various parts of my inner being, and a deeper understanding of how to recognise and regulate my stress responses.

A Sanctuary for Real Transformation

Eight days at High Hopes felt less like a holiday and more like a meaningful turning point.

This is not a retreat designed for quick fixes or superficial relaxation. It is a place for real inner work — the kind that gently unravels old patterns and opens space for new ways of living.

The combination of expert therapeutic guidance, nourishing food, nature immersion, and deeply personalised care creates an environment where transformation feels both possible and supported.

High Hopes is ultimately what its name suggests: a place of possibility.

A place where healing begins quietly, one conversation, one breath, one step at a time.

And where, if you allow it, you may just rediscover the most important relationship of all — the one you have with yourself.